Wales player ratings vs Argentina: Nations Championship

Despite efforts from captain Dewi Lake and Rhys Carré, who both crossed the whitewash in the first half, and Ben Warren, who scored in the final quarter, it proved not to be enough as Wales fell to a 35-21 defeat, which leaves them outside the top 10 in the world.

A brace from Joaquín Oviedo was accompanied by Justo Piccardo, Marcos Kremer, and Santiago Carreras, as Los Pumas claimed their inaugural Nations Championship win, bouncing back positively from last weekend's defeat against Scotland in western Argentina.

Argentina: 35

Tries: Joaquín Oviedo (6', 48'), Justo Piccardo (15'), Marcos Kremer (34'), Santiago Carreras (38')

Conversions: Tomás Albornoz (6', 15', 35', 39', 48')

Wales: 21

Tries: Dewi Lake (3'), Rhys Carré (23'), Ben Warren (63')

Conversions: Sam Costelow (3', 23', 63')

You do sense now, with the way that Murray has started this summer campaign, it’ll take some doing to outplay him for the 15 jersey. He was brilliant against Fiji, but had a quiet display against Los Pumas. Didn’t get involved as much as he would have wanted to, which has resulted in him receiving a lower score, but he should still carry on wearing the jersey.

Wales’ own golden boy, Louis Rees-Zammit, was controversially dropped to the bench for this fixture, which allowed Mee to prove himself. Despite a nervy start under the highball, he recovered well and was then a safe pair of hands in the air. This was an area in this particular contest where players needed to be strong, and he was replaced early in the second half.

Following scoring his first try last weekend for Wales, James has slowly grown into this summer’s campaign and needed a big outing in San Juan.

Made a brilliant try-saving tackle on Bautista Delguy to start off his afternoon, ran some fantastic lines in attack, but at the same time, did lose possession easily too when in attack, as nothing seemed to get going for Wales.

Arguably, this was Hawkins’ biggest match for Wales; he wasn’t only showing his worth at inside centre, he had done that in previous outings, but against Los Pumas he was also tasked as cover for Sam Costelow at outside-half. That didn't happen.

Had the odd carry when in attack and showed great footwork getting his side over the gain line, but that was it.

Adams is one of two members in the backline who played their part in Wales’ last visit to Argentina, where they claimed a two-Test series victory. Like Wales, the 31-year-old is having a resurgence on the international stage. However, as with Rees-Zammit against Fiji, he hardly made an impact in this contest despite attempting to. He will bounce back; he has done it before.

Argentina, a country that worships number 10s in football, saw the Wales starting line-up once again become a major talking point. Costelow needed to prove that his outing against Scotland was not a one-off; although he wasn’t firing in attack, in defence he was Wales’ best back at the interval.

There was some questionable decision-making in his kicking, and he did not make the statement he would have wanted to. Expect Dan Edwards to play against the Springboks next week.

After not shining as brightly in Wales’ last campaign, when Wales are at their best and winning, Williams is normally the reason behind it. The Saracens scrum-half was once again good at getting his side upfield through kicks behind. Apart from that, he had, like many players, a game to forget.

You know it wasn't the best of performances, as Kieran Hardy finally made his first outing in the Nations Championship.

After scoring an uncharacteristic close-range try last timeout, his side is benefiting from his expertise at scrum time, and once again he crossed over to bring his side back into the contest.

Missed some crucial tackles that needed to be hit, and it was not a shock to see that he was replaced at the break by Nicky Smith.

His arrows last weekend were on point, as they led to two scores, but frustratingly for Wales’ captain, he did not get on the scoreboard. This time around, from a catch and drive, Lake brilliantly crossed over after three minutes and proved to be a great confidence boost for his side. Once again, he was solid and continued to show why it was the right decision for him to be selected as captain.

He is an injury concern after limping off at the end of the third quarter.

Along with Carré, he has shone at set-piece time. With Tandy likely to take only three tight-heads to the World Cup next year, Lewis has not yet done enough to climb the pecking order. Against Los Pumas, he was immense around the breakdown, but surprisingly had his afternoon cut short as he was replaced by Ben Warren at the break.

Dragons second-row Carter has been a revelation since being handed the starting jersey earlier this year, and although he goes about his work unnoticed most of the time, he’s still massive for Wales.

Solid defensively, his work rate was once again outstanding, but he was replaced early in the second half by Teddy Williams. Right decision to save him for next week against South Africa.

The 30-year-old admitted he had struggled in the Six Nations, but after starting his first game for Wales since February last time out, Beard improved significantly. Like Carter, he was strong in Wales' rugged defence for a second consecutive match. But in a game that turned into a one-sided contest, his performance began to fade, as did the rest of his teammates.

Having come on as a second-half replacement last weekend, Botham excelled and richly deserved his starting position in the back row in place of Cardiff teammate Alex Mann. One of his standout moments was when he held the ball up over his side’s try line to keep proceedings level before the half-hour mark, and he was incredibly beneficial around the breakdown area.

It was yet another Morgan-esque performance like last timeout. He is excelling, and Wales is benefiting from it. After a long TMO check, the 26-year-old had his try overturned due to being bound into a ruck; he was Wales’ top tackler at the break.

Like Botham, in the third quarter, when Wales were under constant pressure, he expertly held Pablo Matera up over the whitewash.

Wainwright returned to San Juan, where he made his Wales debut in 2018, and today made his 69th appearance. The Leicester Tigers player was quiet in the opening exchanges, uncharacteristically missed tackles, but expertly stole a lineout late in the first-half, which relieved his side of pressure.

Carried well, but even in one of his worst performances in a Welsh jersey for a long time, he still shone, but you expect better from one of Wales' best.

16. Ryan Elias- 5

17. Nicky Smith- 4

18. Ben Warren- 6

19. Teddy Williams- 4.5

20. Kane James- 6

21. Kieran Hardy- 4

22. Max Llewellyn- 5

23. Louis Rees-Zammit- 6