Wales v Georgia winners and losers as back-rower grabs chance but others fail to nail auditions

Wales' 43-19 victory over a stubborn Georgia side may look like an easy win but it was anything but comfortable for Warren Gatland's men in Nantes.

The eastern Europeans had a real go at Wales, throwing the kitchen sink at the Six Nations outfit in the early stages of the second half, but Gatland's side had enough experience and class to get the job done in the end. There is plenty for Wales to work on, but also much to be positive about as they get ready for a massive Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Marseille next Saturday.

Rugby correspondent Steffan Thomas assesses the winners and losers from an uncomfortable afternoon in Nantes.

Winners

Tommy Reffell

The Leicester Tigers openside gave everyone a timely reminder of just how good a player he is. Much of the talk has centred around the totemic performances of co-captain Jac Morgan, and rightly so, but Reffell is a top-class international level back-rower in his own right.

Reffell is a different type of player to Morgan and is more akin to Sam Warburton in style, with the way he wins turnovers at the breakdown while also slowing down opposition ball. The 24-year-old took Georgia apart at the breakdown, while he also made 19 tackles in what was an outstanding individual performance.

Given Taulupe Faletau has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup due to a broken arm, Reffell must be odds-on favourite to start in next weekend's quarter-final against either Argentina or Japan. While Faletau will be sorely missed, it could be argued a back-row of Morgan, Reffell and Wainwright would be more effective at the breakdown.

Whatever way Gatland decides to go, Reffell showed his worth in Nantes.

Dewi Lake

Wales' co-captain has been criticised for the accuracy of his throwing into the lineout but this was much better. Yes, he threw to the front, never going to the back, but it was a massive improvement. Read my weekly column in our rugby newsletter

Lake was extremely dynamic and physical around the park with his explosive carrying and his work at the breakdown. He also put in 12 tackles, missing none, which signals a decent shift for a front-row forward.

He is also a natural leader of men and there was a clear leadership void when he got replaced in the 52nd minute. Given the 24-year-old shares the captaincy with Morgan you'd have to say he's given the coaches a selection headache ahead of next Saturday's quarter-final in Marseille.

Ryan Elias is odds-on to start given his outstanding performances in the victories over Fiji and Australia but Lake could well have done enough to sneak ahead of Elliot Dee onto the bench.

Wales' second-rows

The lock pairing of Will Rowlands and Dafydd Jenkins were excellent in Nantes as Wales' pack dominated the first half and the final quarter. Former Dragons lock Rowlands is now among Wales' most important players, in the same bracket as Morgan and Dan Biggar.

He was outstanding against the Lelos putting in 15 tackles while he dominated physically, and played a crucial role in Wales' lineout running smoothly. This was also Jenkins' best performance in a Wales shirt to date and it's hard to accept the Exeter Chiefs lock is only 20 years old.

Jenkins made 19 metres off six carries, while he also made 18 tackles in what was a big shift. What was also pleasing about Jenkins' performance was his work in the air as he picked off a few Georgian lineouts, and was very assured in taking restards.

The likelihood is he'll make way for Adam Beard next week but make no bones about it, Jenkins has a big future at international level.

Louis Rees-Zammit

Scoring a hat-trick at international level is always something to be celebrated and it's safe to say this Test match would have been a lot tighter if the Gloucester speedster wasn't on the field.

In a similar fashion to a world-class striker in the round ball game, give Rees-Zammit half a chance and he scores. While pace is arguably the main facet of his game it would be doing the 22-year-old a disservice if we put him into the speed merchant bracket because he's so much more than that.

Rees-Zammit has a superb all-round game, while his work off the ball whether in the air or in defence is top class. If he was born in Christchurch or Pretoria he'd probably be a regular with the All Blacks and the Springboks because he's that good.

Wales need to devise a way to get him into the game far more often because this guy is a class act.

Davit Niniashvili

Much has been made of livewire Lyon full-back Davit Niniashvili who is widely regarded as one of the best players in the Top 14 but the uncomfortable truth is he's been quite disappointing at this World Cup.

But the 21-year-old showed what he was capable of against Wales with an excellent all-round performance. Niniashvili looked dangerous whenever he had the ball, causing the Welsh defence plenty of problems with his pace and physicality. Join WalesOnline Rugby's new WhatsApp Channel here

He capped off a tremendous individual performance with a stunning second-half try and this is undoubtedly a player who can go from strength to strength in the coming years.

Losers

Gareth Anscombe and Taulupe Faletau

Through no fault of their own this was a day to forget for two tremendous servants of the Welsh game. Veteran outside-half Gareth Anscombe was approaching peak form once again following a horrible run of injuries, with his stunning player-of-the-match performance in the record victory over the Wallabies evidence of that.

But fate took a very cruel twist when Anscombe injured his groin in the warm-up, and the sight of the 32-year-old walking from the field with his head in his hands would have touched every Wales fan. The hope is he will be back fit in time for next Saturday's quarter-final in Marseille, or at the very least the semi-final, assuming Wales get that far.

It was even worse news for Taulupe Faletau who has broken his arm, and has now been ruled out for the reminder of this World Cup. This is a hammer blow for Wales considering Faletau is one of their only genuine world-class players.

Elliot Dee

The Dragons hooker had a solid game, and didn't do much wrong but the performance of Lake has put his place in real doubt for next weekend's quarter-final clash. Dee's throwing at the lineout is more accurate, while he brings a lot of energy in the final quarter of games but will Gatland's prefer the extra size and physicality of Lake?

The New Zealander has a big decision to make over the course of the next few days.

Nicky Smith

This was a real tough outing for the Ospreys prop who has been among the most destructive scrummaging looseheads in the United Rugby Championship this season, if not European rugby.

But the 28-year-old found it tough going against a powerful Georgia pack, missing three tackles, while he also lost his fair share of collisions. Unfortunately there were no scrums while Smith was on the field which meant he didn't get an opportunity to show his worth at the set-piece.

Unfortunately for him it's unlikely he's done enough to oust Corey Domachowski for a place on the bench with Gatland likely to favour the extra size and the carrying game of the Cardiff prop.

Tomos Williams

The Cardiff scrum-half is a fine player, and by no means had a bad game, but he didn't make enough of an impression to oust the in-form Gareth Davies for Wales' quarter-final against either Argentina or Japan next Saturday.

Williams was solid enough but after Anscombe's withdrawal before the game Wales' half-backs lacked a bit of tactical control with the up and coming Sam Costelow having a real baptism of fire. For now it looks as if Williams' role for the reminder of this World Cup will be as an impact player from the replacements' bench.