Who is the best player in Welsh rugby right now?
By Welsh rugby, we mean anyone who is eligible for Wales as well as the imports who ply their trade this side of the River Severn for one of the four regions.
Despite the men's national team performing poorly over the past 12 months, there are still some very good players left off the current top 25 list we have compiled below. Among those not making the cut are the injury-stricken Taine Basham, Liam Williams, Josh Navidi, Gareth Anscombe and Dan Lydiate, the dangerous Scarlets back-three man Johnny McNicholl, the ultra-promising Dafydd Jenkins and strong-performing front-rowers Rhys Carre and Dillon Lewis.
Read more: Top French and English clubs target Wales hooker amid ongoing contract uncertainty in Welsh rugby
But not everyone can feature. Anyway, here’s our take on the 25 top-performing men in Wales this year as we head towards a massive 2023 when Warren Gatland's new-look Wales have the World Cup and Six Nations to think about.
25. Ross Moriarty (Dragons)
Injuries and Wales selections may have gone against him, but the 28-year-old remains a player who doesn’t understand the notion of taking a backward step. For the Dragons he has fronted up unfailingly, supplying their pack with experience and a hard edge.
24. Morgan Morris (Ospreys)
There has been no more consistent Welsh player on the regional scene in 2022. His efforts have yet to earn him a cap, but week-in, week-out the No. 8 posts multiple carries and tackles and achieves turnovers. Chances deep in opposition territory are also invariably converted, prompting Ospreys coach Toby Booth to liken Morris to England and Lions No. 8 Sam Simmonds.
23. Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs)
A player who could be one of Wales’ superstars at the next World Cup, reckons Sam Warburton. Tshiunza is still putting miles on the clock, but the 20-year-old lock or flanker is already an Exeter Chiefs regular who is athletic around the field and an excellent defender, while he also scores improbable tries. Expect him to zoom up the equivalent list for next year.
22. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys)
Anyone who saw him play for Wales against Australia would not believe his powers were on the wane. Age catches up with everyone in the end, but the 37-year-old Jones is making a decent fist of holding back the years. Team-mates continue to raise their games when he’s around.
21. Dewi Lake (Ospreys)
Orthopaedic issues cost him involvement in Wales’ autumn series of Tests and his throwing isn't always of the gold-standard variety, but with his physicality, leadership and need to win the 6ft 1in, 17st 4lb Lake is an immense prospect. Expect a massive year from him in 2023.
20. Ryan Elias (Scarlets)
Recently completed 150 games for the Scarlets and started seven of Wales’ first eight Tests of the year. When it comes to heart-and-soul effort for club and country, not many score higher than the Scarlets No. 2. He is wanted by a glut of French clubs.
19. Ken Owens (Scarlets)
The Sheriff has managed only two months of senior rugby in 2022 after a lengthy injury lay-off. His performances for Wales in the autumn were good, though, reminding all that he still has much to offer.
18. Rhys Webb (Ospreys)
It is to Webb’s credit that he has kept his performance level high amid repeated snubs by Wales. After the recent Heineken Champions Cup game against Leicester, an opposition coach made a point of complimenting him on his display. For the Ospreys in 2022, the Wales international has been a general.
17. Nicky Smith (Ospreys)
The top-performing loosehead prop on the regional scene? Look no further than Smith, who has produced countless strong displays without being properly rewarded by Wales. Just 35 minutes of Test rugby for Smith over the past 12 months says more about the selectors than it does about him.
16. Thomas Young (Cardiff)
Has put in 30 more hits than his nearest rival in the United Rugby Championship tackling chart and has also achieved more turnovers than anyone else. Wales’ embarrassment of riches at openside has kept him out of the Test set-up, but for Cardiff he has been outstanding.
15. Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
Some question whether Tompkins has the playmaking skills and kicking game to fill the 12 role at Test level, but he is Saracens regular and such status isn’t easily achieved. His industry is important to every side in which he plays.
14. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers)
“What is special about him as well is that his core values are still what they were when he left Pencoed to head for the Tigers in the first place. He is respectful of others and goes the extra mile for his team-mates. And he’s a warrior on the field.”
So said Simon King, Reffell's former teacher at Pencoed Comprehensive School. The openside had a superb tour of South Africa with Wales. A rib injury against New Zealand proved a setback, but he will play for his country many more times in the years ahead.
13. Adam Beard (Ospreys)
The 6ft 8in lock is humble enough to acknowledge there are still areas of his game he could improve — his carrying is one — but he is the only player to have started every Test for Wales over the past 12 months and has developed into a high-class lineout performer who is also adept at defensive duties.
Beard has handling skills as well, as evidenced by the sublime pass that put Morgan Morris over for a try in the Ospreys’ recent Heineken Cup clash with Montpellier.
12. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys)
Has started the last nine Tests for Wales, with Thomas emerging as a reliable Test-class performer who backs up strong scrummaging with effective chop tackling. After a testing afternoon against New Zealand, he proved one of his country’s top performers in their other November games.
11. Sam Lousi (Scarlets)
The first non-Welshman in the list. Some of the Tongan's performances in adversity for the Scarlets have been off the scale, with Lousi standing out almost every time he takes the field, his one-handed carrying a spectacular feature of his play. If the second-row were Welsh, he’d be in Warren Gatland’s national squad.
10. Tomos Williams (Cardiff)
Quick in thought and deed, and skilful with it, Williams must be a nightmare to play against. Relegated to the bench for Wales’ summer tour of South Africa but started eight Tests over the year with his display against Argentina underlining the threat he can pose.
9. Josh Adams (Cardiff)
Strong running, enthusiastic and hungry for tries, Adams showcased an extra string to his bow by performing competently at full-back on a couple of occasions in 2022, even if his primary role very much remains as a wing. Injuries have punctuated his year, but he’s a quality option for Cardiff and Wales.
8. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester)
Austin Healey reckons Rees-Zammit could eventually prove as good as David Campese — no pressure there, then. The spectacular tries have continued to come for the wing in 2022, but he has also added to his game and is a far more complete player than he was at the start of the year.
7. George North (Ospreys)
While he missed the Six Nations because of injury, North has performed strongly since, starting seven Tests in a row and making the Wales No. 13 jersey his own. If his efforts in the third Test against South Africa in the summer and against Argentina in the autumn were particularly notable, the big man has imposed himself in other games as well, bring real presence to Wales’ backline.
6. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys)
Ruled out of competitive rugby by injury for the first eight months of the year but Tipuric led Wales in the autumn with his performance against Argentina exceptional and he was also inspirational for the Ospreys against Montpellier. At 33, he remains a forward of the highest class, a player respected by pretty all who play with and against him.
5. Dan Biggar (Toulon)
Don’t forget how good Biggar was at times during his captaincy stint earlier in the year.
“He embodied an unbending and indefatigable attitude,” noted Gwyn Jones after Wales’ narrow defeat to South Africa in the first Test in the summer. Biggar had previously performed with trademark passion and skill against France in the Six Nations.
When he finishes playing for Wales, he'll be missed more than many people realise.
4. Will Rowlands (Dragons)
Welsh rugby’s player of 2021-22, he started this term firing on all cylinders, as well, inspiring the Dragons to much-improved performances. An arch pilferer of opposition lineout ball, he is also a force around the field, consistently recording high tackling and carrying figures. Warren Gatland will not want to see him leave the Test scene when he departs the regional scene next term.
3. Jac Morgan (Ospreys)
His display against Australia in November was one of the finest individual efforts of the season by a Wales player, involving tireless defence, two tries and carrying that saw Morgan make over a hundred metres with ball in hand. A one-man wrecking machine, Warren Gatland called him. Consistently excellent, Morgan has had a remarkable year.
2. Sione Kalamafoni (Scarlets)
If No.8 Kalamafoni was involved in a collision with a tanker, the tanker would need instant attention. The Tongan powerhouse is wonderfully consistent for the Scarlets, bosses the gain-line and works hard in defence.
1. Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff)
It needed something special to edge Kalamafoni at the top of this chart and Taulupe Faletau has provided it in 2022, not only for Cardiff but also at Test level for Wales. Largely error free, he has banged in the rugby equivalent of treble-20 performances repeatedly throughout the year.
The No. 8 keeps going when others tire and is missed acutely when he’s not on the field, the hallmark of a great player. His performances for Cardiff against Munster in September and for Wales against Argentina in the autumn were especially memorable.
It’s always a joy to watch him play. Another huge year beckons under Gatland for Wales and for Cardiff in 2023.
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