The sun rose in the east on Judgement Day as the Dragons and Cardiff ended the United Rugby Championship season with wins.
For the Scarlets and Ospreys the day out at the Principality Stadium proved one to forget, with the teams from out west hopelessly out of sorts. Scarlets never recovered from shipping 21 points while Vaea Fifita was in the sinbin after a push to the face of Aaron Wainwright, while the Ospreys never looked remotely near their best.
Unsurprisingly, then, the team of the day has a heavy eastern flavour to it.
Read more: Welsh international chased by half the clubs in the English Premiership is 'staying in Wales'
It contains just two players who featured in Wales’ starting line-up for the final game of the Six Nations against France.
15: Rhys Priestland (Cardiff)
Out of position but Priestland is just a superb rugby player who is never out of his depth. In what may or may not have been his final game for Cardiff, the Wales international came up with an unhurried and understated effort that saw him exert a calming influence and barely put a foot wrong. A nod to Jordan Williams, who had a largely fine game for the Dragons against the Scarlets.
14: Rio Dyer (Dragons)
Came up with one of the moments of the day when he stood up Ryan Conbeer before surging clear and sending a one-handed pass inside for Jordan Williams to score. On the debit side, a foot in touch denied him a try, but the Wales international chased furiously all game and just looked the Test player that he is. You can read more here about the youngster who has blown Gatland's World Cup selection wide apart after emerging was Wales' 'best player'.
13: Keiran Williams (Ospreys)
While the Ospreys misfired badly at the Principality Stadium, their No. 13 managed to emerge from the Swansea.com Stadium region's dire display with his reputation intact. One draft of stats suggested Williams made 13 carries and 12 tackles while achieving a turnover. The search to establish whether the 26-year-old has a reverse gear also continues — there was no evidence to the contrary in Cardiff. Rey Lee-Lo and Sio Tomkinson could be pleased with their performances, as well.
12: Max Llewellyn (Cardiff)
The best No. 12 on the day by some distance, outshining bigger names. Llewellyn ate up ground as a carrier, passed accurately, scored a try and four offloads reminded all why his dad used to refer to him as Skinny Bill Williams. It was a nice way for the 6ft 5in, 16st 7lb player to sign off from Cardiff ahead of his move to Gloucester.
11: Jason Harries (Cardiff)
Beforehand, the big wing had put out a classy social media post he styled as ‘The Last Dance’, saying he was finishing as a professional player and thanking those who had helped him during his career. He then went on to bang in an excellent display embellished by strong carrying, a couple of clean breaks, a turnover and one outstanding aerial take. As last dances go, this one was memorable.
10: Angus O’Brien (Dragons)
There was little to choose between O’Brien and Jarrod Evans, each of whom impressed at the home of Welsh rugby. Evans is a born entertainer who can hurt opponents with his unpredictable skills, while O’Brien bossed play intelligently for the Dragons in their win over the Scarlets, mixing a dash of flair with some useful kicking out of hand. Given that the former Scarlet is usually a full-back, the hope is Wales are alive to his talents ahead of their World Cup training squad announcement.
9: Tomos Williams (Cardiff)
Short of emptying a bucket of cement in the petrol tank of the Ospreys’ team bus, Williams could not have caused the south-west Wales region more problems on the day. Up against his Wales rival Rhys Webb, the Cardiff No. 9 produced an outstanding show that saw him make three clean breaks, set up two tries and make acres of ground for his side. His pass was sharp and he was never less than alert. Rhodri Williams and Kieran Hardy caught the eye in the first game.
1: Corey Domachowski (Cardiff)
Fought a battle royal with Tomas Francis in which he initially seem to have the odd issue before countering strongly. Nicky Smith had his moments as a carrier and Gareth Thomas and Rhys Carre performed well off the bench.
2: Dewi Lake (Ospreys)
In 30 minutes, Lake scored a try, made 10 carries for 26 metres, passed the ball five times, made five tackles, hit his targets in the lineouts, beat three defenders and sent out an offload. Look up the definition of ‘impact substitute’ in the dictionary and there may or may not be a reference to him and his display against Cardiff, for he was immense and then a bit more. He certainly didn’t deserve to leave the field as a loser.
3: Lloyd Fairbrother (Dragons)
The Cornwall-born prop had some early joy at the scrums against the Scarlets but what really earned him high marks was his work in defence, with Fairbrother tackling himself to a standstill. One count suggested he’d put in 20 hits, and, no, it wasn’t a close family member on stats duty for the afternoon. Keiron Assiratti performed solidly for Cardiff.
4: Ben Carter (Dragons)
One of the youngster’s best games for the Dragons, Carter tackled everything that moved, but there was so much more to his game than good defence. He also nicked an opposition lineout throw, achieved a turnover and beat a couple of defenders with his carrying. It was a dynamic display that could go a long way to earning him a Wales World Cup training squad spot this summer.
5: Seb Davies (Cardiff)
Quietly impressive at the heart of the Cardiff pack, with good work done in all areas. Davies is known for his handling skills but against the Ospreys he was on the defensive front line for his team while still finding time to carry and make ground, with the big man acting as his side’s main lineout target, too.
6: Thomas Young (Cardiff)
OK, he played at openside against the Ospreys but he has to be in this team and so does Taine Basham. Young deserves special plaudits for his professionalism as he banged in a top-drawer display barely a day after being ‘visibly upset’ over the apparent suspension of his dad, Dai, as Cardiff director of rugby. There were two tries for Young junior, clean breaks, a turnover and much, much more. For the Ospreys, Rhys Davies came up with a heart-and- soul defensive effort.
7: Taine Basham (Dragons)
It's seems a long time since Basham's star was high in the sky and people were seeing him as a potential British and Irish Lion in the making. He then fell out of favour under Wayne Pivac, while Warren Gatland has taken time to warm to his quality. Maybe his starring effort for the Dragons against the Scarlets will change the situation. One of Welsh rugby's forgotten men was into everything as he excelled with his carrying, tackling, work at the breakdown, offloading — the lot. There were two turnovers and seven defenders beaten in a show that reminded all of his qualities.
8: Aaron Wainwright (Dragons)
It could easily have been Taulupe Faletau in here or indeed Morgan Morris, who delivered in adversity for the Ospreys against Cardiff. While most around him were struggling to come up with anything close to their best, Morris kept trying to take the ball forward and kept tackling.
But maybe Wainwright — one of the two players in this team who started for Wales against France in the final round of the Six Nations, with Rio Dyer the other — deserves the spot as part of a Dragons side that kept one of their best displays of the season for last. He was crucial to the effort with his ability to achieve go-forward. The Wales international also fronted up in defence. Carwyn Tuipulotu caught the eye with his carrying for the Scarlets.
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