The Wales player on a different planet: Anatomy of a rugby masterclass

Tommy Reffell has been Wales' standout player in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations, but what makes him so good?

In 160 minutes of rugby, Tommy Reffell has stood head and shoulders above anyone else in red. And, given many of the promising performances from Warren Gatland’s youthful squad, that’s some feat.

The Leicester Tigers openside has, at times, almost single-handedly kept Wales in games against Scotland and England.

Former England prop David Flatman described him as “verging on being supernaturally good at the breakdown”, while Andy Goode called him “sheer class” on both sides of the ball.

You’d struggle to find anyone, other than whoever picked ITV’s player of the match, who thought there was anyone who was better at Twickenham on Saturday than Reffell.

In the absence of the injured Jac Morgan, Reffell hasn’t missed a beat - with the production line of opensides in this country continuing to churn out mesmeric sevens long after a fitter's mate named Ron cracked the mould of solid gold, that once made Barry John.

But just what is it about Reffell’s game right now that is making him such an irresistible force? We’ve pored over the tapes to find out…