England player ratings versus Tonga
Bigger challenges may await England, although Eddie Jones and his side will be content with their 35-3 win over Tonga on Saturday in their Rugby World Cup opener.
England grew into the game at the Sapporo Dome and despite not putting away Tonga in the final 20 minutes, there will be reasonable satisfaction heading into their short turnaround before they face the USA later this week. You can see RugbyPass’ exclusive access to Tonga’s preparations for the tournament here.
Check out our ratings of all 23 England players below.
- Elliot Daly – 6.5
A game that suited Daly’s skill set with the full-back coming under minimal pressure in the kicking game. Instead, he was able to operate as a playmaker in the midfield, launch a couple of slaloming counter-attacks and his draw and pass to Jonny May created Manu Tuilagi’s second try. Overran what should have been England’s fourth try of the game.
- Anthony Watson – 7
Watson ticked the reliability boxes, where he was strong in the air and chased England’s kicks effectively. His opportunities to run at space were fairly limited, however. His lengthy counter-attack with five minutes to go was one of the highlights of the game.
- Manu Tuilagi – 8
In an up and down first half for England, Tuilagi was the side’s shining light. He softened up the Tongan defence with a number of strong carries, the third of which saw him power over the try line. He scored his second supporting a May break.
https://twitter.com/ITVRugby/status/1175726654922121217?s=20
- Owen Farrell – 7
Farrell impressed as a carrier on a couple of occasions, including an incisive counter-attack. His kicking was effective, both from hand and at the goal posts, whilst his defence was typically manful, including a rip in contact on a Tongan carrier.
- Jonny May – 6.5
A clinic in drawing men and making the simple pass. May executed his core skills very well, as was exemplified by his inside ball for Tuilagi’s second try. He was safe under the high ball whenever tested, too.
- George Ford – 6.5
After his tactical kicking looked slightly off early in the first half, it became a major strength of his play as the game went on. His quick-stepping in the tight impressed, as did his support of multiple breaks.
- Ben Youngs – 7
Generally made the right calls and had England playing at a tempo that suited their conditioning and not Tonga’s. His box-kicking was largely contestable and the decision to go himself on a tap penalty aside, it was a solid performance from the scrum-half.
- Joe Marler – 6.5
Marler’s physicality in the tackle helped take the early sting out of the Tongan attack and he was able to force a maul and turnover in the loose. He also held up well against the sheer weight and size of Ben Tameifuna at the scrum.
- Jamie George – 7.5
The hooker was flawless at the lineout, connecting with all 11 of his throws, the last of which saw him grab a try from a driving maul. A clean and effective performance from George, who was solid in the loose, without being overly busy.
- Kyle Sinckler – 6.5
Not the cleanest performance from Sinckler early on, who was involved in a couple of penalties, although his trademark playmaking and soft hands close to the ruck brought England plenty of carrying success. Scrummaged solidly to start, before beginning to go after his opposite number in the second half.
- Courtney Lawes – 7
Led the way with his line speed around the fringes and physical defence. He was influential on both sides of the lineout and had a couple of powerful carries and nice touches to bring others into play.
- Maro Itoje – 8.5
A gargantuan performance from the lock, who ruled the skies, winning five lineouts on England’s ball and securing steals at two Tongan lineouts. He also chipped in with two further turnovers of his own, as well as contributing to three more team turnovers that England won.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1175742421843546112?s=20
- Tom Curry – 7
An early drop when under no pressure was an ignominious start, although the flanker made up for it with his work on the kick chase and by forcing a turnover at the breakdown. He secured another valuable turnover at a Tongan maul in the second half.
- Sam Underhill – 6.5
The openside was frequently on hand as a support runner and was unlucky to be denied a try after latching on to one of Tuilagi’s breaks. He and Curry shared the workload at the contact area, frequently the first men in slowing down Tongan ball. Like Curry, blotted his copybook with an unpressured knock-on.
- Billy Vunipola – 7
The No8 forced a maul turnover early and looked set for a big game, although a hammering Tongan tackle midway through the second half seemed to slam the brakes on, somewhat. He was still effective in the tight and helped deliver England front-foot ball, although not as regularly used as he is often is.
BOOMFA?#ENGvTGA #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/olikBzXWFn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 22, 2019
Replacements
- Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6.5
The lineout kept ticking along after Cowan-Dickie’s arrival and he was on hand to support Jonathan Joseph’s break and secure the bonus point for England.
https://twitter.com/ITVRugby/status/1175744781160521728?s=20
- Ellis Genge – 5.5
The loosehead came under a bit of pressure at the scrum and spilled a pop pass from George Kruis.
- Dan Cole – 6
The scrum became a bit of a mess once both teams went to their bench, minimising the impact Cole was able to have.
- George Kruis – 6.5
The lock became England’s favoured lineout target after arriving and injected some impetus as a ball-carrier and at the maul.
- Lewis Ludlam – 6
The flanker was a physical carrier and tackler after coming on and Jones trusted him on the openside, keeping Curry on the blindside.
- Willi Heinz – 6
Carried on where Youngs left off and kept the tempo up for England, who were able to put Tonga away and secure the bonus point.
- Henry Slade – 6
Came on at full-back and continued Daly’s counter-attacking incision and kicking option from deep
- Jonathan Joseph – 6.5
The centre looked lively after coming on. He nearly set up Watson for the bonus point, before making the break and then successfully teeing up Cowan-Dickie for the fourth try.
Watch: RugbyPass exclusive – Tonga: Road to Japan
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments