England player ratings vs Argentina
In the first real test of England’s Rugby World Cup campaign, they looked professional against Argentina in racking up a bonus point win and a 39-10 scoreline, even if it could have been an even larger margin.
Los Pumas lost Tomas Lavanini to a red card early in the first half and although England were able to get the four tries they wanted, they struggled to expose the South American side and make the most of their numerical advantage, save for a five minute flourish at the death.
Check out our England player ratings versus Argentina below.
- Elliot Daly – 7.5
It was the first game of the Rugby World Cup where an opponent really attempted to test Daly defensively and he passed with flying colours. He was proficient in the air and positionally, whilst his handling and counter-attacks facilitated plenty of positives for England, including his own try.
https://twitter.com/ITVRugby/status/1180405867067236352?s=20
- Anthony Watson – 6.5
The Bath flier had a couple of incisive runs that evaded a number of tackles, but the ball very rarely seemed to find its way out to him, as England prospered more regularly when they moved it to the left. He was good in the air, too, when tested.
- Manu Tuilagi – 6
A relatively quiet start from Tuilagi in terms of carrying and he was lucky not to see a yellow card for his challenge on Emiliano Boffeli in the air. He began to carry more as the game went on, although it was not quite the influential impact he offered against Tonga.
- Owen Farrell – 5.5
It was far from Farrell’s best performance in an England jersey, not least so for his wayward kicking at goal, where he was successful on just four of his eight attempts. His tackling and kicking from hand were more effective, however.
- Jonny May – 7
An effective and balanced outing from May, who was as adept defensively as he was offensively. He kept his depth and width well for his try, as well as proving elusive when he came off his wing looking for work.
- George Ford – 8
A strong show of playmaking from the fly-half who not only drew men and provided the scoring passes for the tries of May and Daly, he also grabbed one of his own in the second half. He kicked into space well, too, as Argentina tired.
- Ben Youngs – 7.5
One kick out on the full aside, Youngs’ box-kicking was very effective. He also brought tempo and energy to the play, something which clearly began to tire Argentina following their reduction to 14 men. He deserved his try at the end of the first half.
https://twitter.com/ITVRugby/status/1180407182346600448?s=20
- Joe Marler – 7
The loosehead seemed to be finding his feet at the first couple of scrums, before going on to put Juan Figallo under repeated pressure at the set-piece. Helped provide quick ball for Youngs to work with.
- Jamie George – 6.5
The Saracens hooker uncharacteristically missed a throw against Argentina, although he was successful on his other 10 attempts. It was one of his quieter performances in the loose for England, despite being highly proficient at the set-piece.
- Kyle Sinckler – 7
Sinckler was lucky to avoid a card early in the game for a no arms tackle, though he worked hard to redeem himself. His scrummaging was strong and his playmaking at first receiver, with cut-back and pop passes, helped England’s pack get over the gain-line.
- Maro Itoje – 7.5
Although the scoreline suggests a one-sided game in which England dominated in attack, it was defensively where Itoje stood out. His line-speed and physicality of his tackles were crucial for England. He also won five lineouts, stole an Argentine throw and forced a rip in the contact.
- George Kruis – 6
A quieter game from Kruis who, despite being successfully targeted at three lineouts, didn’t have his usual influence in the loose. He was still an important defensive communicator and organiser in the line, though.
- Tom Curry – 6.5
The flanker provided England with their third lineout option and was a physical tackler throughout. He moved over to No 8 after Billy Vunipola left the field and did a decent job of controlling the game from there.
- Sam Underhill – 6.5
Underhill’s chasing of kicks and chop tackling were his points of difference in the first half, before he became a more prominent carrying option in the second half.
- Billy Vunipola – 5.5
The No 8 struggled to win the physical contest that he usually excels at and that was illustrated by his two knock-ons in the first half. He got through a solid amount of work but was replaced at half time by Lewis Ludlam due to a possible ankle injury.
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Replacements
- Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
The hooker connected with his only lineout after coming on and it led to a try for the Exeter Chief, who dotted down from the subsequent maul.
- Mako Vunipola – 5.5
Vunipola coughed up a scrum penalty just after coming on and missed a tackle that led to Argentina’s late try in his first appearance since his injury.
- Dan Cole – 6
Scrummaged well after coming on, although he didn’t have too much else to do with the game already won.
- Courtney Lawes – 6.5
The lock brought his physicality to bear after coming on in the second half, forcing a knock-on and tackling with ferocity.
- Lewis Ludlam – 7
The Northampton Saint offered plenty of impact from the bench, particularly with his carrying, when his strong leg drives in contact brought England gain-line success.
- Willi Heinz – 6
Kept the tempo up following Youngs’ departure as the game moved away from tactical kicking and England attempted to stretch Argentina.
- Henry Slade – n/a
Only had the opportunity to make one pass after replacing Ford and will be hopeful of having more of an impact in subsequent games.
- Jack Nowell – 7
Dazzled with his footwork after coming off the bench and powered his way out of contact and over the try line to add some gloss to the England score line.
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Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments