England player ratings vs Fiji | Nations Championship 2026

England player ratings: England recorded their first win in six Test matches, and only their second of 2026, with a resounding 73-8 victory over Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday in round two of the Nations Championship.

Despite the clarion call from the England fandom for Steve Borthwick’s side to play with more attacking freedom, there was little need for that in the first half in Liverpool, with the forwards doing the damage at the scrum and with their driving mauls, meaning the ball seldom needed to go out wide.

The game was more or less over with England leading 35-3 at half-time, with Fiji reduced to 14 players permanently, but they kicked on in the second half with what looked to be a patchwork of a backline.

A win is a win for England, and while Fiji were disappointing, the victors did everything they needed to do to arrest their slump.

Onto Argentina next for England, with players picking up some form ahead of their last match of the season. Here’s how the players rated:

15 Marcus Smith – 8
Scored the opener, bizarrely, via the corner flag, where he was the quickest to react. Faced almost no pressure in the backfield, and could make some dangerous runs. Played the final 20 minutes at scrum-half following an injury to Alex Mitchell, which only added another string to his bow. 0/10 goes to Smith’s boots, which saw him slipping all over the place, where he was reduced to just a spectator in the backfield for Kalaveti Ravouvou’s disallowed try.

14 Tommy Freeman – 7
Seemed inches away from scoring all match, with the bounce of the ball frequently depriving him of adding more tries to his name. His telepathic relation with Fin Smith was another strong case why he should play on the wing, as that link-up is non-existent when playing in the centres. That versatility did come in handy, though, as he moved around in a rejigged backline in the second half.

13 Henry Slade – 8.5
Saw his return to the England team temporarily cut short at the 30-minute mark due to an HIA. Returned after the break, and was crossing the line at the hour mark, receiving a ball inside Noah Caluori and then having the strength to wrestle the ball over the line. Returned the favour to his winger soon after, slinging a perfect pass after drawing contact for Caluori to score in the corner. Towards the end of the game, he was playing with total freedom and ease and had the Fijian defence in tatters, timing a short pass perfectly to put Henry Pollock in for his second try. Made a very strong case to reclaim England’s No.13 jersey.

12 Seb Atkinson – 7
Levelled by Levani Botia on one occasion and took some big hits. Kept coming back though, and was rewarded with a try when supporting a Jack van Poortvliet break. Adopted more of a role as a distributor than a carrier, passing more often than he took the ball into contact – maybe played the ‘glue’ role this week than having any standout moments.

11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – 7
Made some unglamorous but momentum-building carries all match, beating nine defenders – just watch his carry in the build-up to Benhard Janse van Rensburg’s try to see the kind of impact he made. Added a touch of pure class in the second half, leaping to score in the corner.

10 Fin Smith – 8.5
Had his first chance to launch an attack after five minutes, delivering a cross-field kick that was initially missed by Freeman, but bounced off the corner flag for Smith. That cross-kick combination with Freeman worked well. It wasn’t relentless attacking rugby, but whenever England looked to spread the ball, the Northampton Saint’s decision making was flawless, delivering some crisp, flat passes and pinpoint kicks wide. As ever, threw his weight in defensively, producing some vital cover tackles.

9 Jack van Poortvliet – 7.5
Made a concerted effort to play with more tempo this week after a clear lassitude with his delivery against the Springboks. Looked to attack around the fringes too, sniping to set up Atkinson’s try. Much improved from last week, albeit against different opposition.

1 Ellis Genge – 7
Operated effectively as England’s penalty machine at the scrum alongside Heyes, picking apart a weak Fijian scrum, which wasn’t helped by going down to seven in the first half. Led England’s tackle count, with nine, before leaving the field before the 50-minute mark. Provoked Simione Kuruvoli into stamping on him and receiving a yellow card, does that contribute to a player’s rating though?

2 Jamie George – 6
At the back of a driving maul for England’s second try, but was fairly quiet elsewhere in his 50 minutes on the field. Lineout functioned perfectly, and made no errors. Safe, if unspectacular.

3 Joe Heyes – 7
Drew first blood at the scrum two minutes into the game, forcing a penalty, and most scrums followed a similar pattern, barring one penalty conceded for collapsing the scrum after 11 minutes. Didn’t post the kind of numbers in the loose he has over the past year, but did his main job.

4 Alex Coles – 7
Topped England’s tackle count with 10, and maintained his energy throughout the match, but this was a quiet display. Nevertheless, a cog in a powerful machine up front, which won the game for England.

5 George Martin – 6
Sometimes, technical terms don’t quite suit Martin’s impact. ‘Melted’, ‘smashed’, and ‘banged’ are the most apt for the kind of damage the Saracens-bound lock did in the tight. Maybe didn’t have the highlights he had against the Springboks, and his stats were less impressive with only four tackles and four carries in 48 minutes, but he is working his way back into Test rugby.

6 Ollie Chessum – 6
Another player that was quieter than usual, but that sometimes happens in matches like that. Only made two carries, but 10 tackles is a decent return. Was England’s go-to man at the lineout by some margin, which is part of the boon of having him in the back-row.

7 Guy Pepper – 7
Scored his first try for England shortly before the half-hour mark, wriggling through two tacklers to work his way over after quickly picking from the ruck. Made a strong case to start, particularly by challenging the breakdown more than anyone did last week.

8 Ben Earl – 7
Ran some smart lines to astutely avoid running directly into the Fijian forwards. Topped the match’s tackle count with 13 carries, and led England’s tackle count, 10, when he left the field after 60 minutes. Cannot not mention his assist for Pollock’s first try – a perfectly-weighted grubber kick for his fellow back-row to chase and score.

Replacements
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
Had a try chalked off shortly after coming on for a double movement.

17 Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 7.5
At loosehead this week, having packed down as a tighthead against the Springboks. That didn’t seem to bother him, as he won a penalty at the scrum and maintained the same level of dominance there that his predecessors had.

18 George Kloska – 7.5
Enjoyed the perfect situation for a tighthead to make their debut, against a Fijian scrum that was wilting every time they packed down.

19 Tom Curry – 6
Put Henry Pollock in for his third try with a nicely timed pass. Saw another pass go to ground, but didn’t offer a lot else.

20 Henry Pollock – 9
With over 30 minutes off the bench, it seemed inevitable that Pollock would score, and so he did, showing his pace to chase an Earl kick. Had his second when he ran a short line off Slade to race in from 40 metres. Both tries exhibited some elite pace. Had his hat-trick with seconds before the end, running another devastating line off a maul.

21 Alex Mitchell – N/A
Had a very short stint on the field, picking up what appeared to be yet another hamstring injury shortly after coming on.

22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 8
Scored a try with his very first touch of the ball, running a short, hard line to score England’s fourth try after replacing Slade. His pull-back pass to Fin Smith for Caluori’s try in the final quarter unlocked the Fijian defence completely and was a nice sign that he is already gelling with his new backline.

23 Noah Caluori – 8
Made his debut in the final 20 minutes and had an assist to his name soon after coming on, delivering a pass inside to Slade to score. Wasn’t seen making one of his infamous leaps to catch a high ball, but he was leaping over the line to score with 15 minutes remaining.