England player ratings vs France
Paris played host to the latest edition of ‘Le Crunch’ on Sunday afternoon, with a rejuvenated French side running out 24-17 victors in what is one of the most emotionally-charged rivalries in international rugby.
England struggled to impose themselves physically or in attack throughout the game and the lack of incision in the latter, outside of two Jonny May solo efforts, will be particularly worrying for Eddie Jones and his side as they prepare for the Calcutta Cup in Scotland next week.
We have rated all 23 of England’s players below.
- George Furbank – 5
The full-back did well defensively and aerially on debut, although he struggled to make the offensive impact he would have liked. On two occasions, he spilled passes from George Ford, the first of which was low and difficult to take, although the second the Northampton Saint was guilty of over-running.
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Watch: Andy Farrell and Jonny Sexton face the press after Ireland’s 19-12 win over Scotland
- Jonny May – 7
Even England’s Mr Consistent struggled to impress against France in the first half. He missed a couple of tackles on the kick chase, stopped chasing back for Charles Ollivon’s first try and was unable to involve himself offensively for much of the game. He turned it around in the second half, however, as he scored two excellent solo tries and reignited England’s hopes of a win.
- Manu Tuilagi – 6
The centre carried physically twice early in the first half and looked to be set for a strong game in Paris, although he left the field with an injury shortly after making that impact.
- Owen Farrell – 4
An uncustomary quiet and ineffective showing from Farrell, whose positive attacking impact was limited and even included a couple of rare handling errors. He successfully connected with all three of his kicks, though.
- Elliot Daly – 4
Like May, it was a largely quiet performance from Daly. He was safe defensively and, for the most part, dealing with the high ball, although there was little he could to positively impact the game in attack. A booming kick that rolled out of the back of France’s 22 also denied England some momentum after May’s much-needed try.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1223904462236012544?s=20
- George Ford – 5
The fly-half’s kicking from hand radar seemed slightly off in Paris, as he tended to put too overkick and ask too much of chasers such as Maro Itoje and Sam Underhill. He was aggressive in defence, found a beautiful deep touch in the second half and had a couple of moments with the ball in hand, although it was not the commanding performance many expected of him.
- Ben Youngs – 4
It was a game to forget for Youngs, who struggled to impact the game positively in the loose. He overkicked England’s chase regularly, missed a tackle on Vincent Rattez that saw the wing scamper over for a try and his pass to Furbank, which should have ended with a score, was too low for the full-back to take comfortably and in stride.
- Joe Marler – 8
Marler was consistently impressive in Paris and took the game to the France’s debutant tighthead prop at the scrum. With England regularly overkicking their kick chase, too, Marler was frequently on hand to make a physical tackle on the French kick returner once he had made the initial chase of England miss, thanks to the time and space afforded by the kick.
- Jamie George – 6
After some early struggles, the hooker connected with nine of his 11 lineouts and was typically busy in attack and defence. The work rate was never in question, but he was unable to have the significant positive impact he usually does in the loose and the tight for England.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1224000731553857536?s=20
- Kyle Sinckler – 7
Sinckler went very well at the scrum on Sunday afternoon, although his impact in the loose was uncharacteristically quiet. He wasn’t able to replicate the impact usually provided by the Vunipola brothers and the opportunities to show off his impressive ball-handling were few and far between.
- Maro Itoje – 6
A real mixed bag of a performance from England’s talisman who was impactful at the lineout, which included four takes, one steal and pressure on the French throws, and in defence, as he forced two knock-ons in the carry. He was unable to exert the same influence offensively, though, as he coughed up a couple of penalties and wasn’t able to impose himself as a ball-carrier.
- Charlie Ewels – 5
The lock struggled to fill the boots of George Kruis and, one impressive lineout steal aside, didn’t provide the set-piece impact that was expected. He also spilled a ball in contact to end the first half and he will need to turn in improved performances moving forward if he is to pressure Kruis, Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury for their spots in the squad.
- Courtney Lawes – 6
Lawes picked up the slack in terms of the quantity of ball-carrying with the Vunipola brothers missing, although he couldn’t quite replicate their incision and ability to get over the gain-line. He was strong on the fringes defensively, though, and was targeted successfully five times at the lineout by George.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1223923591303049216?s=20
- Sam Underhill – 6
A solid showing from the openside who was busy pouncing on loose balls, clearing out at the ruck in attack and offering himself as a ball-carrying option, although as with much of the England pack, his endeavour and work rate didn’t necessarily translate to execution and impact.
- Tom Curry – 5
Curry had his moments as a ball-carrier, although it was not the same standard of performance – as a No 8 – that England fans have become accustomed to seeing from Billy Vunipola. It included a knock-on and a couple of messy balls at the base of a scrum that was generally going very well for England.
Replacements
- Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
The Exeter Chief connected with his lineouts after arriving and brought a physical edge as a ball-carrier as England fought their way back into the game.
- Ellis Genge – 7
Genge set the tone with a big tackle on Romain Ntamack just moments after his arrival. The loosehead kept up England’s scrum advantage, too, and provided them with some much-needed energy.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1223913690010771462?s=20
- Will Stuart – 6
Limited opportunity to impact the game after coming on late.
- George Kruis – 6
Kruis had a couple of telling involvements after his introduction and will be unlucky if he does not return to the starting XV against Scotland.
- Lewis Ludlam – 6
Played with mobility and aggression after arriving, though chances to impact the game were limited.
- Willi Heinz – 6
Heinz provided much more zip and tempo to England and the team’s performance rose partly due to his introduction.
- Ollie Devoto – n/a
An unused replacement.
- Jonathan Joseph – 6
With France in complete control of the game for the most part, Joseph struggled to make an impact after replacing Tuilagi. He was unlucky not to have a try on a sharp inside line, which the French defence was penalised for being offside at, although England failed to capitalise on the ensuing scrum.
Watch: Don’t Mess with Jim – Jim picks his all-time Six Nations XV
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments