England player ratings vs Ireland - Autumn Nations Cup
After comfortably dispatching Georgia in their Autumn Nations Cup opener, England recorded their second victory over Ireland in the calendar year with an 18-7 win at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.
It was a victory built on remarkable physicality, energy and speed in defence, and was as smothering a performance as you’ll have seen this side of the Rugby World Cup final win by the Springboks.
We have run the rule over the England players below.
Elliot Daly – 6
One of the quieter players on the day for England. That said, he did nothing wrong and looked calm and composed throughout.
Jonathan Joseph – 7
Some solid carries and good defensive reads from Joseph and despite being a centre by trade, Ireland failed to test him out in the air or positionally with their kicking game.
Ollie Lawrence – 7
Lawrence’s confidence is growing at this level and he showed up well defensively against Ireland, as well as looking for the ball in attack more readily than he did against Georgia.
Henry Slade – 6
Not the most impact Slade has ever had on an English performance but there were one or two passes which cut out multiple Irish defenders and he shirked no responsibilities in defence.
Jonny May – 8
An exceptional outing for May, who crossed for two tries in the first half. His first was from a cross-field kick, the second from a length-of-the-field counter-attack. He was also effective in the aerial contest and with his smothering defence.
Owen Farrell – 7
A well-managed game from Farrell, whose tactical kicking kept England playing in areas of the pitch they were comfortable with. His line-speed in defence was also key to England’s victory, as he helped shut down a number of Irish attacks before they began.
Ben Youngs – 7
A lively performance from Youngs, who displayed plenty of the tempo and energy that his critics will often lambast him for lacking. Not spectacular but barely put a foot wrong in a strong team showing.
Mako Vunipola – 7
Vunipola helped England to a set-piece advantage of Ireland and was frequently on hand to meet Ireland’s power carriers close to the ruck, denying them any easy metres. A second half tackle that forced Bundee Aki back metres encapsulated his power and technique.
Jamie George – 7
Not quit the 100% accuracy at the lineout that George regularly turns in but with just one of his 12 throws off target, the set-piece was a strong foundation for England. He also popped up some good handling and carries in the loose.
Kyle Sinckler – 8
Sinckler put the heat on Cian Healy early at the scrum and was able to get himself into the game in the loose more frequently than he did against Georgia. Continued to impact the game positively deep into the second half.
Maro Itoje – 8
A typical infuriating performance from Itoje for the opposition, as he disrupted Ireland’s lineout and harassed their kickers for the entire game. He was also England’s favoured target at the lineout and gave his side a solid source of set-piece ball. Dominated the kick chase.
Joe Launchbury – 8
Launchbury was at his physical best on Saturday, repeatedly repelling Irish ball-carriers on or before the gain-line. He was a reliable lineout target for George, consistently disrupted the Irish throw and was even able to make an impact multiple times on the kick chase.
Tom Curry – 7
Trademark physicality and work rate in defence and at the contact area from Curry, who nullified much of the jackaling threat in the Irish side.
Sam Underhill – 8
The openside’s line speed in defence and accuracy and power in the chop consistently denied Ireland front-foot ball. He’s one-on-one tackle following Keith Earls’ break was almost certainly a try-saver, as it led to a turnover from Billy Vunipola.
Billy Vunipola – 8
Exactly the kind of influential performance Vunipola needed to dispel the doubters. His work as a ball-carrier, kick receiver and dominating defensively on the gain-line was thoroughly impressive.
Replacements
Tom Dunn – n/a
Came on too late to have an impact.
Ellis Genge – 6
The loosehead offer a strong carrying option on 1st phase ball and helped kill off any lingering hopes Ireland had of launching a comeback.
Will Stuart – 6
The England scrum wasn’t as dominant after Vunipola and Sinckler departed but there were not a lot of opportunities for Stuart to influence the game.
Jonny Hill – 6
Replicated Launchbury’s physicality in contact after replacing him and helped see out the win for England.
Ben Earl – 7
The back rower put in some big shots defensively after replacing Underhill. He also won a turnover on Ireland’s lineout 5m out from England’s try line and harassed the opposition at the breakdown in an effective cameo.
Dan Robson – 5
Arguably was positioned too deep to prevent the short kick and try from Jacob Stockdale in the final 10 minutes.
George Ford – n/a
Came on too late to have an impact.
Max Malins – 5
Like Robson, Malins looked to be slightly too deep on the Stockdale try but other than that, he had limited chances to make an impact on the game after replacing Joseph.
Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments