England player ratings vs Scotland | 2024 Guinness Six Nations
England player ratings live from Scottish Gas Murrayfield: This was the moment of truth for Steve Borthwick’s February progress. Not since the pandemic-affected 2020 championship, when they were last crowned champions, had England won more than two of their five matches in the Guinness Six Nations.
Having defeated Italy by three points and Wales by two in recent weeks, this was the perfect opportunity for them to illustrate they were indeed travelling in the right direction and that they do possess the nous to really build on last October’s surprise third-place finish at the Rugby World Cup. Those notions got a very rude awakening with this deflating 21-30 defeat which was riddled by a criminally gigantic number of handling errors.
England beating Scotland in the championship, of course, had become a rare thing of late, the Scots winning four and drawing one of the six most recent encounters before this latest fixture, but with four of their five XV changes tactical alterations, it suggested Borthwick had a proper plan cooked up and they started brilliantly.
Just 15 minutes were needed for the visitors to jump 10 points, George Furbank leading the charge with his fifth-minute try, but their defence then woundingly wobbled and they were 10-17 down before grabbing some drop goal relief to make the break just 13-17 behind.
That balm was temporary, though, as Duhan van der Merwe needed just five second-half minutes to complete his 25-minute try hat-trick, bringing the English leakage of five-pointers to eight in just over two-and-a-half games; not the improvement they believed they would get with Felix Jones’ blitz system replacing last year’s jittery championship rearguard under Kevin Sinfield.
There was eventually a 67th-minute try from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to get the margin back to nine points, but there was a general lack of urgency to properly turn this underwhelming performance around. Look at how the forwards were walking to a 76th-minute lineout when they should have bene sprinting. Here are the England player ratings:
15. George Furbank – 5.5
Shock inclusion for his seventh cap at the expense of Freddie Steward and his first in two years, he needed just five minutes to suggest justifying that selection with his Ash-splash style try finish. Blotted his copy, though, with the soft fumble that gave Scotland possession to run in their second van der Merwe try, and his middling effort was summed up by a pass into touch to nobody after trying to run it out from deep in the second half.
14. Tommy Freeman – 5.5
Continued to look like an improved player from his 2022 iteration, showing alertness to step in as scrum-half at one first-half breakdown to get England moving. Didn’t see enough of the ball, though, but he did defensively help England when switching to midfield in the game’s later part.
13. Henry Slade – 4
One to forget. Sketchy attacking start versus Wales and another here with knock-ons involvements on either side of the opening England try. The renewal of his midfield partnership with Ollie Lawrence for the first time since last year’s championship didn’t defensively gel either as his coverage was questionable for both first-half Scottish tries. Gone on 62 with England 11 points behind. Might not be back in this campaign.
12. Ollie Lawrence – 5.5
Another with some early handling issues; see his poor one-handed grasp at a difficultly low George Ford pass. His first outing with the Jones defence had the cruel moment of a decent tackle on Sione Tuipulotu not being rewarded as his rival offloaded, creating the momentum for the opening Scotland. Lacked genuine go-forward, finishing with a lame pass into touch.
11. Elliot Daly – 5
Needed to show more in attack than in the previous two rounds and he initially stepped up, gleefully giving Furbank the try assistant pass after breaking the Scottish line. His defence, though, came under fire with him not being in the position to reel in the offload-taking van der Merwe for England’s first points concession. The game then bypassed him after that.
10. George Ford – 5.5
Lively at the off, helping England to bring initial good shape to their attack. Momentarily rekindled his Argentina drop goal exploits to settle his team with a late first-half strike. He was also robust defensively judging by one ball rip on van der Merwe and a high tackle count. However, England’s attacking energy withered badly with a lack of cohesion in the 10/12/13 channel and he was sacrificed on 63 minutes.
9. Danny Care – 5
Taking over from the injured Alex Mitchell, he began busily before a 16th-minute overcooked touch finder sapped England’s early stride. Deteriorated from there, his last act on 44 seeing him watch on in despair as the nearest England man when van der Merwe collected Finn Russell’s crosskick to complete his hat-trick.
Congratulations @Scotlandteam ?#SCOvENG | #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/gnRdlKnuaY
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 24, 2024
1. Ellis Genge – 5.5
Another of the trio promoted from the round two bench to start, he carried way more in the opening than Joe Marler would have but there was not much gainline to be had. Exited on 62.
2. Jamie George – 6
Emotional afternoon for him, leading the team just 10 days after the death of his mother Jane, the “biggest rugby fan on earth”. He didn’t get the win he would dearly have loved, going off on 68 minutes with England 21-30 behind. The lost lineout that led to the third Scottish try will be annoying.
3. Dan Cole – 5
The scrum dominance England would have wanted from the veteran’s recall didn’t materalise and he left the fray on 56 with his team struggling for breakdown momentum.
4. Maro Itoje – 5.5
Looked decent when it came to pouncing on some loose ball and with his tackling. However, those positives weren’t near enough what was needed to keep the Scots quiet at the ruck.
5. Ollie Chessum – 5
Ultimately out-grunted where it most mattered, he was shifted to the back row with the introduction of the impressive George Martin.
6. Ethan Roots – 5
Carried and was physical in the early stages when England were on top on the scoreboard, but he soon fell way out of the reckoning. Gave Russell penalty points for an offside on 35 minutes and was hooked six minutes into the second period.
7. Sam Underhill – 5.5
Enjoyed a couple of penalty turnover wins but he was another eclipsed back-rower whose race was run early as he was subbed on 56.
8. Ben Earl – 6.5
A rare England solace. Scored a crucial try off scrum ball versus Wales and created one with a set-piece gallop here. Carried often and had a large tackle count on the other side of the ball. However, a rare miss gave Scotland their second try, and involvement in two second-half penalty concessions helped Russell to keep the scoreboard ticking.
??????? What an opener for @EnglandRugby ?
George Furbank with the first try of the match!#GuinnessM6N #SCOENG pic.twitter.com/lIm62pYp4B
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 24, 2024
Replacements:
16. Theo Dan – 4.5
Sent on with 12 minutes left to the urgency just after England’s second try, the desired impact didn’t materialise.
17. Joe Marler – 4
Moaned during the build-up about recent Scottish Calcutta Cup celebrations. Now has more reason to jeer after 18 minutes that didn’t give enough of a lift in the second half they ‘lost’ 8-13.
18. Will Stuart – 4
Struggled to make big impacts as a starter this month and it was similar here as a sub. His effort was encapsulated by getting ripped of the ball in the carry not long after his 56th-minute arrival.
19. George Martin – 7
Had 34 minutes for the out-of-sorts Roots and if you ignore his sloppy fumble at the restart after England cut the gap to 16-24, he was excellent and will surely be a starter the next day against Ireland.
20. Chandler Cunningham-South – 5
Given 24 minutes for Underhill, he didn’t shirk the tackles but it was ball carrying that England badly needed and it didn’t happen.
21. Ben Spencer – 5
Given 34 minutes in his first Test appearance since a 2019 World Cup final cameo. Tough going behind a wilting pack.
22. Fin Smith – 5.5
Unused the last day at Twickenham, he had 18 minutes to rescue England. It didn’t work out but there were smarts in how he visited the breakdown to protect Martin in the lead-up to the Feyi-Waboso score.
23. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – 6.5
Another left stewing on the round two sidelines, he was sent on for Slade and quickly made good his introduction with his first Test-level try.
??????? ?????? ?
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso straight over the try line for @EnglandRugby ?#GuinnessM6N #SCOENG pic.twitter.com/fmnhWCPluH
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 24, 2024
Comments on RugbyPass
Good summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
1 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
1 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
1 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
5 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
45 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
45 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
5 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
8 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
2 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
8 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
5 Go to comments