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England player ratings vs Scotland | 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations
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England player ratings vs Scotland | 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations
By Josh Raisey
England player ratings: England’s 12-match winning run came to a pitiful end against Scotland on Saturday, losing 31-20 in round two of the Guinness Six Nations at Murrayfield.
Scotland dominated the first quarter of the match, opening a 17-0 within 15 minutes, and while England clawed their way back, the hosts finished an eventful first half leading 24-10.
England found themselves in some encouraging positions in the second half, but a display riddled with errors meant the comeback was never on. Here’s how the players rated:
VIDEO
15. Freddie Steward – 5
Left covering three players off first phase while Henry Arundell was off the field for his yellow card, and Scotland duly punished England. Produced some key interventions when England were under pressure. Dependable amid a shower of mistakes and general ineptitude from England. Offloaded well in contact, but was caught out at times by the Scottish defence, who were able to hold him up.
14. Tom Roebuck – 3
Rushed out on Finn Russell in Scotland’s opening try, but couldn’t stop him flicking the ball away, leaving Maro Itoje tracking to unsuccessfully stop Huw Jones. Did not enjoy the aerial supremacy he’s grown accustomed to in his Test career, and could not impose himself at all with ball in hand. Handling was sloppy too.
13. Tommy Freeman – 5
Caught in a confused midfield melee off first phase as Scotland scored their second try. Deployed as a battering ram again with varying degrees of success, but looked far more comfortable again finishing the match on the wing.
12. Fraser Dingwall – 4
Like every outside England back, Dingwall was totally neutered by a rampant Scottish defence. Anonymous is perhaps the best description, which is maybe a compliment compared to some of the showings.
11. Henry Arundell – 2
Yellow carded for not releasing the tackler after scrambling to prevent a Scottish try – England had conceded a further 14 points by the time he returned. Responded with a try of his own, this week joining the line in the middle of the field, but had his second yellow – and therefore red card – for taking Kyle Steyn out in the air before the break was, of course, costly. Would have been a 1 had he not scored.
10. George Ford – 3
Timed the pass perfectly to put Arundell in for England’s opening try as England were scrambling to get into the match. However, the deciding moment in the match, was his failed drop goal when England were looking to narrow Scotland’s lead to 24-16 – seconds later and Scotland had a 31-13 lead. Could not give England the contestables they needed with his boot and seldom troubled the Scottish back field.
9. Alex Mitchell – 6
Sniped a lot around the breakdown frequently, and tried to give England the go-forward they so desperately needed. Had some errors in him still, but he was the England back who can hold his head highest.
1. Ellis Genge – 6
One of the most extreme cases of a mixed bag. Massive scrum penalty won on 20 minutes, which was more or less the first impact England made on the match – they scored a try from the ensuing penalty. Calamitous error for Ben White’s try – failing to collect a bobbling ball – but didn’t let that affect him, and responded with a scrum penalty soon after. His success against Zander Fagerson kept England in the match. Knocked on on the floor – which was a theme of England’s – when the visitors were peppering Scotland’s line.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 4
A no-arms tackle just piled more pressure onto England in the opening quarter when they were desperately looking to get a foothold in the game. Lineout throwing seemed rushed and disorganised early on – England still managed to win their lineouts, but with scrappy tap-backs. Finished his stint on the field with a 100 per cent record there. Won a penalty soon after the break on the ground and challenged consistently in that area.
3. Joe Heyes – 5
At the heart of some powerful driving mauls, but didn’t make a huge impression. Still clocked a respectable 10 tackles, the third-most from England, despite not playing the full 80
4. Maro Itoje – 5
Left covering far too much space for Scotland’s opening try, but that was hardly his fault. Fairly flat, like most of his team-mates in the first half, but came back with a lot of energy, but was another player guilty of spilling the ball on the floor when England were in a promising position. Didn’t even last an hour on the field, which was a surprise.
5. Ollie Chessum – 6
Athletically sprung out the line to intercept a pass off White soon after England’s first try, and generated the momentum to win a penalty. Tried his best to take the fight to Scotland in the tight, which he did, but errors across the field meant any progress was lost.
6. Guy Pepper – 5
Registered three dominant tackles from his 10 during his 56 minutes on the field, and stood up in the face of a storm, but couldn’t influence the match as much as he would have liked.
7. Sam Underhill – 3
Slipped off a tackle on his Bath team-mate Finn Russell, who was able to kick on through for Scotland’s third try. Only mustered five tackles in his 40 minutes on the field before being hooked at half time. A rare poor showing from the flanker.
8. Ben Earl – 7
England did not have the momentum they are used to, but Earl continued to carry in the close quarters, bringing some sharp footwork before contact. Continued to carry relentlessly throughout the match, topping the tackle count with 23 carries – by far and away the most in the match – and was held up late on before scoring a try of his own at the death. England’s best performer, though that’s hardly an accolade.
Replacements
16. Jamie George – 5
Entered the fray like a rabid dog and charged around everywhere. Ultimately, in vain, however, as the match was effectively lost.
17. Bevan Rodd – 4
Was able to maintain scrum dominance that Genge enjoyed initially, but couldn’t sustain it, and was even penalised himself there, which extinguished England’s last hope of winning.
18. Trevor Davison – 4
Nothing of note in his 15 minutes on the field.
19. Alex Coles – 4
Penalised at one point, and was left running in a maelstrom during his cameo.
20. Tom Curry – 5
Came on after half time to join a team vastly under the pump and there was an immediate injection of energy in England’s play – probably helped by the mother of all rollickings at half time.
21. Henry Pollock – 6
Came on after Arundell’s 20-minute red card for the final 20 minutes of the match under more pressure than he has ever been under in his fledgling Test career, and tried his hardest to make an impact, and to be fair, he did better than anyone else – a penalty won in front of his posts and a couple of strong carries.
22. Ben Spencer – 5
Had a huge task to overturn a 31-13 deficit in the final 12 minutes.
23. Fin Smith – 5
Replaced Arundell after the 20-minute red card, but left a hotchpotch of a backline which failed to function.
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