England Player Ratings vs South Africa
England got their autumn off to a good, albeit nerve-wracking start, with a 12-11 victory over South Africa at Twickenham.
The Springboks dominated the first half, before England’s riposte in the second, and the match was in the balance right up until the final whistle.
We have run the rule over the 23 England players and rated their performances ahead of the gargantuan challenge that awaits against the All Blacks next week.
- Elliot Daly – 5
Struggled to deal with the contested high balls and, coming on to the ball, should have owned the space that South African players took up instead. His powerful left boot was used effectively in conjunction with Owen Farrell, as both an offensive touch-finder and a way to alleviate pressure within his own 22. He offered little threat as a counter-attacker, as the Springboks pinned England inside their own half for much of the game.
- Jack Nowell – 6
An industrious display from Nowell, who looked eager for work on and off his wing throughout the game. He seemed on the cusp of breaking out on a couple of occasions, but just couldn’t quite get the openings he needed to really hurt South Africa. Fulfilled all his defensive responsibilities against the dangerous Aphiwe Dyantyi.
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- Henry Slade – 6
There was a clear chemistry with Nowell outside him and Slade made some good defensive reads, but there was little offensive impact from the Exeter man. He was able to exert more influence in the second half, as England picked up the tempo and played with a confidence that looked to be missing in the first 40.
- Ben Te’o – 5
Te’o looked like a man who hasn’t played much rugby in the last six months. There were gaps in defence between him and Slade and he struggled to track Damian de Allende, as well as shift outwards when South Africa put some width on the ball. That said, when the Boks ran at him with one-out runners, he was powerful in driving them backwards.
- Jonny May – 8
There was not a blade of grass May didn’t cover at Twickenham. It wasn’t the kind of game for a winger to flourish offensively in, but his chasing of kicks was excellent and he constantly harried Springbok receivers and helped make the tactical kicking games of Farrell and Ben Youngs look so effective. Embarked on a slaloming counter-attack in the second half which really energised England.
- Owen Farrell – 7
Given the context of the game, there was not much more you could have asked of Farrell than what he gave. He defended resolutely in the first half and opened up the game as a playmaker in the second. His tactical kicking was strong, he knocked over nine of England’s 12 points and put his body on the line at the gain-line to create space for his teammates. Ripped the ball from Lood de Jager to help England see out the win.
- Ben Youngs – 7
One of the better performances from Youngs in an England jersey over the last year, as the scrum-half had plenty of success with his box-kicking and made multiple effective one-on-one tackles on England’s try line. His distribution, on the few occasions England had a sustained period of possession, was sharp and accurate.
- Alec Hepburn – 4
A tough day at the office for Hepburn who was penalised for collapsing a maul and was given a real work out by Frans Malherbe at the scrum. He ended up being replaced at half time by his club teammate Ben Moon.
- Dylan Hartley – 6
Hartley had a good game at Twickenham, losing just one lineout and delivering quick ball at the scrum, where England were overpowered. Did the nuts and bolts for England and made some crucial tackles when the home side were having to weather significant South African pressure in the first half.
- Kyle Sinckler – 7
The scrum went well initially but as the game went on, Steven Kitshoff began to turn the screw on Sinckler. An unnecessary offside penalty also blotted the prop’s copybook but he did have plenty of success around the gain-line, both as a carrier and a tackler. He got his impressive handling and passing game working in the second half, too.
- Maro Itoje – 6
The lock had a tough start to the game, giving away a penalty at the lineout and then took a yellow card which saved England from an almost certain try, but fortunately for Itoje, England actually weathered his sin bin period with a plus three swing on the scoreboard. Definitely grew into the game in the second half, offering much more of a carrying presence.
- George Kruis – 6
Kruis was England’s favoured target at the lineout and delivered quick, clean ball off the top. He had one infraction at a defensive maul but generally competed legally, managing one steal and helping throw off the usually accurate Malcolm Marx.
- Brad Shields – 6
Shields was solid, but perhaps overshadowed by his back row colleagues. Got through his fair share of work around the fringes and demonstrated impressive line speed. Killed an impressive England attack with an audacious offload attempt in the final 10 minutes, however.
- Tom Curry – 7
A strong showing in a relatively flat first half England performance. His tackling was powerful and dislodged the ball on one South African carry, whilst his own carrying was effective, regularly making metres over the gain-line. He also had an effect at the breakdown and was noticeably vocal, as he looked to be gaining more comfort in England’s seven jersey. Unfortunately for England, he hobbled off just a minute into the second half.
- Mark Wilson – 8
Not the powerhouse carrying display England usually seek from their eights, but it was a very competent performance from the Newcastle back rower. His work rate shone through at the breakdown and with his support play, whilst he dealt well with the high balls inside his own 22. He carried well, too, just not in a domineering fashion. His support on May and Nowell’s break in the final quarter of the game was the perfect illustration of his energy and work rate.
Replacements
- Jamie George – 6
The hooker had 100% success with his lineout throwing after entering the contest and put himself about in England’s crucial late defensive stand.
- Ben Moon – 7
Moon didn’t come on and dominate the scrum, but he did stay square, matched his opposite number and at least created a stronger platform for England to attack and defend off of. He won a crucial scrum penalty with less than 10 minutes to go.
- Harry Williams – 5
Couldn’t match the impact Moon had from the bench and had difficulty dealing with Thomas du Toit.
- Charlie Ewels – n/a
Came on with just a few minutes to play and didn’t really have a chance to affect the game.
- Zach Mercer – 7
Offered some immediate attacking impetus, running at the space between Springbok defenders and eagerly looking to free up his arms for offloads.
- Danny Care – 6
Care was largely limited to a defensive role after coming on, but alleviated pressure well with some good box-kicking.
- George Ford – 5
The fly-half got himself held up in a maul late in the game, conceding the penalty and possession.
- Chris Ashton – 6
Showed a couple of nice touches after coming on relatively late but didn’t have too much opportunity to influence the game.
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Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments