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
The author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
141 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
141 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
141 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
141 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
141 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
141 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
141 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
141 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
141 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
141 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
141 Go to commentsHo hum.
141 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
141 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
141 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
141 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
141 Go to comments