England player ratings vs Springboks | Nations Championship 2026

England player ratings: South Africa condemned England to their fifth Test loss in a row with a 45-21 win at Ellis Park in the Nations Championship on Saturday.

After days and weeks of hype leading into the match, England barely turned up in the opening 10 minutes, falling off tackles and dropping balls as the hosts raced to an early 17-0 lead.

But the visitors clawed their way back into the match and were only trailing by three points before the break, 17-14.

The Boks pulled away after half time, however, aided by some poor discipline by England, which has been an all-too-common issue for Steve Borthwick’s side in 2026.

Despite the defeat, there were some eye-catching displays. Here’s how the players rated:

15. Marcus Smith – 5
A late addition to the XV following George Furbank’s illness, and in his more unfamiliar role at full-back, and there did seem to be an alarming lack of communication with his back three early on, as high balls were not being claimed. That was an issue that appeared to get ironed out as the game progressed, and he was able to threaten from deep occasionally. Came close to bundling Kurt-Lee Arendse into touch, and perhaps should have in truth, for the Boks’ third try. Added plenty of value as a first receiver, although he came close to throwing a daft interception in his own half, only for Arendse to knock the ball on and receive a yellow card. Given how he was called up late on and how there are questions over his role as a full-back, he stood up in the face of an onslaught.

14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – 4.5
Like his fellow wing comrade Cadan Murley, never had an easy catch in the air, and came off second best in the aerial battle. He did appear to improve in that department after the break, but never looked fully composed. Had few opportunities to threaten in attack.

13. Tommy Freeman – 4
Penalised moments into the match to give the Boks their platform to score their opening try, as England appeared totally shell-shocked. Linked nicely with Seb Atkinson in the midfield, and his ability to distribute following half breaks was often a source of attacking promise for England. His strong carry off a lineout gave England the momentum they needed for their second try. Shifted to the wing for the final 30 minutes, and while he looked more comfortable there, he was penalised for a high tackle on Damian Willemse, for which he was yellow carded.

12. Seb Atkinson – 6
Had the thankless task of carrying into the guts of an insatiable Bok defence, but stood up to the challenge. His distribution before contact was slick as well.

11. Cadan Murley – 6
Not a position any player wants to find themself in, but was still made to look fairly foolish by Cheslin Kolbe as his opposite man stepped his way to score the Boks’ second try. Stronger in the air than Feyi-Waboso, and was able to put the Bok back field under pressure, but still had mistakes in him, taking Kolbe out in the air on one occasion before being substituted at 55 minutes.

10. Fin Smith – 6
Wasn’t afraid to take the ball to the line despite a ferocious Bok defence early on, which was needed as he sometimes opted to ship the ball when England just didn’t have the front-foot ball. His 50:22 before the break led to England’s try, and his probing kicks in the first half added pressure. Looked to have made the half-break and offload for England to score their first of the second half, but just couldn’t find Atkinson.

9. Jack van Poortvliet – 4.5
A nice snipe and offload in contact helped unlock the Bok defence on the way to England’s first foray deep into the hosts’ half. Too many of his box kicks had no chasers early on, but that is as much down to his team-mates as it is the quality of his kicking, and was something he improved. The Boks did challenge at the breakdown, but he lacked any urgency to get the ball away, and that almost cost him when he almost threw an interception shortly before half time.

1. Ellis Genge – 7
A high tackle deep in the Bok 22 was accidental but a mistake which released any pressure England had built. Redeemed himself with a try a few minutes later, going on his own with a quick tap and crashing over. That summed up the way he shouldered the responsibility in bringing the fight to the world champions. Didn’t have too much to do in the scrum, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

2. Jamie George – 5
Slipped off a tackle on Ox Nche as the Springboks rampaged towards their second try in a matter of minutes at the start. Looked to have smartly pounced to score England’s first try, but was pinged for being offside in the end. Lineout worked perfectly in his 57-minute stint on the field, where he also put in his share of tackles, 11.

3. Joe Heyes – 6
Like Genge, didn’t really have many scrums to sink his teeth into in the first half, but against the Boks, that would be the best-case scenario for most teams. Was penalised at the scrum on the hour mark. Played a key part in an all-Leicester try before half-time, hitting a dummy line for van Poortvliet to pass behind and Ollie Chessum and George Martin to link together.

4. Alex Coles – 7
Threw himself into plenty of rucks in an attempt to slow down and stifle any South African momentum. A quiet workhorse in England’s pack for most of the match, but had his moment when he crashed through two tacklers to score England’s first try of the second half.

5. George Martin – 8
A pull-back pass to no one in the first 10 minutes, though fairly innocuous, encapsulated how totally disorientated England appeared to be after a whirlwind start. But his strength lay in some meaty carries in the tight – something England have missed in his absence. His try before the break was pure grit and power, bouncing Jasper Wiese on the way to the line. A great return to Test rugby, playing an hour and hitting double figures for both carries and tackles.

6. Ollie Chessum – 7
Had to do better alongside George to stop Nche as the Boks burst through their line in the tight. Bounced back, though and had an industrious game on the flank. Put a lot of pressure on Malcolm Marx in the lineout and produced some steals. Often roamed on the wings, which almost resulted in him pilfering a try of Cheslin Kolbe at one stage. His subtle hands on the left flank put his club-mate Martin in for a try before the break. Grant Williams was his man to mark near the breakdown as the Boks scored the first try of the second half, but he drifted too wide. A game of highs and lows.

7. Tom Curry – 5
Quietly industrious, clocking 16 tackles in 55 minutes (the most at that stage), but didn’t have any standout moments. A lot of work was spent hitting rucks to try and prevent the Boks from slowing down English possession, and just couldn’t pose a threat at the breakdown in South African possession. Pinged early in the second half for the new mauling law, where he went beyond the ball, and was then 1/2 of the defensive lapse that resulted in Williams’ try early in the second half, although Chessum was more at fault.

8. Ben Earl – 7.5
Carried valiantly, with some nice footwork before contact, putting in some unreal numbers yet again in an England shirt with 21 carries. Made the most tackles as well for England, and was pivotal in their defensive effort after the break, which eventually resulted in Grant Williams’ try. A typical Ben Earl performance for England.

Replacements
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 5
Largely resolute in defence, although he was manhandled by Zachary Porthen in an explosive carry.

17. Beno Obano – 4.5
Came on with South Africa on top in both the loose and in the set-piece, where their scrum was starting to get the upper hand.

18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 6
Showed some nice footwork when carrying in the final 20 minutes.

19. Charlie Ewels – N/A
Only given a handful of minutes at the end.

20. Guy Pepper – 4
Added some energy to England’s defence, but was overzealous at one point, committing an early tackle to leave England down to 13 men.

21. Henry Pollock – 6
Entered the field to a chorus of boos, but immediately got his hands on the ball, linking with his club-mate Fin Smith. Noticeably added energy to the England attack.

22. Alex Mitchell – 5
Fell foul of the problems van Poortvliet faced early in the match, where his box kicks went too long, which may well have been a product of the altitude.

23. Henry Slade – 6
Drafted into the squad at the 11th hour but looked lively after coming on, hitting a blistering line to allow England to score the next phase for their first try of the second half. Didn’t see a lot of action other than that.