England player ratings vs Wales - 2021 Six Nations
In what was a game that will be remembered as much for the refereeing decisions as it will for the rugby that was played, England succumbed to their second defeat of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations, as they fell to a 40-24 loss to Wales in Cardiff.
Grand Slam next?! #sixnations2021 #WALvsENG pic.twitter.com/eO22GS7GvJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 27, 2021
Despite the disparity on the scoreboard, there were plenty of encouraging displays from the English players, although the old theme of indiscipline costing them in crunch games came back to haunt them. In attack, England really flashed signs of life after some struggles of late.
Nevertheless, significant errors in key moments cost England and that is reflected in the players ratings below.
1. Mako Vunipola – 6
The loosehead hit the ground running with a couple of strong carries and held his own at the scrum. He erred on the wrong side of the referee’s whistle away from the set-piece, though.
2. Jamie George – 5
One of George’s quieter performances in an England jersey and although only one of his lineouts was lost, the English set-piece did not seem as fluid and clinical as it has shown itself to be in recent years.
3. Kyle Sinckler – 7
In addition to anchoring the English scrum, Sinckler impressed in defence with his line speed and the physicality of his tackling, even in space against more agile ball-carriers. He was also on hand to snaffle loose balls on the floor and his excellent ball placement set up Anthony Watson’s first half try.
4. Maro Itoje – 5
It’s a game of fine margins and Itoje was inches away from a number of very impressive defensive plays, although he got on the wrong side of the referee early and earned himself four first half penalties. HIs contributions outside of that were effective, though it’s hard not to say the infringements blotted his copybook.
5. Jonny Hill – 5
Hill started the game strongly with his work at the lineout and exerting his physicality in defence, though his second half penalty cost England a try.
6. Mark Wilson – 6
Wilson ticked the boxes in defence and at the breakdown in attack, helping give England’s quick and secure ball.
7. Tom Curry – 7
A typically hard-working defensive performance from Curry, who was regularly part of the two-man tackles which denied Wales front-foot ball in the middle of the pitch. That said, even Curry wasn’t immune from England’s discipline issues.
8. Billy Vunipola – 8
After labelling his own performances as “rubbish” in recent weeks, Vunipola turned in a much better game with ball in hand in Cardiff. His carrying was strong and he was regularly coming on to the ball at speed, consistently giving England front-foot ball and/or drawing in multiple Welsh defenders to stop him.
9. Ben Youngs – 6
There were a couple of moments when Youngs’ passes did not quite their mark but the scrum-half was on the money for the vast majority and showed in the second half that he still has the ability as a threat around the fringes to keep defences honest and on their toes.
10. George Ford – 6
Ford’s silky handling and measured passing was a key contribution to one of England’s more impressive attacking phase play performances in the last year. He dove-tailed nicely with Owen Farrell and the combination prospered when they were delivered quick ball by the English pack.
11. Jonny May – 6
As ever, May chased kicks effectively and energetically, although opportunities for him to get his hands on the ball in space were few and far between. He dealt well with the contested aerial bombs, too.
12. Owen Farrell – 7
Although focus will fall on Farrell’s responses to the refereeing decisions in the first half, his performance around that was very impressive. As mentioned earlier, he combined well with Ford and he offered an effective carrying option outside of the playmaker. He was also clinical in defence and added 14 points to England’s total.
13. Henry Slade – 6
A solid outing from Slade who didn’t do anything wrong in the moments he was involved in the game, both offensively and defensively. That said, it still feels like at times that England don’t know how to get the best out of Slade’s skill set.
14. Anthony Watson – 7
Watson continued his impressive Six Nations on Saturday. He looked for work off of his wing, showcased his acceleration, footwork and power in attack, and was solid defensively and in the aerial battles.
15. Elliot Daly – 5
The full-back had a couple of good aerial takes under pressure from Wales, although his work on the counter-attack, specifically how early he would attempt to step the defence, looked like a man a little short of confidence. A spill in the back line also cost England a possible try late in the first half, too, and was one of four turnovers conceded.
Replacements
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
A missed tackle aside, Cowan-Dickie added some much needed oomph in attack and connected on his sole lineout.
17. Ellis Genge – 5
The loosehead provided some nice momentum with a couple of dominant tackles, although he also contributed to England’s discipline issues with a late penalty.
18. Will Stuart – n/a
Unused replacement.
19. Charlie Ewels – 5
An unnecessary penalty at a lineout deep in Wales’ territory robbed England of momentum and a chance to pressure their opponents.
20. George Martin – n/a
Unused replacement.
21. Ben Earl – 6
Earl offered a nice handling and distribution option in the England back row after his arrival, although his opportunities to impact the game were limited.
22. Dan Robson – 4
Even Robson wasn’t immune from England’s indiscipline and a penalty for changing his lane allowed Wales to kick at goal and make it a two-score game with less than 10 minutes left to play, as well as throwing an intercept pass when England were approaching the Welsh try line.
23. Max Malins – n/a
Came on too late to have an impact on the game.
Comments on RugbyPass
Should've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to comments