England player ratings vs Wales
England wrapped up their Guinness Six Nations spring campaign with a 33-30 win over Wales at Twickenham.
With their March 14 game against Italy postponed and likely not to be played until October if at all, Eddie Jones’ men signed off a week earlier than originally planned having recorded impressive wins over Ireland and the Welsh to clinch the Triple Crown in a year where they had opened with defeat to France and victory over Scotland.
RugbyPass have rated all of the England players below as they began to slowly but surely dispel the demons of last November’s World Cup final defeat.
- Elliot Daly – 6
He moved over to the wing after an early injury to Jonny May and took his first-half try well. His positioning throughout was very solid, although there were a couple of missed tackles that the versatile back three player would want back.
- Anthony Watson – 8
An eye-catching return to the England team for Watson whose footwork left Welsh defenders for dead on a number of occasions, including his first-half try. His work on the kick chase was equally impressive and his decision-making in defence also reflected well on him come the final whistle.
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Jim Hamilton discusses the ramifications of the Six Nations going behind a TV paywall
- Manu Tuilagi – 7
England’s primary ball-carrier, Tuilagi was a consistent source of front foot ball for the home side at Twickenham. In addition to his trademark bulldozing carries, he also stepped up in the defensive line with some momentum-shifting tackles and was a weapon on the kick chase. Picked up a deserved try in the second half but also blotted his copybook with a late red card.
- Owen Farrell – 8
A well-rounded and polished performance from England’s captain, who nailed all six of his kicks and kept his team ahead of Wales on the scoreboard. With the ball in his hand he linked well with Tuilagi and George Ford, while his defence was physical and accurate without earning the ire of the referee for anything verging on a high tackle.
- Jonny May – N/A
The wing won back a contested ball on an early kick chase, but he suffered an injury in the process and wasn’t on the pitch long enough to influence the game too heavily.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236322336900603904?s=20
- George Ford – 7
Ford’s handling was pivotal to both Daly and Tuilagi’s tries and he thrived in the broken field situations. He didn’t necessarily pick Wales apart as first receiver and by squaring up the defence, but his contributions on the counter-attack and transition were influential. His kick-off in the second half that led to Justin Tipuric’s try was the one bad mark against him.
- Ben Youngs – 8
It was one of Youngs’ best showings in an England jersey over the past couple of seasons as he pulled the side’s strings from nine. His box-kicking was impressive, his inside pass put Watson in for his try and his dart around the fringes made the ground and sucked in the Welsh defence for Daly’s score later in the first half.
- Joe Marler – 7
Anchored the English scrum and exerted plenty of pressure on Wales. Picked up the slack as a ball-carrier close to the ruck, as well as defending influentially in the same area. Question marks over his ball-handling, though.
- Jamie George – 6
As ever, George did the basics well at hooker and was successful with all five of his throws. He made his mark in defence and at the breakdown, although he was relatively quiet in attack away from the accuracy of his clear-outs.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236363483752562691?s=20
- Kyle Sinckler – 8
The tighthead started solidly, staying square in the scrum and showcasing his deft handling to link play. As the first half went on, he started to more aggressively go after the Welsh scrum and came to the fore as an impactful ball carrier after the interval. Physical around the fringes in defence, too.
- Maro Itoje – 8
A nuts and bolts performance from Itoje, who was busy cleaning up loose balls on the deck, making big hits in the tackle at the forefront of England’s defensive blitz and taking over as the primary lineout target from Courtney Lawes. Seemed to get stronger and more influential the longer the game went on.
- George Kruis – 7
Kruis’ energy in the defensive line was once again his point of difference in this England side as he bounced from tackle to tackle and breakdown to breakdown. His communication, industry and physicality as a defender was key to a number of Welsh attacks that were repulsed at Twickenham. He even sparked an England counter-attack with a great read for an interception.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236345678445645825?s=20
- Courtney Lawes – 7
The blindside made his presence felt on defence, dovetailing nicely with Kruis and Tom Curry as England’s workhorses on that side of the ball. He stepped up with some solid involvements in attack and at the breakdown, too.
- Mark Wilson – 7
A solid return to the side after injury, Wilson was physical in defence for England and work hard clearing out at the breakdown. He couldn’t quite replicate Sam Underhill’s mobility or threat at the breakdown, but his contribution to England’s battle at the gain-line with Wales was noteworthy.
- Tom Curry – 7
Curry was every bit as reliable dealing with the kicks into England’s 22 that Billy Vunipola usually is and showcased his mobility getting from contact area to contact area as well as chasing England’s kicks. He was also industrious as a carrier, although couldn’t quite break the first line of defence with the regularity he might have hoped for.
Replacements
- Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
The arrival of Cowan-Dickie added an extra carrying threat for England, while he maintained his side’s set-piece efficiency.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236317735833010176?s=20
- Ellis Genge – 5
Bit the bullet for England with a yellow card for team infringements in the final ten minutes.
- Will Stuart – N/A
Came on too late to have any real influence on the game.
- Joe Launchbury – 6
Alongside Itoje he helped repel Wales’ late maul attacks on the England try line.
- Charlie Ewels – 6
Like Launchbury, Ewels lent his sizeable frame and ability to England’s late defensive stands.
- Ben Earl – 6
Showed off his mobility with a couple of good tackles in space as England saw out the final minutes with just 13 men.
- Willi Heinz – 6
Helped England see out the win at Twickenham, although in truth there was little left for him to do in attack as Wales were camped in England’s 22.
- Henry Slade – 7
Arrived into the game early due to May’s HIA, a change which quickly became permanent. He slotted in well at full-back and linked play with his passing, positioned himself effectively in defence and added another kicking option to an England backline that was already bursting with options. Made a try-saving tackle in the final ten minutes.
WATCH: World Rugby set to take action over tries scored at the butt of the post
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould'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.
27 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.
27 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?
11 Go to comments