England report card: All 28 Nations Championship players rated

The bar was set pretty low for England heading into the Nations Championship this month – simply, win a rugby match again. Fortunately for their fandom, Steve Borthwick’s side are back to winning ways and are starting to rebuild after a hellish Six Nations. It didn’t come easily though.

After a manhandling at the hands of the world champions in round one, their fifth Test loss in a row, England returned to winning ways the following week against a Fiji side that looked more like 15 blokes on the third day of a stag do. They backed it up in round three against Argentina in a game which exhibited the best and worst of England, where each passage of play seemed to last only long enough for referee Angus Gardner to draw breath before blowing his whistle for yet another English infringement.

It was far from a flawless campaign. England’s discipline remained a recurring issue, with four second-half yellow cards threatening to derail them yet again in Argentina, while questions remain over their ability to cope with the world’s elite sides after falling well short against the Springboks.

But there were glimmers of progress. England rediscovered an attacking edge, looked far more cohesive with ball in hand and, perhaps most importantly, several key combinations began to click. The Fin Smith-Tommy Freeman connection flourished, Seb Atkinson continued to grow into Test rugby and Henry Slade reminded everyone of his value.

South Africa remain the benchmark and England are still some distance from matching them, but ending the season with two wins has at least restored some confidence ahead of the autumn. Here’s how the players rated.

Fixture

Nations Championship

England

09:10

8 Nov 26

Australia

All Stats and Data

Back three

Marcus Smith – 7.5
Forced into the No.15 shirt at short notice against South Africa after George Furbank underwent an appendectomy and improved with every outing. His versatility became invaluable, comfortably covering scrum-half twice while growing into the full-back role. Finished with two tries, looked increasingly dangerous in broken play and answered plenty of critics over his adaptability.

Tommy Freeman – 7.5
Every performance on the wing strengthened the argument that it remains his best position, despite Borthwick’s desire to use him in midfield against the Springboks. Outstanding aerially, moves well for a big man and constantly linked with Fin Smith. Three decent performances.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – 8.5
A quiet afternoon against South Africa gave way to two outstanding displays. Impossible to stop against Argentina, where he repeatedly broke tackles – 14 in total – and produced the match-winning score. Still room to improve under the high ball, but England’s biggest attacking weapon by far.

Cadan Murley – 6
Solid without ever fully convincing against the Springboks before an injury ended his series. Did little wrong but struggled to impose himself.

Noah Caluori – 6
Limited opportunities but looked composed on debut against Fiji, scoring a try and creating another. Barely played against Argentina, but did slip off a tackle on Bautista Delguy, which, on another day, could easily have resulted in a penalty try for a high tackle and cost England the win.

Centres

Henry Slade – 8
A huge reminder of what England had missed. Returned to the starting XV to orchestrate England’s attack against Fiji before producing another classy display in Argentina. Defensively outstanding, creatively influential and looked back to his best.

Seb Atkinson – 7.5
Continues to grow into Test rugby. Did plenty of the unseen work, carrying hard when required and acting as the link man in England’s improving attack. His defensive workload against Argentina, including 20 tackles, underlined his value.

Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 6
Only featured from the bench but made an immediate impression against Fiji with a debut try and smart distribution. Put his body on the line against Argentina.

Fly-half

Fin Smith – 7.5
Trusted at fly-half again for England for the first time since the 2025 Six Nations. Controlled games superbly against Fiji and Argentina, with his kicking game and decision-making giving England genuine attacking shape. His understanding with Freeman is rapidly becoming England’s most dangerous weapon.

Scrum-halves

Jack van Poortvliet – 6.5
Improved significantly after a difficult afternoon against South Africa. Played with greater tempo against Fiji before another mixed display in Argentina, where his yellow card almost proved costly despite some excellent attacking moments.

Alex Mitchell – 5.5
Barely had the opportunity to contribute after another hamstring injury curtailed his return, but did feature from the bench against the Springboks, where his kicking was off and largely faced one-way traffic.

Ben Spencer – 5
Given barely any time against Argentina, so it is hard to judge.

Props

Ellis Genge – 7
Set the tone physically throughout the series. Carried relentlessly, scrummaged well and continued to lead from the front. Discipline was a slight issue against South Africa and Argentina, but he made amends with a try against the Boks and some great scrummaging against the Pumas.

Joe Heyes – 8
Another great series. Dominant defensively, increasingly destructive at scrum time and remarkably industrious around the park. His tackle numbers against Argentina were exceptional for a tighthead.

Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 6.5
Continued to show his enormous potential, impressing on both sides of the scrum and carrying well against South Africa. Unfortunately had to withdraw ahead of the Pumas showdown.

Beno Obano – 6
Made one appearance before an injury – a bench cameo against the Springboks. Feels harsh to judge any prop on such a match – at altitude too – and it’s a shame he didn’t get a chance to express himself against the other sides.

George Kloska – 6
Handled a gift of a debut against a Fijian scrum that put up about as much resistance as tissue paper in a hurricane, but things were different the following week against the Pumas. A late call-up against Argentina following Opoku-Fordjour’s withdrawal, he was largely scrumming with only seven players, and it looked tough.

Emmanuel Iyogun – 5
Looked settled on his debut from the bench against Argentina, but his yellow card put his team-mates under enormous pressure.

Hookers

Jamie George – 5.5
Typically dependable at the lineout but his impact in the loose is starting to dwindle at the age of 35. Safe rather than spectacular.

Luke Cowan-Dickie – 5.5
Steady without making a significant impact.

Second-row

George Martin – 8
England have missed the Saracens-bound Martin enormously. Brought the carrying power they lacked during the Six Nations and grew stronger as the series progressed. Physical, confrontational and consistently effective.

Alex Coles – 7.5
Another excellent campaign. Worked tirelessly throughout, chipped in with tries and produced an astonishing 35 tackles against Argentina despite spending time in the sin-bin.

Charlie Ewels – 5
Five minutes in a losing cause against the Springboks.

Back-row

Ben Earl – 8
A contender for England’s player of the series once again. Led the carries in every match, tackled relentlessly and somehow continued producing elite performances week after week. His grubber assist for Pollock against Fiji summed up his ever-expanding skill set.

Ollie Chessum – 7
Mixed moments against South Africa but increasingly influential thereafter. His lineout work remained first class and his versatility continues to be invaluable.

Guy Pepper – 7
Responded brilliantly after a disappointing yellow-card cameo in Johannesburg. Added genuine breakdown threat against Fiji and Argentina while maintaining his exceptional work rate in defence.

Tom Curry – 5
Returned from injury but never quite imposed himself. Industrious as ever without reaching his usual standards.

Henry Pollock – 8.5
Three appearances from the bench only strengthened the debate around the 21-year-old’s role. A hat-trick against Fiji showcased his extraordinary athleticism before another impactful cameo in Argentina, albeit with a yellow card. He remains devastating once the game has broken up, so England may still benefit most by unleashing him against tiring defences rather than starting him. Even so, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Borthwick to justify leaving him on the bench. He may not have started any matches, but you cannot diminish the impact he made with the opportunities he was given.