France player rating vs England | 2023 Guinness Six Nations
No matter what the fortunes of either side going into it, England-France in the Guinness Six Nations is always a highly anticipated, muscular affair and this contest was no different.
England coach Steve Borthwick had made a bold decision by starting Marcus Smith ahead of experienced fly-half Owen Farrell, who started on the bench. Meanwhile, Les Bleus were looking to end their long drought at Twickenham, having not won there in well over a decade.
Yet it was England who looked like the away side here, with France paddling Borthwick’s men in what was very much a case of men against boys in Twickenham. Worryingly bad from England and frightening good at times from France.
15 Thomas Ramos – 7.5
Showed decent gas to bag his opening try, his third of the Six Nations. Some mediocre strategic kicking early on was righted and by the end he was bossing the king of pitch exchanges. Won’t have liked being used as a speed bump by opposite number Freddie Steward on his way to the line but this was mostly a very good performance.
14 Damian Penaud – 8
Showed his mettle in the frequent high-stakes kicking battles that littered the first half. A busy afternoon in the wet, which was topped off after he cantered around a knackered Freddie Steward who looked like he had lead in his boots. Bagged another a few minutes later.
1:46 ?
France aren't waiting around at Twickenham#SixNations2023 | #ENGvFRA pic.twitter.com/HSKhFWxcig
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2023
13 Gael Fickou – 7.5
A couple of poor executions kicking out of hand but hit some sweet lines in attack. No box office moments this week even if his mere presence seemed to unnerve a feverish English midfield, who were suffering the effect of severe ball starvation.
12 Jonathan Danty – 8.5
Opened his account with a superb turnover 9 minutes in and showed a Manu Tuilagi-like ability to consistently break the gain line for France. Miles better than Yoram Moefana, who will find it hard to make it back into this team.
11 Ethan Dumortier – 7
Brilliant timing to put Ramos away for France’s first try but was kept relatively quiet after that.
10 Romain Ntamack – 8
Bar one shanked effort, he kicked well with ball in hand. So effortlessly cool that he looks bored most of time. His palm back for Flament’s second was low-key delightful. Magnificent.
9 Antoine Dupont – 8.5
Played his usual brand of dynamic rugby although showed he is human with a couple of handling errors in a rain-soaked Twickenham. Shone in the kicking stakes, although he was caught napping at the base of a few rucks by English defenders. Still by some distance the best player on the planet.
1 Cyril Baille – 7.5
Used as an effective carry option twice in the opening three minutes. A beautiful pick-up in wet occasions in the second half was a moment for the Toulousain.
2 Julien Marchand – 7.5
Latched onto Lewis Ludlum for a timely jackal that led to an attacking lineout for France. Got through a mountain of work with very little by way of errors.
3 Dorian Aldegheri – 8
Shipped a huge hit from Kyle Sinckler in open play but carried on gamely. Monstered Ellis Genge on 40 minutes which directly lead to Ollivon’s try.
4 Thibaud Flament – 8.5
Made a telling open-field contribution for France’s first try and got one of his own after accelerating onto a fine Dupont pop pass close to the English line. His second was a testament to his work ethic, even if it was opportunistic.
5 Paul Willemse – 7
His most convincing performance of the campaign to date.
6 Francois Cros – 7
Brought meaningful value in contact, a key carry in the lead up to Flament’s try catching the eye.
7 Charles Ollivon – 8
Did brilliantly at the less glamourous stuff, pouncing on a loose ball that had questionably popped out of an English ruck saving France’s jambon with English moving ominously towards their try line. Deservedly on the end of a 5-pointer after rumbling over Marcus Smith after a dominant French scrum, and that was the ball game.
These hands belong to Charles Ollivon, just to confirm#FRAvENG | #SixNations2023 pic.twitter.com/aqKCEGMUeb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2023
8 Gregory Alldritt – 9
A return to form for Alldritt, who hadn’t heretofore hit the heights in 2023. No quarter was shown to the English at the breakdown and the La Rochelle man won pretty much every moment in which he was involved. A phenomenal shift.
REPLACEMENTS – 5
The French bench didn’t have much to do with game decided early in the second half. Sipili Faletea’s star turn two weekends ago wasn’t quite followed up here, with Genge getting into him at the setpiece. Romain Taofifenua and Peato Mauvaka were impressive, while Moefana struggled to make an impact.
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments