Scotland vs England: England Player Ratings
The 125th edition of the Calcutta Cup played out today and, with little surprise, it duly delivered a fascinating rugby spectacle.
Scotland ended their long wait for the trophy, beating England 25-13 at Murrayfield, inflicting upon England just their second loss under Eddie Jones.
For England, it will herald two weeks of introspection, as they examine just why they were second best right across the field in Edinburgh.
We rated the performance of the 23 England players earlier today.
- Mike Brown – 5
An errant pass when Anthony Watson had an overlap, a missed tackle on Huw Jones for his second try and a quiet performance in general was not the response Brown wanted to his excellent showing against Wales at Twickenham. Made an impressive try-saving tackle on Sean Maitland in the second half in England’s bid to salvage the game.
- Anthony Watson – 6
Did well to get out of trouble when pinned inside his own 22 and facing three Scottish defenders but was feeding off scraps for much of the game. Could have done better when Jones broke through the English defensive line for his second score, but did redeem himself with a busy second half, where he looked for work throughout.
- Jonathan Joseph – 5
Outshone by his opposite number in Edinburgh, with few opportunities to influence the game and his usually excellent defensive work made to look less effective by the marauding Jones.
- Owen Farrell – 7
Of all the English backs, Farrell was most noteworthy, thanks in part to the more regular ball he received. Ran a nice line for his try and was proficient as a ball-handler throughout, but didn’t manage to control the game as well as he did against Italy or Wales.
- Jonny May – 5
Like Watson, May was feeding off scraps for most of the game. One of the few times he got involved in the game, he was stood on the touchline as he received the ball.
- George Ford – 5
The fly-half struggled with his kicking in the first half, failing to find touch or space and delivering the ball down the throat of the Scottish players. He couldn’t pull the strings in the way his opposite number did, and it was largely a game to forget for Ford.
- Danny Care – 6
Care struggled again to exert the control on the game from the opening minute that Ben Youngs regularly does. His neat kicking game, which regularly catches opposition sides out, was nowhere to be seen at Murrayfield. Did make a precise wider pass to send Farrell through for England’s opening try, though.
- Mako Vunipola – 6
Not quite the dominant and energetic performance that he turned in during the opening two rounds of the tournament. Scrummaged well but couldn’t keep England moving forward in the same way he did in previous games.
- Dylan Hartley – 7
Hit his jumpers on all seven of his lineout throws and captained well, particularly when he made referee Nigel Owens aware of Scotland being offside at a ruck. Defended efficiently in the loose, without offering too much in attack.
- Dan Cole – 6
The tighthead looked to have benefitted from the scrummaging session against the Georgian pack and anchored the English scrum well at Murrayfield. Didn’t have too much influence in the loose, however.
- Joe Launchbury – 5
The Wasps man couldn’t match the work rate and impact he had against Wales. His carrying was largely nullified and his defensive work, with England trailing for most of the game, wasn’t enough to deliver them momentum or swing the result. Conceded a couple of costly penalties, too.
- Maro Itoje – 6
A couple of powerful carries early caught the eye, but he couldn’t keep up that impact throughout the game. Like most of the English pack, he struggled to dislodge Scottish fetching threats such as John Barclay, Stuart McInally and Grant Gilchrist.
- Courtney Lawes – 7
A needless penalty in the second half for kicking the ball out of the scrum-half’s hands aside, Lawes stood out among the rear five forwards. He was the go-to lineout option, particularly when England were under pressure inside their own 22, and delivered a couple of his trademark thumping tackles during the game. He also pressured the Scottish throw on multiple occasions and disrupted well at the maul.
- Chris Robshaw – 6
It wasn’t a bad performance from Robshaw, but with England chasing the game, it was not a scenario he was built for. His tireless defensive work, without being a consistent threat to turnover ball, wasn’t particularly suited to getting England the scores they needed to win the game.
- Nathan Hughes – 6
A hit and miss game on his return from injury. He looked dangerous with ball-in-hand, if a bit tentative when running from deep, but seemed off the pace in the defensive line and Scottish ball-carriers targeted space and dog legs around him.
Replacements
- Jamie George – 6
Fluffed his first lineout throws in his previous two games but nailed his jumpers at Murrayfield. Struggled to involve himself in the loose as much as you would expect of him.
- Joe Marler – 6
The English scrum stuttered late on following the arrival of WP Nel and there were few opportunities for Marler to make an impact.
- Harry Williams – 6
Like Marler, Williams had few opportunities to influence the game, but he was hungry for work and popped up as a carrier multiple times.
- George Kruis – 6
Came on late and had little time to impact the game.
- Sam Underhill – 5
Won a turnover at the breakdown with his first action of the game and tackled ferociously. Mitigated this by making a no-arms tackle and getting himself yellow carded minutes later.
- Richard Wigglesworth – 6
Came on late and had little time to impact the game.
- Ben Te’o – 6
A couple of strong carries but by the time he came on, England were looking to get out and around Scotland, needing two scores to change the result, something which doesn’t suit his game.
- Jack Nowell – 6
Looked busy after coming on but frequently ran himself into defenders and confined spaces. Impressive footwork, but it was not enough to cause Scotland’s defence any problems.
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments