England player ratings: Early Charlie Ewels red causes unfixable damage against Ireland in Six Nations loss
After their 32-15 loss to Ireland at Twickenham that kills their title dreams, here’s how the England squad performed on Saturday.
15 Freddie Steward: The full-back’s presence grew as the match reached its decisive phase. 7/10
14 Max Malins: Unable to get involved as his pack sucked Ireland into the trenches where the odds were evened. 5
13 Joe Marchant: Flaunted his fierce defence all day from midfield. Definitely his best outing this Six Nations. 7
12 Henry Slade: Like Marchant, rolled up his sleeves to help halt the green tide with a series of tackles. Spent a lot of the game at first-receiver where he performed well. 7
11 Jack Nowell: Packed down in the back-row to cover for Charlie Ewels and was immense to realise Eddie Jones’ fantasy. 8
10 Marcus Smith: Kicked his goals and managed a difficult game well, but others around him shone more in tough affair with 14 men. 7
9 Harry Randall: In experience hindered Randall. Among the weaker links against a tough Ireland, but Ben Youngs hardly improved matters. 6
8 Sam Simmonds: The pick of England’s back-row cut Tadhg Furlong in two with one tackle. 8
7 Tom Curry: Limped off with a hamstring injury in the first half and England missed his work-rate. 6
6 Courtney Lawes: Rose to the occasion knowing it would take a super human effort to keep England in touch. 7
5 Charlie Ewels: Sent off after 82 seconds for a dangerous tackle that jeopardised England from the off, luckily the rest of the team stepped up defensively. 1
4 Maro Itoje: Led English resistance on both sides of the ball after recovering from illness. The Saracens lock was everywhere and showed high work rate. 8
3 Kyle Sinckler: Failed to reach the interval after taking a head knock, but powerful until then. England front-row continued to put in one of the best scrummaging performances in recent history in his absence. 6
2 Jamie George: Roared on every England mini-victory like he had won the World Cup. Outstanding both in the scrum and in open play. 8
1 Ellis Genge: A team-mate could be heard calling him an “animal” on the ref mic – and it was meant as a compliment. Towering performance. 8
Replacements: Most of the cavalry contributed fully, Alex Dombrandt playing far longer than he might have expected after Curry went off. Ben Youngs kicking the ball away was disappointing. 6
READ MORE: Six Nations: Ireland manage to shake off 14-man England to keep title dreams alive