England player ratings: Marcus Smith’s goal-kicking lets him down in heavy Barbarians defeat

Stan Wilson

Following their disappointing 52-21 defeat to the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday, here’s the player ratings for England.

15 Tommy Freeman: Impressive from the non-capped England debutant who ran rampant on the hallowed turf. Freddie Steward-esque kick-recovery throughout. Outstanding. 8/10

14 Joe Cokanasiga: Played like a man who wants a trip Down Under, providing electric pace out wide and under the high ball – where he played a Billy Vunipola-like role. Marcus Smith looked for Cokanasiga wherever possible. 8

13 Joe Marchant: A quiet but faultless day at HQ for Marchant saw him receive little of the ball but still come away with a clean break to his name. Flawless defence as is the norm. 6

12 Mark Atkinson: After playing the ball relatively well for most of the first half, Atkinson threw an unforgivable interception to Damian Penaud to give the 14-man Baa-Baas a 19-11 lead at half time. Carried consistently. 5

11 Jonny May: Arguably the finest finisher the nation has to offer struck gold in the corner after Danny Care’s arrival ignited England. World class and nothing less from May. 8

10 Marcus Smith: Did everything asked of him except nail difficult kicks. Excelled as second receiver where he had ample time to execute. Swap Atkinson for Owen Farrell and Eddie Jones may be onto something here. 8

9 Harry Randall: Poor kicking game and lacked defensively as he allowed Charles Ollivon to shame him in front of 51,385 fans at Twickenham. Good zip on ball but reluctant to deliver bullets from the base. 5

8 Callum Chick: A “last minute” replacement for the injured Alex Dombrandt who performed well but otherwise begged the question: what does he add that Dombrandt, Vunipola and Sam Simmonds don’t? 6

7 Sam Underhill: A lacking performance from a man playing for his job after falling out of favour. Continues to be one dimensional player who adds nothing in attack while showing no control at the breakdown. 3

6 Tom Curry: Contrary to Underhill, Curry proved his worth with a well-rounded showing as captain of the home side. 7

5 Jonny Hill: Hill performed thankless tasks without fault – his tackling and rucking were text-book. Outshone his second-row partner with execution to the highest standard in all areas of play. Made clean break on rare carry. 7

4 Charlie Ewels: Ewels’ selection continues to confuse because of performances like today. An average Premiership lock, he was unremarkable for England. 5

3 Will Collier: The prop who was hooked after a mere 28 minutes only to be called upon once more when Patrick Schickerling went off for a HIA replacement which wasn’t reversed. Solid in the scrum and as a tackler. 6

2 Jack Walker: The Quins hooker missed too many tackles for any further consideration from Jones. Reliable carrier but defence was poor. 5

1 Bevan Rodd: Nothing shy of abysmal from the Sale prop. Poor scrummaging cost England. Beka Gigashvili schooled the young forward surely dispelling all hope of a ticket to Australia. 3

Replacements: Danny Care received a hero’s welcome and injected the pace and savviness that Randall just didn’t provide. Other replacements did little to nothing to slow down the Barbarians or add to the attack. 6

READ MORE: Barbarians: George Kruis kicks three conversions as 14-man invitational side thump disappointing England