England player ratings: George Ford produces ‘complete masterclass’ as Lions legend puts in ‘monumental’ shift to down All Blacks
England player ratings: George Ford produces 'complete masterclass' as Lions legend puts in 'monumental' shift to down All Blacks
England defeated the All Blacks with a phenomenal performance at Twickenham on Saturday, ending the visitors’ hopes for an undefeated Autumn campaign.
Here is how we rated the England players:
Backs
15 Freddie Steward: The towering full-back made a brilliant first catch to beat both Scott Barrett and Cam Roigard in the air. He was heavily involved for much of his 21 minutes on the field. He did make one noticeable mistake, however, when the ball bounced clear off his chest under the high ball. Overall, he made a positive impact on the game and was visibly frustrated when he was forced off the field with a HIA. 6
14 Tom Roebuck: Used well in the air, as was expected, and showed good footwork in attack. He was visibly off the pace in defence, however, with both Will Jordan and Leroy Carter doing him for pace on the outside on multiple occasions. Showed great feet and game awareness to set George Ford up for what would eventually be a struck off try, and brilliantly picked the ball up off the floor to touch down in the final stages. 6
13 Ollie Lawrence: Bizarrely overlooked by fans recently due to the introduction of Tommy Freeman in the outside centre position, but today, he proved exactly why he’s controlled the number 13 shirt for the past couple of years. He looked powerful in the carry and scored a brilliant try, bashing off Will Jordan in the process. Brilliantly timed the pass to set his centre partner up for a try. 8
12 Fraser Dingwall: Made an incredible offload to penetrate the All Blacks‘ defence for the first time, and linked up well with Marcus Smith when he came on. This felt like his first real ‘breakthrough’ match as an England player, capped off with a great first-phase score under the posts. 8
11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: Popped up all over the place in both attack and defence. He took a real knock from Wallace Sititi when storming down the left wing, but showed his resilience when recapturing the flanker while still on the ground. He was able to stretch his legs multiple times, and looked dangerous when he did so, making three line breaks and beating four players. 7
10 George Ford: It was another masterclass from the utterly amazing George Ford. His first kick-pass was poor, but that was his only mistake of the match. He made up for it with a perfect spiral bomb just moments later, putting Beaduen Barrett under immense amounts of pressure to set up another England attack. He was clearly running the show for England and looked calm and composed with the ball in hand. One of the brightest brains in rugby, Ford knocked over two drop goals just before the break to bring the scores back to within one. He was just as sharp in the second half, although he would have preferred to have had more ball in hand. His penalty to take England beyond the seven-point mark signalled the end for the All Blacks. Marked down because of his inaccuracies off the tee. 9
9 Alex Mitchell: In attack, he looked exciting and should be credited with providing the backs with fantastic ball. He had his issues, though. At times, he struggled to make the correct decisions, and some of his kicks were slightly off target. Defensively, he missed five tackles, and won’t be happy about being stepped by All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor on the wing. 5
Forwards
8 Ben Earl: The Saracens’ back-rower was powerful on the attack, making an incredible 20 carries. He was clearly targeted when tracking back under pressure. He dealt with it well, though, always remaining strong in the contact and allowing his teammates time to get back and support. Spent ten minutes in the sinbin towards the end of the match, which allowed New Zealand more space in the attack. 8
7 Sam Underhill: Certainly a quieter day for the experienced back-rower. His day got off to a difficult start when he was found guilty of throwing a poor one-handed pass to Roebuck, which rolled forward, landed nowhere near the desired target. He redeemed himself shortly into the second half, charging over to score from close range. 6
6 Guy Pepper: The Bath star was heavily involved in defence, making a massive 16 tackles as he subdued the big men of New Zealand. Although he rarely got the ball in hand, his sizeable frame offered plenty of threat even when running the dummy lines. 7
5 Alex Coles: Looked to have scored early on, but was held up over the line. With plenty of competition for the second row spots, Coles needed to impress in the absence of Ollie Chessum. He was the main focal point of a struggling lineout, but showed plenty of promise in his efforts with the ball in hand. 7
4 Maro Itoje: The British and Irish Lions captain was monumental in defence. He made the highest number of tackles out of anyone on the pitch, with 22. He was a menace in the breakdown, most notably winning the ball on his own five-metre line to halt a promising early All Blacks attack. Made one of the hits of the night, stripping Codie Taylor in the tackle. Unusually, a part of a struggling lineout, but otherwise a fantastic performance. 8
3 Joe Heyes: A brilliant defensive performance, first stopping Roigard from breaking through, before later stopping a certain try on the line. Held a brilliant scrum, standing toe-to-toe with some of the greatest scummagers in the world. 7
2 Jamie George: Limped off early into the second half. Oddly struggled in the lineout, and struggled to keep pace with the game. Not his finest outing. 5
1 Fin Baxter: Guilty of getting in the way of Alex Mitchell during an early ruck, but otherwise didn’t put a foot wrong. He scrummages superbly alongside his prop partner and got through plenty of work, particularly in defence, making 14 tackles. 7
Replacements: Marcus Smith arrived on the field early and was immediately a part of an England break. His electric feet and quick thinking became a huge part of England’s work, particularly under pressure. The ‘Pom Squad’ arrived midway into the second half, immediately boosting the energy of the already buzzing side. Pollock’s ability to always be the first to the ball was a great addition to the hosts’ game, and it was his actions that led to the final England score. Tom Curry initially struggled, giving the ball away with a poor offload, which gave the All Blacks a 60 metre turnaround, but he returned to his best with a huge hit shortly after. 7
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