England player ratings: Maro Itoje produces ‘captain’s performance’ but ‘extremely poor’ back leaves Steve Borthwick with big decision

Following a 16-15 victory over Scotland in the Six Nations clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, here are the player ratings for England.

15 Marcus Smith: Slightly better this weekend as the full-back certainly offered an attacking spark, although his chances were limited. Also produced the game-winning tackle to take Scotland into touch. 7

14 Tommy Freeman: Competed well in the air and took his try well, but had little ball to really exert his influence in attack. 6

13 Ollie Lawrence: One of England’s better backs yet again, on both sides of the ball. A sumptuous break and off-load sent Marcus Smith away, but he couldn’t quite follow it up with another one in the next phase. 7

12 Henry Slade: So talented and yet he continues to underwhelm at Test level. It was an extremely poor individual performance against Scotland. You simply cannot afford to miss the type of tackles Slade did and you wonder whether Steve Borthwick might this time finally make a change. 4

11 Ollie Sleightholme: Faltered defensively and failed to make an impression in the air, so it was no surprise to see him replaced early in the second period. Another to struggle on Saturday. 4

Composure

10 Fin Smith: Kept his composure when England were on the back foot and made some important tackles in defence. Got a few boos when continually putting the ball up in the air but he had little option really and, in general, he was accurate. Long-range penalty also crucial. 7

9 Alex Mitchell: Not his best game. Box-kicking was surprisingly off as Scotland controlled matters in the air. Also struggled to get the ball out quickly and cleanly. 5

8 Tom Willis: Had a few very good rumbles in the first half but was unfortunately taken off for a HIA before half-time and never returned. 6

7 Ben Earl: A performance that might be overlooked by some but we thought he was superb. The odd stupid penalty aside, he was very good on both sides of the ball. In terms of his carrying, Earl was England’s best weapon. 8

6 Tom Curry: Like Willis, Curry went off sooner than he would have liked. Some good moments in defence as he put his body on the line, but he was outplayed by Jamie Ritchie. 6

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Good set-piece work

5 Ollie Chessum: Lineout was much smoother with him around as England got some joy in the set-piece. Also carried hard when he got the ball and was abrasive in the tighter exchanges. 7

4 Maro Itoje: You get away with what you can get away with and for the most part Itoje was on the right side of the referee. Was huge in defence and the set-piece, and made some crucial turnovers in a captain’s performance. 8

3 Will Stuart: Got the better of Pierre Schoeman and also carried hard in the loose. Scrum wasn’t as big a factor as England would have liked, however. 7

2 Luke Cowan-Dickie: Darts were good and he locked out the scrum nicely, but he wasn’t particularly visible in the loose. 6

1 Ellie Genge: Another loosehead to get the better of Zander Fagerson, whose stock has fallen in this Six Nations. Genge also had some decent rumbles but it was his set-piece work which stood out. 7

Replacements: England will certainly be thankful for Ben Curry, who was utterly magnificent and deserves an 8, but the rest, like England in general, were mediocre. There were some good moments but they also did some dumb things, with Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Chandler Cunningham-South, Harry Randall and Elliot Daly all culprits in that regard. 6

READ MORE: England v Scotland, AS IT HAPPENED: Calcutta Cup glory for Steve Borthwick’s men