England player ratings: ‘Masterful’ George Ford proves his critics wrong in agonising France defeat
George Ford following England's 2024 Six Nations defeat to France.
Following an agonising 33-31 defeat to France in their Six Nations Test at Groupama Stadium on Saturday, here are the player ratings for England.
15 George Furbank: Went off early after suffering what appeared to be a calf injury. N/A
14 Tommy Freeman: Very much grew into the game in the second half and became an influential figure. 7
Midfield excellence
13 Henry Slade: A couple of lovely passes, including one for Ollie Lawrence’s try, showed his ability. It’s been a mixed Six Nations for Slade but there have been signs over the past two weeks that he can be a very good player under Steve Borthwick. 7
12 Ollie Lawrence: Needs work defensively but some excellent individual moments as that midfield partnership caused France all sorts of problems. 7
11 Elliot Daly: Chased hard and did some good work under the high ball, but didn’t do enough to usurp Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for the July series. 6
Inspired Ford
10 George Ford: Absolutely masterful. While all the chaos was going on around him, Ford kept his composure and was the main reason why England were still in the game at the break. In the second period, he stepped up again and almost took the Red Rose to the win. 9
9 Alex Mitchell: Had a really tough 20 minutes during the first half where nothing seemed to go right for him but then regained his composure and provided excellent service at the base. 7
Planet Rugby’s player ratings key.
8 Ben Earl: The number eight’s brilliant break led to Marcus Smith’s try but he wasn’t quite as prominent in the carry this weekend. However, defensively he was monstrous, making a game-high 19 hits. He will also feel harshly done by with the final penalty. 8
7 Sam Underhill: Put himself about and made some typically big hits, but there were a few too many misses. 6
Young back-five forwards impress
6 Ollie Chessum: Puts himself about and rarely takes a step back physically. Was challenged by the French but came through it to end with credit. 7
5 George Martin: Just makes big impacts. Stood up well to the French onslaught and did his bit in the set-piece. England are well served with him and Chessum. 7
4 Maro Itoje: Tried manfully but it’s rare to see him bullied quite like he was on Saturday. Was much better second half, though. 6
Set-piece stands up
3 Dan Cole: A good scrummaging shift from the reliable tighthead as they held out a massive French set-piece. 6
2 Jamie George (c): A solid showing from the captain yet again with the lineout working well, apart from one errant throw. 6
1 Ellis Genge: Scrummaged well and a nice touch for Smith’s try but there were a couple of frustrating moments, including a poor penalty and a bad missed tackle. Overall ended in credit though. 6
Replacements: Theo Dan won’t like to see that botched lineout back which led to Gael Fickou’s score, but he otherwise made a positive impression. Smith, apart from a couple of errors, also did very well, while Alex Dombrandt won a key turnover. Will Stuart gave away a poor penalty and Danny Care’s kicking let him down at the end, but overall the bench did its job pretty well. 6
