England player ratings: Max Ojomoh’s ‘debut to remember’ while Lions star has ‘poor’ return
England player ratings: Max Ojomoh's 'debut to remember' while Lions star has 'poor' return
England defeated Argentina 27-23 in a thrilling match at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, as two sides in blue concluded their Autumn series.
Here’s how we rated the England players:
Backs
15 Freddie Steward: He marshalled the backfield well and failed to be troubled by Argentina’s rather aimless kicking. His weaving runs caused all sorts of issues in the Pumas’ defence, as he returned each Argentine high ball with interest. With George Furbank yet to return fully from injury, Steward made a brilliant case to retain the shirt. 8
14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: You know what you’re going to get with Feyi-Waboso. Hard runs, great leg drives and plenty of tries. He was constantly looking for work in the first half, carrying the ball seven times and making over 100 metres. He was forced into a defensive showing in the second half, however, and was found guilty of letting his men pass him on more than one occasion. Overall, a decent performance and another score on the board. 7
13 Henry Slade: Barely seen in the first half, and when required in defence, he proved soft. He made more of an impact in attack as the game opened up and took his try well. Not convincing enough to challenge for the 13 shirt on the regular. 5
12 Max Ojomoh: A debut start to remember for the Bath centre. He looked incredibly confident from the outset, and few would believe that it was only his second ever appearance for the national side. He showed brilliant rugby awareness to score his early try, and made a pinpoint kick to set Feyi-Waboso up for his score. Topping the day off, he popped a terrific offload out the back of his hand to set up Slade’s late score. 9
11 Elliot Daly: Did the hard work chasing down high balls, but failed to involve himself in the match much more than that. A wayward kick in the second half lost his team 50 metres of territory. A poor return to international rugby. 4
10 George Ford: Pulled off another trademark drop goal to extend the early lead, and truly outshone the Pumas’ kicking game. Although a couple of his shots at goal veered wide, the rest of his game was faultless. As calm and controlled as ever, he directed the England attack, taking advantage of every bit of momentum on offer. 8
9 Ben Spencer: The versatility of his box kicks put the Argentines under huge amounts of pressure. The Bath number nine used all his years of experience to dictate the pace of the game and provide great leadership within the squad. Struggled slightly as the speed of the game increased at the end, making way for the quicker Alex Mitchell. 7
Forwards
8 Ben Earl: Did well to control the ball at the back of the scrum, drawing a penalty from the Pumas early on. He continued to have a major impact on the match, making a match-high 23 tackles and another match-high 13 carries. 8
7 Sam Underhill: Made a powerful early run to split the Pumas‘ defence and put in some major hits in defence. Most of his good work was done in and around the ruck, but he would have liked to have gained his hands on the ball a little more. 6
6 Guy Pepper: Invisible in attack, but was huge in the tackle. His ability to get around the park, hitting rucks and making tackles was vitally important to the early England dominance. His ability to jump in the lineout added yet another weapon to the forward arsenal. 6
5 Alex Coles: Guilty of missing a few tackles, but considering he made 15 and a line break, people won’t be too unhappy with his performance. 6
4 Maro Itoje: Like Earl, Itoje made a huge defensive effort, completing a remarkable 22 tackles. He wasn’t used as a lineout jumper as much as in previous matches, mainly due to the increased options in the lineout. Remained as damaging in the contact area, however, almost ripping the ball on multiple occasions. 7
3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour: Missed a couple of tackles and struggled in the scrum at times. The Sale Sharks youngster did show his strength at times, however, getting the better of his opposition prop on more than one occasion. 5
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie: Had an early lineout intercepted, but otherwise the darts were strong. He dropped the ball over the line just before the break to cancel what would have been a solid England try, but the 32-year-old more than made up for it with some great defence and an insistence on being heavily involved in the game. 6
1 Ellis Genge: Was punished by the referee in the first scrum, but turned it around in the second, helping win the penalty. He was a huge presence in the pack and an important leadership voice, notably buzzing the lads throughout the match. 6
Replacements: Henry Pollock and Fin Baxter both arrived on the field in the 50th minute, and made a combined 30 tackles in just 30 minutes, averaging a tackle a minute. The Pom Squad’s arrival came at the perfect time, with those on the field floundering midway through an impressive Argentina fightback. Tom Curry got under the Pumas’ skin, Will Stuart and Charlie Ewels provided the bulk, while Alex Mitchell issued the much-needed pace back into England’s play. No appearance for Marcus Smith, but it wasn’t the game for him. 8