England player ratings v Argentina: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso ‘untouchable’ in Los Pumas win spoiled by ‘flurry of cards’
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (left) and Joe Heyes (right) were among the key performers for England in their win over Argentina
Following England’s 31-24 win over Argentina at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, here is how we rated Steve Borthwick’s men in the Nations Championship Test.
England player ratings v Argentina
15 Marcus Smith: Arguably his best outing with 15 on his back for England, which will please the England boss as he continues in this utility role. Stepped up well in the playmaking axis alongside Fin Smith, dealt well with some aerial challenges when called upon and crucially looked to inject himself into the game when a chance organically presented itself. 7
14 Tommy Freeman: Started off with a nice try, and had a decent impact on proceedings from then on. While it was slightly different to normal, England’s kicking game revolved around his work in the air, either taking the kick directly or creating crumbs by swatting the ball back and down, and also did well on the defensive side when Argentina turned to a similar tactic. 7
13 Henry Slade: Steady on a night that called out for someone to be steady. Didn’t do a lot of flashy things, far from it, but everything he did seemed to have an impact for his side. Notably combined with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso whenever possible, which brought the best out of both players. 8
12 Seb Atkinson: Another very good showing off the back of his best outing in an England shirt. His ability to play flat to the line and then pull it out the back just allowed England to extend their play and run slightly different shapes, while then also having the ability to tuck it under his jumper and carry into contact gave some much-needed directness as well. 7
11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: Untouchable at times tonight. Seemed to be given a much freer role within the attack, spawning in pretty much every spot you can think of, and caused proper carnage as a result with 99 metres from 11 carries, 12 defenders beaten and three linebreaks. His try was justly deserved, too. 9
10 Fin Smith: Continues to look the part as England’s number one number 10, with that shirt becoming his own with each outing he gets. All of England’s good play had F. Smith’s fingerprints on them, most notably the cross-field kick to Freeman for the opening score, and seemed to have real control over the attack. 7
9 Jack van Poortvliet: Went pretty well, to be honest, but the yellow card marks him down a notch. Van Poortvliet seemed to get England signing off the same hymn sheet once again, combining well with Smith outside him expertly, only highlighted further by the phase in which he returned to the pitch ending with M. Smith dotting down in the corner. But, that sin-binning gave Argentina a real leg up when England were hoping to close the game off, only compounded by Alex Coles’ yellow moments after. 6
Back-row
8 Ben Earl: The only way to describe his outing is a typical Earl display. Once again stepped up as England’s primary ball-carrier, mixing it about in both the tight and in broken field, posed a threat around the breakdown and capped his night off with two tries. 8
7 Guy Pepper: A big effort from the flanker, who stepped up and took the fight to the Argentina back-row. Ended his night with an eye-watering 24 tackles and a turnover, which reflects just how he went about his business on that side of the ball. 7
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6 Ollie Chessum: By no means a headline-grabbing display from the back-rower, but he did so many good things in the tight. Made himself a consistent presence around the breakdown, fronted up in defence and bossed the lineout. A lot to like about it. 7
Tight five
5 George Martin: Proper bruising shift from the lock, who simply threw himself into the defensive efforts with no regard for his own safety. England’s defence looks so much stronger with him leading from the front. 7
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4 Alex Coles: Another man who picked up a yellow card, which dents his score, but Coles was massive tonight for his side. Put in an absolute barnstorming effort in defence with 35 tackles to his name, yes, 35, and chipped in elsewhere. The sin-binning and subsequent yellow card aided Los Pumas’ fightback in the second-half, though. 7
3 Joe Heyes: Has been outstanding all year for England, and this was another fine outing from the tighthead. His 20 tackles alone deserve a mention, but it was backed up with some beautiful scrummaging and carrying in the tight. 8
2 Jamie George (c): Classy effort from the captain, as we’ve come to expect. Once again nailed the lineout, contributed to a dominant scrum and threw himself into the defensive efforts too. 7
1 Ellis Genge: A masterclass in looseheading from the experienced prop forward. Scrummaged superbly well, particularly in the run-up to Earl’s first try, and got stuck into proceedings in the loose with eight tackles and 28 metres. 8
Replacements: At a time, this section was bookmarked for them steadying the ship after a flurry of cards to both Coles and Van Poortvliet, then there was also a scattering of yellow for members of the replacements as well!
But the bench probably does deserve some credit for the way they actually did calm things down at a time when Argentina were threatening to pull away. Henry Pollock came on and added some venom to the attack, Emmanuel Iyogun and Luke Cowan-Dickie looked to get involved right from the off and Tom Curry, George Kloska, Ben Spencer and Noah Caluori, in his brief cameo, had some nice flashes to go with it. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, unfortunately, picked up a nasty head injury, but had some nice moments too.
The yellows do, inevitably, blot the copybook somewhat, but overall, Borthwick will be pleased with his bench. 6
