England player ratings: ‘Hulking’ Chandler Cunningham-South does damage while ‘rock solid’ debutant impresses
Chandler Cunningham-South and Joe Carpenter impressed for England against USA.
Following a 40-5 victory over the USA at Audi Field in Washington D.C. on Saturday to end their Americas tour, here’s our player ratings for England.
England player ratings
15 Joe Carpenter: Rock solid in the air on debut and was unlucky to have a try chalked off due to a knock-on from Cadan Murley just before half-time. An extremely tidy debut from the Sale Sharks full-back who can be pleased with his first run-out. 8
14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: A little rusty which was to be expected after his spell out of the game. Unfortunately a spillage and a sloppy pass caught the eye but thankfully the latter was picked up expertly by Arthur Clark. Feyi-Waboso showed his speed and awareness on the hour mark to put a try on a plate for replacement scrum-half Harry Randall. 6
13 Luke Northmore: Savoured his try on 18 minutes as he had a walk-in and would also set up a try in the second period for Jack van Poortvliet, drawing the last man well after being put through a hole by his centre partner. 7
12 Max Ojomoh: A defensive rock as he threw himself into tackles before a smart pass put a try on a plate for Northmore. His distribution game came to the fore early in the second period too in the lead up to Van Poortvliet’s try. 7
11 Cadan Murley: Had been excellent off the bench in recent weeks but looked a tad hurried early on as he was desperate to impress. A try on the stroke of half-time was the perfect end to the first period. Would have liked more opportunities no doubt. 6
10 George Ford (c): Eager to keep the tempo as high as possible in this interrupted game due to the inclement weather. Some good options with the boot but wasn’t as devastating in terms of impact compared to previous weeks. 6
9 Jack van Poortvliet: Nothing flashy in his first start on tour after playing second fiddle to Ben Spencer. Ran a good support line for his try on 41 minutes and was replaced by 10 minutes later. 5
The forwards
8 Alex Dombrandt: Unlucky to have a first-half try chalked off for obstruction before a maul and struggled thereafter with a couple of handling errors. Was replaced on 51 minutes by Ben Curry after a workmanlike shift. 5
7 Guy Pepper: Much was expected from the Bath flanker after his super-sub appearances in Argentina but he struggled to have the same impact. Won an impressive penalty at the breakdown on 49 minutes. 6
6 Chandler Cunningham-South: Busy early on as he put it about on both sides of the ball. Called a “menace” by the American television commentators which was apt as he caused the USA countless problems with his physicality, with hulking carries and influence in the tight evident. 8
5 Arthur Clark: Denied an early gallop due to a team-mate’s knock-on just when he was building up a head of steam and then won a crucial lineout steal near his own line. That pick-up of Feyi-Waboso’s poor pass was also impressive as he enjoyed a strong debut. 7
4 Alex Coles: Had a fantastic Americas tour and while he wasn’t as prominent compared to the Los Pumas outings, Coles still had some nice touches to cap a fine summer tour. 6
3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour: Part of the England scrum that gradually gained some dominance in this game and the tighthead also had plenty of touches in possession, showing deft hands in the face of the USA defence. 6
2 Curtis Langdon: Opened the scoring via the back of a maul on 10 minutes but was not as prominent as he has been at club level for Northampton Saints on what was a big opportunity for him. 6
1 Bevan Rodd: Had some joy at scrum time as the game wore on, doing the nuts and bolts well today while throwing in five carries to his name before being replaced by Fin Baxter. 6
Replacements: Curry followed his brother’s lead in Australia by catching the eye in all facets while Randall was on the scoresheet before Gabriel Oghre joined him as the bench really turned the screw. 8