Rating every England player from the All Blacks series, as ‘brilliant’ full-back and star half-back take their chance
England player ratings from All Blacks series.
Following England’s series defeat against the All Blacks in New Zealand, we rated every one of Steve Borthwick’s players out of a possible 10.
Whilst a 2-0 series whitewash might look terrible on paper, England can still take plenty of pride out of the games. They only lost both matches by a collective eight points; and they led going into the latter stages in the first Test and had the upper hand at the break in the second.
Plenty of players put their hands up for selection for the foreseeable future, and some new blood also proved they have what it takes to be an international player.
Outside backs
George Furbank: The Northampton Saints full-back was brilliant throughout the Premiership season, and simply carried on where he left off in that first Test. He led the charge in attack with some lovely carries of his own, but he also consistently brought Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman into the fold too. Furbank was also very solid under the high-ball, despite serious pressure from Sevu Reece. England sorely missed him in the second Test. 8
Freddie Steward: Drafted into the starting XV late in the week, but unfortunately didn’t perform the way he usually does for England. He hadn’t featured for his country since the second round of the Six Nations, and hadn’t played at all since the conclusion of the Premiership season, and it showed. Caught out on a couple of occasions in defence and was on the wrong end of a thunderous Ethan de Groot tackle. 5
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: Looks so at home at Test level. The Exeter Chiefs winger was sublime yet again in the two Tests against the All Blacks, adding genuine power and pace to match that of Mark Tele’a opposite him. He also chipped in with two crucial tries, which were both finished well. 7
Ollie Sleightholme: Only afforded two brief cameos in both games, but he did incredibly well with what he was given. Came up with a great line-break in the second Test, which will have left a big impression. Could we see him in the starting team soon? 6
Tommy Freeman: From one Saints winger to the other now. Freeman grew into the series as it went on, and became increasingly busy during the second Test. He grabbed a lovely try to give England the lead at Eden Park, but backed this up with a sublime defensive effort at the other end. 7
Centres
Henry Slade: His connection with Feyi-Waboso is proving to be vital in England’s new defensive blitz. He came up with some brilliant defensive efforts in both Tests, particularly in the first game, and brought plenty of line-speed, which is needed in this aggressive system. In attack, however, he couldn’t quite transfer his club form across to England and came up with a couple of errors. 5
Ollie Lawrence: A fairly similar tale for Slade’s midfield partner Lawrence. He was so effective in the defensive efforts, and was often like an extra back-rower around the breakdown; however his attacking exploits failed to jump across into the England jumper. He was deployed as a crash-ball 12, which he simply isn’t (that’s not a criticism, by the way), but when used in the wider 13 channel as he is for Bath, he did better. 6
Half-backs
Marcus Smith: Was given the reins this summer in the absence of George Ford and Owen Farrell (for the first time in forever), but boy oh boy did he take his chance with both hands. Smith was simply outstanding across both Tests as he spearheaded England’s new style of attack. He produced some delicious cross-field kicks to set up tries and fixed his kicking woes from the first Test to the second. 8
Fin Smith: Only afforded two brief cameo appearances, but lacked his usual classy touches. The attack really seemed to slow down with him on the pitch, despite what he brings to the Northampton back-line. Will view this as a chance wasted to stake a claim for the 10 shirt. 5
Alex Mitchell: Just an overall solid showing from the Saints scrum-half. Gave M. Smith consistent quick-ball and utilised a decent kicking game throughout the two Tests. Also came up with some decent snipes. 7
Ben Spencer: Was clearly introduced to deploy a tactical kicking game in the first Test, which he did to good effect, but the attack slowed down with him on the pitch. Also was an unused substitute in the second Test. 5
Back-row
Ben Earl: He couldn’t recreate his form from the Six Nations, but he still had some nice touches. He was again one of England’s chief ball-carriers across the two Tests, but was bested by his opposite number (and arguably the best eight in the world), Ardie Savea. Went super aggressive in defence a couple of times, which led to New Zealand scores. 7
Sam Underhill: Industrious as ever from Bath’s Underhill. He fronted up in defence when needed and got heavily involved in the battle at the breakdown. His ball-carrying had come on leaps and bounds in the Premiership, but we didn’t see enough of this new part of his game. Overall though just a good couple of shifts. 6
Chandler Cunningham-South: Another who grew into the series, and was much improved in the second Test. He is such an effective ball-carrier in the tight, but England reverted to using him as the primary receiver against the All Blacks rather than just outside as the tip option which worked wonders against Japan (again, not a criticism). Fronted up well in defence too and got stuck into the breakdown. 6
Tom Curry: It was a miracle Curry even got on the tour, let alone feature as heavily as he did. He racked up around an hour of game time across both Tests, and just used it to get back into the swing of things. Will be much better for the minutes following a lengthy lay-off. 5
Locks
Maro Itoje: Looked back to his best in an England shirt, which has not been the case for a while. His discipline, particularly late on in games, still needs fixing; but he was immense everywhere else. Itoje proved a constant menace at the lineout and breakdown, and also put himself about with ball-in-hand and produced some heavy hits. 8
George Martin: Leicester Tigers lock Martin has certainly come of age this tour, and he now looks to be Itoje’s long-term partner in the row moving forward. Martin was super physical in the contact area, and just never stopped working on the defensive side of the ball. Could he be in with a shout of a Lions call-up? 8
Alex Coles: Brought into both games at tough periods, but struggled to make much of an impact. Gave away a few needless penalties, probably due to eagerness than anything else. 5
Props
Joe Marler: Was bested at the scrum during his brief stint in the first Test, but was withdrawn after only 15 minutes and missed the second game. 4
Fin Baxter: A metaphorical passing of the baton between Baxter and Marler, in a way. The young Harlequin was thrust into the spotlight in the first Test, and looked really comfortable at this level. He really chucked himself headfirst into every facet of the game, with some punchy tackles and decent carries, too. 7
Bevan Rodd: Only given 10 minutes in the second Test, but didn’t have much of an impact on the game. 5
Will Stuart: Pretty tough summer for Stuart. De Groot had a field-day against him in the scrum, which in turn gave New Zealand the upper hand in the arm wrestle. He was given his chance to nail down the number three jersey, but he blew it. 3
Dan Cole: Lost his starting berth to Stuart, and when deployed from the bench was unable to lock down the scrum as much as usual. 4
Hookers
Jamie George: Scrum faltered in both of the Tests, but he provided a decent platform from the lineout with some accurate darts. Got involved in the defensive effort though with some good tackles. 6
Theo Dan: Barnstorming Saracens hooker Dan had some nice touches during his stint in the opening Test, but was hauled off shortly after his introduction in the second with concussion. 5
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