Player ratings: Discipline costly for more expansive England

Colin Newboult

England's Jonny Hill looks dejected during the Guinness Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff. Picture date: Saturday February 27, 2021. See PA story RUGBYU Wales. Photo credit should read: David Davies/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holder.

Following their 40-24 defeat to Wales in their Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, here’s the player ratings for England.

15 Elliot Daly: Ran with so much conviction but his intent was let down by the mistakes. Eddie Jones must surely look to make a change in this position. 4

14 Anthony Watson: Makes ground with every carry and finished a well deserved try. A real threat having re-found his form. 7

13 Henry Slade: Looked much better as he saw more ball than at any time in recent memory as England played with greater ambition. Funny that. 7

12 Owen Farrell: The England captain’s best game for some time. Harshly treated by referee Pascal Gauzere and was understandably frustrated with the French referee. 7

11 Jonny May: Unable to unleash his running game but was a huge aerial threat, making some tricky catches, but was well marshalled by Louis Rees-Zammit, who then outpaced the England wing late on. 6

10 George Ford: One pass to Slade was trademark Ford and he was part of backline that showed more enterprise, but there was also some needless kicking. England do, however, look far more of a threat with the Leicester man at fly-half. 6

9 Ben Youngs: Dummied his way over for a try that hauled England back into contention but it was not enough. Passing was sharper and he was lively around the fringes, but still some poor option taking. 6

8 Billy Vunipola: Knew he needed a big afternoon with his place in doubt and duly delivered. Carried with ferocity and regularly forced Welsh players backwards. 7

7 Tom Curry: Excellent display from the openside, who harried Wales at every turn. His best outing of 2021 but it still wasn’t quite enough to get the better of the outstanding Welsh back-row. 7

6 Mark Wilson: Put in the usual work around the field but is not quite making the impact he had at the World Cup. 5

5 Jonny Hill: Gave away a crucial penalty that enabled Wales to poach a try at a key moment. Has begun reasonably well at Test level, but this was a match to forget. 5

4 Maro Itoje: As ever, was a nuisance in the tighter exchanges, but this time often to the detriment of his team. His ill-discipline cost England dearly. 4

3 Kyle Sinckler: Struggled to make the same impact as he did against Italy but solid and dependable. 6

2 Jamie George: Being dropped against Italy induced a decent shift from the hooker who sent Watson over for his try. 6

1 Mako Vunipola: A performance of high work-rate rather than eye-catching moments. Tackled hard, carried well and showed some good touches with ball in hand. 7

Replacements: When England needed the cavalry to come on and make an impression, they instead gave away yet more penalties. Charlie Ewels’ was particularly costly. 3