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England player ratings vs France | 2025 Six Nations
By Liam Heagney
England player ratings: A riveting contest and a riveting redemption for the English. They looked set to be pipped at the post once more only to summon up the type of fighting spirit last decisively seen in their glorious March 2024 win at the death over Ireland.
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The foundation for their magnificent 26-25 Guinness Six Nations upset against the French laid in how they defiantly reached the interval on parity.
Some incredible chance-ruining French handling errors had kept it tied at 0-0 until Louis Bielle-Biarrey finally broke the stalemate on 30 minutes, but this concession only ignited the hitherto blunt English attack and a converted Ollie Lawrence try left it delicately poised at 7-all heading down the tunnel.
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A lack of second-half gas from the starters and inadequate bench impact had frequently been the undoing of Steve Borthwick’s side in the run of seven losses in their nine outings since last year’s London ambush of the Irish. Look at how last weekend’s 10-5 interval lead in Dublin became a 10-27 trouncing before a couple of consolation tries massaged the margin of defeat.
However, the Rose didn’t callowly wilt on this occasion. Instead, it inspired. Although Thomas Ramos kicked two penalties, England would have been ahead had Marcus Smith not shanked his attempted conversion after a superbly taken 58th-minute Tommy Freeman try.
Even after Damian Penaud struck for an unconverted try three minutes later to make it 12-18, they fought on only to initially go unrewarded with another Marcus Smith miss off the kicking tee. Their heads critically collectively stayed up, though, and Fin Baxter’s try converted by Fin Smith had England 19-18 ahead with nine minutes remaining.
Of course, being England there were further dramatic twists to come. The Twickenham hosts looked out on their feet when struggling to chase back and defend against Bielle-Biarrey’s 75th-minute try converted by Ramos for 19-25.
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But they commendably stuck at it, with Ben Earl’s breakdown penalty win putting them in at the corner. From there, their attack from the lineout ended with sub Elliot Daly going in and Fin Smith converting to seal the precious one-point success. Cue bedlam. Here are the England ratings:
15. Marcus Smith – 7.5 out of 10
Shunted to the backfield after eight successive starts at No10, he wasn’t Mr Ultra Reliable in defence but his attacking mentality to have a cut was crucial in England grittily staying in this fight. Missed two important second-half kicks off the tee and butchered a try chance with an over-run onto a pass, but still wound up a deserved winner.
14. Tommy Freeman – 9
Started with a poor defensive read but was excellent from then on. His vital contribution in the air was encapsulated by the stylish way he climbed to fetch Fin Smith’s kick and then finish for his 58th-minute try after landing.
13. Ollie Lawrence – 7
A standout last week in Ireland, he didn’t feature here until a 28th-minute penalty win at a breakdown. Led the fightback at that particular time with a 36th-minute score that featured a meaty hand-off.
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12. Henry Slade – 6
Endured some tricky moments, such as a missed first-half touch-finder with England under the pump and some missed tackles, but he kept battling with an attitude that kept him competing diligently across his 76 minutes.
11. Ollie Sleightholme – 6.5
Brought in for the injured Cadan Murley, he had the pluck to rough up Penaud early on after the ball had gone out of play. It took 19 minutes but he then became the first English player to be on the ball inside the French 22. Continued fighting the good fight after.
? Tonight's Guinness Player of the Match, @EnglandRugby's Fin Smith ?#GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/fE9E0G3YPq
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2025
10. Fin Smith – 9.5
A moment of truth for the rookie and he delivered in his first Test start. Encouraging in the tackle, he did kick a bit too much in the first half but then found his groove – and accuracy – in the second with a more varied, inspiring approach. Gave kick and pass assists to Freeman and Daly, while also being dead-eyed off the kicking tee after taking over from the wayward Marcus Smith. He will surely now be England’s No10 for a considerable time to come.
9. Alex Mitchell – 8.5
Was in no way cowered by the reputation of Antoine Dupont. Might have frustrated some fans with his over-zealous box-kicking but there was a method to his madness and it ultimately paid a rich dividend in that final attack when Earl won a crucial breakdown penalty. A first-half grubber kick also hurt the French, earning the scrum that led to Lawrence’s try. His energy was vital to England’s resistance.
1. Ellis Genge – 7
Gave up a couple of penalties, including the offside that gave France their first shot on 12 minutes which they missed. The ball was a stranger but he was a constant nuisance in the tackle and was out on his feet when departing on 53 minutes.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
Played 62 minutes and can’t be happy that the English lineout until that point was six from nine. His inaccuracy was evident elsewhere as well – see the way he knocked on early in the second half at a breakdown where he should have won turnover ball. Soldiered on, though, and his grit was important in keeping England physically ticking along.
3. Will Stuart – 6.5
Certainly wasn’t on first-name terms with the ball, so elusive was it for him, but he delivered the nuts and bolts in his role for his 59 minutes. A scrum penalty win was early nourishment at a time when England could have folded in the face of growing French pressure.
?? Elliot Daly scoring the winning try in the final minute to clinch the victory for England over France at the Allianz ??#Breitling #DefiningMoment @Breitling pic.twitter.com/o8JmKSzXh9
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2025
4. Maro Itoje – 7
Seemed to drop down on his levels from last weekend. There was some s***housery when throwing Penaud’s boot away in the opening half but England were 7-10 behind in the second before we finally had a big moment from him, the winning of a penalty when getting over the ball at a French breakdown. That helped set the tone for his team battling to the finish.
5. George Martin – 7
Was very busy defensively in the first half but will be kicking himself that what should have been a straightforward 29th-minute lineout catch in French territory was lost and his team was behind their posts having conceded less than a minute later. Stuck at it and gave it everything in his 62 minutes.
6. Tom Curry – 9
England’s best player in Ireland, he was fantastic to watch again with numerous interventions to douse French momentum. He even managed to rip possession from Dupont at one stage in the second half. Superb.
7. Ben Earl – 8.5
Finally picked to start in what most fans believe is his natural position, he was certainly more impactful than in Dublin seven days earlier. Was vibrant in the carry, an aspect that was badly missed in round one, and was a delight to watch when winning the turnover penalty that put England in the corner for the decisive converted try.
8. Tom Willis – 8
Promoted from the bench for his first start, he was very easy on the eye and impressively topped his team’s tackle count. Was also impactful on the ball. The concession of a penalty after getting isolated on a 52nd-minute carry was his last act as he exited two minutes later, but he did more than enough to ensure he will start again for England.
? A beauty from Tommy Freeman ? #GuinnessM6N @EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/dc8BAsAfXx
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2025
Replacements:
16. Jamie George – 7.5
Thrown on with 18 minutes remaining, he quickly showed his wheels with a carry. Way more importantly, though, he settled the English lineout which was the possession platform for the late, late win.
17. Fin Baxter – 8
The first of the subs sent on, his 27 minutes began with the downer of the scrum penalty concession that allowed France to go 7-13 up. However, he more than held his nerve and was a 70th-minute try scorer with an excellent close-range finish.
18. Joe Heyes – 7
A 59th-minute arrival, he transformed last weekend’s anonymity into a more impactful cameo which included a 69th-minute scrum penalty win.
19. Ollie Chessum – 7
Having fluffed his lines last week, he was a powerful presence here following his 62nd-minute introduction. Took the lineout catch at the death that set up England’s Daly try.
20. Chandler Cunningham-South – No Rating
Didn’t come off the bench.
21. Ben Curry – 6.5
Made a 54th-minute entry and didn’t let his team down.
22. Harry Randall – No Rating
Another sub who wasn’t sent into action.
23. Elliot Daly – 9
Was set for a no-rating verdict as he was only a 76th-minute sub, but he grabbed the glory with his try that Fin Smith converted for the win.
- Ratings index: 10/10 – Perfect, 9. Exceptional, 8. Very good, 7. Good, 6. Satisfying, 5. Average, 4. Insufficient, 3. Bad, 2. Very bad, 1. Terrible, 0. Unacceptable.
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I think these notes go over the roof just because of the innumerable past lost games. The english team is in progress and there may be hope someday to reach the 6th world ranking. Maybe. Let us think that the author was blinded by this hope 🤭
England are 6th in the world as of tomorrow.
Again, I must have been watching a different match. Slade worse than Lawrence? In what world? Lawrence gad a relatively quiet match, while Slade was very good, his botched kick for touch notwithstanding.
Daly a 9? Goodness gracious. I’m happy for the guy, what a moment for him, but it was just one moment.
Marcus Smith a 7.5? He was outstanding on (counter)attack, abysmal defensively (costing tries), and shanked two relative gimmies for a total of -5 points. The best grade I can think of is 5 on average, because at times he was an 8, and at times he was a 2.
Absurdly inflated grading, and I rooted for England in this game so much, I wasn’t even recognizing myself at times.
Fin Smith and Mitchell should be the 9-10 pairing. Easily the two best England players. Tom Curry was massive. All the forwards had a good game, held parity at scrum.
Yep you could take he was playing out of position, simple things like kicking while sprinting causing the ball to go 10m too far etc.
I thought Curry taking over the kicking from Fin was a good idea myself. First full game for the young fella though? Can't be too critical.
If England pass the ball to Slade, he makes things happen. His pass timing in the outside channels is phenomenal, he puts people in space like nobody's business.
However if England are going to relentlessly kick all possession away like usual even when they're inside the opposition 22 then yeah he's going to look ineffective.
Compared to the French player ratings, England must have put 30 points on them - what? All is happy in England after a poor French display (so many unforced errors) - yet it was only won at the death. The chest beating here is too loud.
exactly what I thought .... very subjective rating here .... what we can all agree on is, the English players were overachieving, whilst les Bleus were underachieving .... but basically the teams were on par, just that England seemed more willing to win (sort of Boks attitude here)
Hey I'm English and I completely agree. England played pretty well and in the second half were probably the better side... But the French played pretty poorly and still should have had a big halftime lead. I can't say we didn't deserve to win but we were certainly fortunate. It was a solid performance with a lot of positives but far from the finished article. Hopefully we can build on it.
Agreed about the ratings. A match England won at the death but judging by the ranking given to the French it seems there were two different matches being played. It goes to show you how variable opinion is amongst even the well informed.
Is 7.5 Marcus Smith's score out of 10, or is it the average number of errors he made per minute on the pitch?
Agreed, Marcus didn't have a good game but then he's not a fullback so not a huge surprise.
7.5 is highly reflective of a result bias. Had England lost, it would have been:
"Marcus Smith 4/10 - Erratic at the back and two missed kicks cost England the game"