England player ratings vs France - Six Nations
England player ratings: Le Crunch found two teams on the opposite side of the Guinness Six Nations momentum charts. England played the party poopers in what was easily the most impressive game of their campaign to date.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS:
15. MAX MALINS - 6.5
Antoine Dupont's early try was the worst possible start for Malins and a desperately wonky pass to Watson a few minutes later won't have helped his confidence, but he booted his way into the game. Was left in no man's land for Penaud try thanks to May but a promising performance.
14. ANTHONY WATSON - 8
Looked fast, strong and eager for work. Broke tackles left, right and centre and has given his Lions chances a huge shot in the arm. A 50th cap to remember for the Bath strike runner.
13. HENRY SLADE - 6
A mixed bag for Slade, with question marks still lingering around his defense while on England duty. The Exeter centre fell off roughly 50 per cent of all his tackle attempts, a stat that doesn't do justice to the numerous big defensive plays he was involved in but is unflattering nonetheless.
12. OWEN FARRELL - 7.5
Harried the French with a vigour not seen yet in this tournament. Having Ford inside him allowed him more freedom to press in defense and get in French faces. His critics will hate it but this was an impressive showing.
11. JONNY MAY - 5
Needlessly bit in for Penaud's try when Farrell had Jailbert covered. The 'head-less chicken' broken field running that often works so well for May didn't quite come off here.
10. GEORGE FORD - 7
England wanted to play with pace and Ford helped bring a manic pace to proceedings, in the first half especially.
9. BEN YOUNGS - 7
The centurion looked very sharp and was as compelling a force in England's attack as any man in white.
1. MAKO VUNIPOLA - 5
Had his hands full with Montpellier tighthead Mohamed Haouas, with the pair trading penalties, although referee Andrew Brace started to favour the Englishman before Hauous got the shepherd's crook. Uncharacteristically turned over on more than one occasion. A game to forget.
2. LUKE COWAN-DICKIE - 6
A rare start for LCD, the Exeter Chief will have been eager to put in a big performance off the back fine Premiership form. Threw a dodgy dart or two and conceded a couple of penalties, but carried competently when asked. Not great, not terrible.
3. KYLE SINCKLER - 7
The Bristol man got into France as the game wore on. Relatively well contained in the loose by the French, who remorselessly targetted England's primary carriers.
4. MARO ITOJE - 8
Headlines around his discipline didn't cost Itoje a thought - the second row was his usual, ebullient self and his match-winning try topped off a fine 80 minutes. Don't care who you are, he's a nightmare to play against.
5. CHARLIE EWELS - 6
He has his detractors and this performance won't necessarily have quietened them. Did his job, but none of your fancy stuff.
6. MARK WILSON - 7
Like a grizzled old Cumbrian bouncer on a Saturday night, Wilson has the look of man who has seen it all before. The tonne of unglamourous work the Newcastle man gets through is lost on many, and this was a particular tireless shift.
7. TOM CURRY - 8
All guile and industry from the Sale Shark, who England are now heavily relying on for forward-based go-forward ball. England's brightest loosie this campaign.
8. BILLY VUNIPOLA - 6.5
An improvement, but he's still not quite right yet and it can't all be put down to rustiness. Yes, he carried plenty of times, but he just isn't quite winning the collisions with the same frequency we had come to expect from the hulking Saracen.
Latest Comments
Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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