Ratings - Part Deux

[Epaminondas Pules]

From the Torygraph

England

15. Freddie Steward

As tough and dependable as teak and after a performance of such imperiousness he cannot be far from a World XV. 9

14. Jack Nowell

A gritty, intelligent display - as ever - with the one black mark being naively dragged into touch by Paisami. Tidied up a lot of rubbish. 8

13. Guy Porter

Not the flashiest of debuts but did all that was asked of him and barely put a foot wrong. Put in a mammoth hit on Valetini. 7

12. Owen Farrell

Nigh-flawless off the tee, and dragged England kicking and screaming through the mire to victory. Distributed - with foot and hand - accurately, too. 8

11. Tommy Freeman

Busy early on and his silky tip-on was evidence of his abilities, but faded away as the match progressed. 6

10. Marcus Smith

There is no doubt about his talent, no doubt about his potential; there is also no doubt that he was England's least impressive back, the sin-binning indicative of England's wobble. 5

9. Jack van Poortvliet
Starting debuts, in a position of historical tempestuousness for Eddie Jones, do not come better than this. Set a ferocious tempo; box-kicked majestically. 9

1. Ellis Genge

His early barge through Hooper set his team's tone, but he was lucky to escape without a card for an asinine forearm to White's head. 7

2. Jamie George

Working ferociously hard, George's rugby intelligence sets him apart from other hookers but Cowan-Dickie's arrival gave England impetus. 6

3. Will Stuart

Proof his promising display last week was no one-off. Now an able deputy to Sinckler but did tire easily. 7

4. Maro Itoje

Back to his sublime, nuisance self until his gruesome injury. Would be a huge loss for England if he were ruled out of the series. 8

5. Jonny Hill

At the heart of any punchy maul, Hill binds the pack together and worked through a mountain of unseen graft. The perfect foil to Itoje's dynamism. 8

6. Courtney Lawes (c)

Struggled to fully assert himself but it's a measure of the skipper that he was bowled over by Porecki only to win a penalty at the next phase. 7

7. Sam Underhill

Far from his best and struggled to fill Curry's shoes. Largely ineffective and leaked penalties. If Willis recovers from injury, he should get a chance in Sydney. 4

8. Billy Vunipola

The No 8's best game in a white shirt for some time. Has improved his footwork this season and it shows. Central to the late rally. 9

Replacements

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (George 55) 7

17. Mako Vunipola (Genge 55) 8

18. Joe Heyes (Stuart 61) 7

19. Ollie Chessum (Itoje 39) 7

20. Lewis Ludlam (Underhill 57) 7

21. Danny Care (Van Poortvliet 63) 6

22. Will Joseph (Porter 79) 6

23. Henry Arundell (Freeman 70) 5

[Epaminondas Pules]

Seems a bit high all round

[p/d]

To be honest when they give ratings to a player who came on in the 78th minute then it ain’t worth a jot

[Epaminondas Pules]

Mind at least he did get one carry, conceded a penalty and made a tackle. But totally.

[Epaminondas Pules]

And that’s not sarcasm. I agree marks for that minute are largely pointless.

[FKAS]

Seems a bit harsh on Danny Care, thought he added a needed injection of tempo as JVP tired.

To be fair we should have put that game to bed in the first half as we were completely dominant.

[Mellsblue]

Lol. Didn’t realise Stephen Jones had moved from the Sunday times.

[Banquo]

Bit harsh on Freeman who went well. Scores madly high across the board otherwise.

[Beasties]

Agreed on Freeman, but then the other marks are all over the shop anyway, as well as being too high on average.

[Mellsblue]

This one seems like it was based on a highlights reel. No taking in to account the nuts and bolts that win or lose a match and the moments where a decent outcome was achieved but a different decision or a greater skill set would’ve seen a good outcome, eg Nowell having two opportunities to gas his man on the outside but both times he cut back inside, once straight in to the tackle and the other beating three men. He’ll be lauded for beating the three men but Watson or May prob score one of those opportunities or at worst get to the edge and stretch a scrambling Oz d line. I have a similar issue with numerous Farrell kicks out of hand that are described as great or good kicks when the real point is they are poor decisions.

[Banquo]

This one seems like it was based on a highlights reel. No taking in to account the nuts and bolts that win or lose a match and the moments where a decent outcome was achieved but a different decision or a greater skill set would’ve seen a good outcome, eg Nowell having two opportunities to gas his man on the outside but both times he cut back inside, once straight in to the tackle and the other beating three men. He’ll be lauded for beating the three men but Watson or May prob score one of those opportunities or at worst get to the edge and stretch a scrambling Oz d line. I have a similar issue with numerous Farrell kicks out of hand that are described as great or good kicks when the real point is they are poor decisions.

Poortvliet kicked well, Steward too; Faz and Smith kicked poorly in general, esp smith, who was poor unfortunately; his confidence looks a tad shot. Oh and he was sin binned.

Just noticed Underhill's mark- very harsh imo

[p/d]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

[Banquo]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

yep, Billy really stepped up in the last 30 mins.

[p/d]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

yep, Billy really stepped up in the last 30 mins.

He looked very much back on it. Also seemed to be enjoying himself

[Banquo]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

yep, Billy really stepped up in the last 30 mins.

He looked very much back on it. Also seemed to be enjoying himself

He's a bit undervalued as an all round player. His weakness imo is ball retention/concentration when not on it. But he is skilled.

[Epaminondas Pules]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

To be fair that needs to be worn by Heyes and Ludlam who got in the way when Heyes looked like he was preparing to pass and then they both brain farted.

[Banquo]

Times also a bit awry and high
ENGLAND: Total: 112

15. Freddie Steward: Rating: 7
So consistently good already on the Test stage that it is not a surprise to see him claim with such poise every high-ball available. A gliding runner when he gets going too.

14. Jack Nowell 7
Always seems to find pockets of space, and is England’s finest scrabbler in defence when cleaning up bobbling balls at the back. Such powerful legs.

13. Guy Porter 6
A few defensive lapses on his debut, and would have had pelters from his Sydney University mates like Angus Bell and Matt Philip in the Wallabies side. One bundling carry.

12. Owen Farrell 8
Official man of the match, and he summed up England’s feisty edge in the tackle. One strip on Samu Kerevi in the first half was excellent. Some of his kicking to touch and goal could improve.

11. Tommy Freeman 7
Made far more of an impact on the left wing than Joe Cokanasiga did last week, with demonstrative efforts to find the ball by coming off his wing. A good start.

10. Marcus Smith 6
His yellow card for a deliberate knock-on had English nerves jangling, but they conceded only three points without him. Kicking a little long, and not quite the night for dancing feet.

9. Jack van Poortvliet 9
Brilliant service from clean breakdowns had England fizzing onto the ball. In his two appearances so far he has shown serious promise – no wonder Eddie Jones likes him.

1. Ellis Genge 8
A raging bull in the loose who looked so fired up. He ran over Michael Hooper in the first minute and kept coming. Good scrummaging too.

2. Jamie George 7
One lineout missed, and two scrum penalties against, but one for. Part of an England pack that dominated the early stages.

3. Will Stuart 8
His finest England performance in the scrum, and worked hard off the ball too. Kyle Sinckler is a fine tight-head prop, but Stuart is now emerging after a good while in his slipstream.

4. Maro Itoje 8
Looked so much more influential and energetic than he has done in the latter stages of a long season — but then was knocked out badly, tackling Hunter Paisami just before half-time.

5. Jonny Hill 7
Lineout work still a little clunky and telegraphed, with him losing a few by being beaten to the ball in the middle. Showed grunt in the scrum and tight phases.

6. Courtney Lawes 8
Finally England managed a final quarter well, so hats off to Lawes’s leadership. He was far quicker to the breakdown, and carried with purpose again too. A fine win for the skipper.

7. Sam Underhill 7
Allowed England rapid first-half ball with his superb clearing at rucks, which gave the backs platform. He went off with what looked like a head knock in the second half.

8. Billy Vunipola 9
His best performance for club and country for years. Rock-hard in defence, carried like a rhino in ballet shoes for 68 metres, and led the English forward charge. Supreme stuff.

Replacements
Luke Cowan-Dickie’s lineout wobbled, but Ollie Chessum grafted and Mako Vunipola carried well. Henry Arundell made his first mistake for England, taking a man in the air, and was used less. Will Joseph made a late debut.

[p/d]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

To be fair that needs to be worn by Heyes and Ludlam who got in the way when Heyes looked like he was preparing to pass and then they both brain farted.

Aye. Would love to know what verbal volley came out of Billy’s mouth as he rose from the ground

[Banquo]

The penalty Heyes gave away after Billy’s brilliant turnover should on its own keep his rating below 5.

To be fair that needs to be worn by Heyes and Ludlam who got in the way when Heyes looked like he was preparing to pass and then they both brain farted.

Aye. Would love to know what verbal volley came out of Billy’s mouth as he rose from the ground

Suspect it was his order for dinner.

[p/d]

‘carried like a rhino in ballet shoes’ ……

[Beasties]

Times a bit more sensible. Apart from Faz on 8 and MOM obvs.

[fivepointer]

I'd have JVP as our best player. Did all the basics to a tee, made good decisions and remained composed while he was on. A really high class effort from a young player in only his second cap.

Marcus Smith worries me. Some of his work yesterday was woeful.

[Banquo]

I'd have JVP as our best player. Did all the basics to a tee, made good decisions and remained composed while he was on. A really high class effort from a young player in only his second cap.

Marcus Smith worries me. Some of his work yesterday was woeful.

Its a fair case, JVP, Billy and Lawes went well; Underhill had a good first 30 at the breakdown as well.