Sunday, December 22, 2024

England 37-42 Australia: Autumn Nations Series player ratings

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England

George Furbank On the periphery of things but Australia take a lot of credit for that. Hasn’t showcased what he can do in attack in either match yet. 5/10

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso Excelled last week but in the wars this week, going off for an HIA and then permanently after Williams’ try. Not an afternoon to remember. 5/10

Ollie Lawrence Saw more of the ball in opening 10 minutes than he did across 80 last week. Did not do a great deal with it though. 6/10

Henry Slade Moved inside one this week and though England claimed it was largely cosmetic he struggled to make much of an impression. 6/10

Tommy Freeman Hasn’t really been his autumn so far. Does what you’d expect of him, chasing kicks, claiming high balls but no x-factor. 6/10

Marcus Smith Where would England be without him? Glorious grubber in buildup to Cunningham-South try and continued in that vein. At the heart of everything. 9/10

Ben Spencer Same problems around the ruck as last week early on before settling into box-kicking stride in second half. Occasionally kicked too long. 7/10

Ellis Genge Made a few dents with the ball in hand during England’s early flurry and got the better of Tupou at scrum-time. 8/10

Jamie George Ran a fine lineout but seemed powerless to stop Australia fighting their way back in first half. Made way with half an hour to go. 6/10

Will Stuart Another decent shift. Maybe he feels scorned after missing out on an enhanced contract but has been a good autumn so far for him. 7/10

Maro Itoje Did not have everything his way but when he assumed the captaincy things improved for England. 8/10

George Martin Another who is not quite making the kind of impact we know he can. Went off gingerly midway through second half. 6/10

Chandler Cunningham-South Two first-half tries, demonstrating both his pace and power. Rapidly becoming a fan favourite at Twickenham. 8/10

Tom Curry Suffered a nasty-looking head injury after colliding with Valentini and made way. Was missed and could well be ruled out against South Africa. 5/10

Ben Earl Not hitting the heights he did earlier in the year and outshone by teammates and opponents in the back-row. 5/10

Replacements Luke Cowan-Dickie (for George 51) Brought some oomph 7; Fin Baxter (for Genge 62) Struggled again 5; Dan Cole (for Stuart 69) 5; Nick Isiekwe (for Martin 60) Couldn’t get up to speed 5; Alex Dombrandt (for Curry 23) Mixed bag 6; Harry Randall (for Spencer 62) Better than last week 6; George Ford (for Furbank 62) Couldn’t calm things down 6; Ollie Sleightholme (for Feyi-Waboso 51) Fine finishes 8.

Marcus Smith keeps Australia on the back foot in a lively display. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Australia

Tom Wright Such a counterattacking threat, slipping his way through England’s defence at will, and had the pace to score Australia’s opening try. 9/10

Andrew Kellaway The former Northampton winger gave a penalty away but chased hard. Kept going and eventually got his reward. 7/10

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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii Showed his aerial ability with his very first touch and why he commands so many column inches with his basketball pass to Wright. 9/10

Len Ikitau Suaalii may have commanded attention but Ikitau was just as impressive, particularly with the stunning pass to put Jorgensen away. 8/10

Dylan Pietsch A busy winger, always looking to get involved but could do with an extra yard of pace to get away when he finds space. Early withdrawal. 6/10

Noah Lolesio Kicked superbly from the tee and provided a calming presence at fly-half. Outshone by Smith but no shame in that. 7/10

Jake Gordon Covered in claret and the Wallabies looked more threatening when McDermott came on. Needs to up his speed of pass. 6/10

Angus Bell Bulldozing carry to sit Curry down and repeatedly got Australia over the gainline. Among the outstanding forwards on show. 9/10

Matt Faessler One or two lineout wobbles but on the whole a solid hour before he was replaced. Got through plenty of work. 6/10

Taniela Tupou Struggled at scrum-time and twice penalised in the first half. Carries hard but not the explosive impact his nickname of Tongan Thor suggests. 6/10

Nick Frost Picked for his lineout prowess which was not flawless. Not as energetic or as physical as Williams. 7/10

Jeremy Williams Did so well to get the ball down in the left-hand corner. Is an all-action lock, covering so much ground for the Wallabies. 8/10

Rob Valentini Some thunderous carries which helped drag Australia into half-time lead. When he hits, he hits hard. 8/10

Fraser McReight Not quite as much of an impact as his fellow back-rowers but no complaint. Dug deep for 80 minutes. 7/10

Harry Wilson A captain’s innings from the cricket obsessive. Great support line to score Australia’s second try and did not stop going all afternoon. 9/10

Replacements Brandon Paenga-Amosa (for Faessler 60) Dynamic 7; James Slipper (for Bell 71) N/A; Allan Alaalatoa (for Tupou 45) An improvement 7; Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (for Williams 60) Added some clout 8; Tate McDermott (for Gordon 64) Livewire 8; Ben Donaldson (for Lolesio 71) 8; Max Jorgensen (for Pietsch 48) What a finish. 8.

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