AUSTRALIA
15. Israel Folau: 8
The most dangerous player on the pitch, always attracting two defenders and often leaving them in his wake. A try and an assist was his reward, but loses a full point for a shocker of a pass that led to England’s first try.
14. Dane Haylett-Petty: 6
A solid if unspectacular debut – although the replays of him being stepped by Haskell will presumably haunt him for some time.
13. Tevita Kuridrani: 7
Immensely powerful runner who always smashed over the gainline. His well-taken try accentuated all his greatest assets.
12. Samu Kerevi: 5
Forced out onto the wing midway through the first half, and didn’t see a great deal of ball thereafter. A better player than this showing.
11. Rob Horne: 5
Forced off with injury before he could impact the game.
10. Bernard Foley: 6
A really tricky one to rate – he is an insatiably good playmaker, and pulled Australia’s strings to perfection at times, but his woeful form from the tee really hurt the Wallabies. In many ways it is similar to the George Ford situation – let someone else kick and allow him to just go out and play.
9. Nick Phipps: 6
Didn’t do anything wrong, but couldn’t spark anything amongst the Australian ranks either.
1. Scott Sio: 4
Looked a shadow of the man that dominated the World Cup, as he was marmalised by Dan Cole in the scrum and eventually invited to take a 10 minute breather on the touchline as a result.
2. Stephen Moore: 6
The lineout ran smoothly enough, but he won’t have been happy with the scrummaging effort. Given some of the decisions made late on, it seems bizarre that he was hooked after 56 minutes.
3. Greg Holmes: 4.5
Didn’t have quite as torrid a time as Sio, but he couldn’t get the better of Mako Vunipola either, and this is undoubtedly the side of the scrum that the Wallabies would have been targeting.
4. Rory Arnold: 6.5
Three Story Rory (credit: Australian press) quietly impressed on debut, although with a frame as big as his you fancy that there must be more to come.
5. Rob Simmons: 6
One fine turnover early on before he was hooked after being concussed.
6. Scott Fardy: 5.5
A useful lineout option, and he did manage to disrupt England ball a couple of times, but a whopping penalty count of four counts strongly against him.
7. Michael Hooper: 7
Showed his incredible fleet of foot to score a crucial second try, but must take the rap for the bizarre decision late on to take the three points, when a kick to the corner would have presented an opportunity to steal a draw. The confidence was misguided in the end.
8. David Pocock: 7
Managed one or two of his trademark limpet-like turnovers at the breakdown, but was no where near as effective as at the World Cup. Intelligently targeted by England’s meaty clean-outs.
Replacements: 6
According to the stats, Christian Leali’ifano played 62 minutes and touched the ball three times – which seems bizarre, given Australia had 60% possession. James Horwill was the pick of Australia’s bench on his return to the test arena, making several powerful contributions.
ENGLAND
15. Mike Brown: 5
Still never looks like passing when counter-attacking, which means he has become predictable and easy to stop. Uncharacteristically missed a couple of one-on-one tackles, too.
14. Anthony Watson: 6
A quiet day for the man who has hitherto been England’s biggest attacking threat, as he saw very little ball in promising situations.
13. Jonathan Joseph: 7
Showed great tenacity to force the error and then grubber through for his try, that kick-started England’s comeback. One nice break down the left channel in the first half.
12. Luther Burrell: 5
You’d be heartless not to feel sorry for him being pulled off in the first half, but the fact is, defensively his positioning was found wanting on a couple of occasions. England’s attack looked so much better with two playmakers on the pitch, too.
11. Marland Yarde: 6.5
Strolled over for a very simple try, but otherwise was kept quiet. Did his best work in defence, making a couple of excellent one on one tackles in his channel.
10. Owen Farrell: 8
There is a very strong argument that his place kicking won this game for England. Never looked like missing (even the one that did hit the post). His usual all-action self in defence.
9. Ben Youngs: 7.5
Box-kicking was excellent and there were fewer wayward passes. He also passed from the base of the ruck more, without taking the two steps that aren’t always necessary (although sometimes definitely are).
1. Mako Vunipola: 7.5
Held up his side of the scrum and made several powerful bursts with ball in hand.
2. Dylan Hartley: 8
Aside from one steal, the lineout ran smoothly and Hartley was his usual physical self in the loose. Deserves great credit for rallying his troops to come back from an early 10-0 deficit.
3. Dan Cole: 8
A return to the imperious scrummaging form that he was showing consistently a couple of years ago. Sweet, sweet redemption over Scott Sio.
4. Maro Itoje: 7
One turnover early in the game reminded us how good he is at the breakdown.
5. George Kruis: 6.5
Not as visibly important as several of the other forwards, although he was a key part of operation smash the Australian back-row at the breakdown.
6. Chris Robshaw: 7.5
Another player to win an early breakdown turnover (no, seriously!). Great work rate thereafter to finish as England’s second top tackler.
7. James Haskell: 9
Surely his best performance in an England shirt by some margin. 18 tackles and three turnovers is a haul any openside – “genuine” or otherwise – would be proud of, but it was his general physicality (typified by a crunching early hit on Pocock) that set the standards for England’s win. And what a sidestep…
8. Billy Vunipola: 6
A surprisingly subdued performance from big Billy, who never really got going with ball in hand and was brought off for Joe Launchbuey late on as England looked to protect their win.
Replacements: 7
George Ford deserves an eight on his own, after his early entry ignited England’s attack. His miss pass for Marland Yarde’s try was a thing of beauty – as, for that matter, was his gorgeously weighted chip for Nowell’s closing act. Unburdened with place-kicking duties, this was the visionary Ford that we all remember from a season ago.
Elsewhere Danny Care added tempo with his sniping runs, Matt Mullan continued Vunipola’s fine work on the loosehead at scrum-time… although Paul Hill’s greenness was somewhat exposed there.
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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Agree with most of these scores, but would definitely mark Brown down 0.5. An easy catch knocked on under no pressure and at least one woeful kick plus no threat in attack with ball in hand.
Burrell was woeful and Eddie made the right call to take him off early. The game changed with the Ford and Farrell show running things. Makes me wonder who will get the nod next week!?
For me I would either give Goode a start or move Watson to 15 and have Yarde and Nowell both starting? I would also be tempted to have T’eo start alongside Farrell to see how he goes. Can’t be much worse than Burrell at least. If we start with a big 12 then Goode needs to start to have that second playmaker and a full back who might just pass the ball, or make some decent return kicks that people can chase!
We’ve made pretty much exactly the same comment at exactly the same time. Great minds think alike, obviously!
Wonder with Brown’s poor performance if Eddie will consider it time to think about moving Watson to 15. It would get him into the game much more and let his devastating running off the leash. Could easily argue for Nowell at 15 too but he comes off his wing looking for work more than Watson does and therefore it wouldn’t make as much of a difference to his overall involvement in the game if he plays one the wing or at full back. Depends on the midfield I suppose – if he goes back to Farrell at 12 then it’s the back three I’d like to see. I’m not willing to write off the carrier at 12 though – the issue with Burrell was defensive. England’s attack looked better when Ford came on because they actually got their hands on the ball, not because their 12 was blunting their creativity. I’d still be tempted by Te’o at 12 if he proves he can fit into the defensive system, and if that’s the case I’d play Goode at 15 so the backline keeps its second playmaking option.
Farrell has to stay at 10 because Ford’ s kicking is so suspect,added to which Ford was more than ok in the middle. I wonder if EJ will go with him and bring in Te’o alongside? That would be harsh on joseph and It makes you wonder where and when Slade may get a look in but it could work.
Folau was superb. England need to find a F/B half as good.
If there is one change to be made ,surely it has to be George for LCD?
I think the reason Ford was so good was mainly because the pressure was off him for place kicking. If Farrell doesn’t play, then the pressure is back on Ford. Farrell either starts at 10 or 12, but he has to start!
If T’eo is fit I would definitely like to see him get a start, but only if Goode is playing at 15. That extra playmaker is vital in the backline and without that we looked blunt in attack.
Completely agree on George for LCD though. Didn’t understand that selection when it was made, understand it even less now. Unless Eddie was saving George for the second test?
England looked blunt in attack as they barely had any ball going forward (even then they still should’ve scored from JJ’s break, but Watson overran the support line off Brown’s shoulder when Brown tried to offload), not really because Burrell’s presence at 12 stifled any moves to be fair. Indeed I can remember on one occasion he punched a decent hole and carried two or three defenders into contact, but was turned over due to a lack of support – it may have been a profitable tactic if England had been able to use it more. The issue was his defensive fallibility and that’s why the change was made, not because Jones thought the team was screaming out for a second playmaker. That said the increased fluency provided by having both Ford and Farrell on the pitch was almost certainly meant to be part of the plan, just much later than it actually happened!
Agreed on most – Burrell was so far out of his depth, I’d be surprised if he played again on this tour.
I’d like to see a back three of Watson, Nowell and Yarde. Watson is undoubtedly our best attacking threat, and with Brown not offering complete security under the high ball and defensively then why on earth is he there? We need the ball in Watsons hands more, which is why I’d play him there over Goode.
Hartley, Itoje, Farrell and obviously Haskell were all outstanding. Farrell is quickly elevating himself to a level above a lot of other 10s around. Also good to see Dan Cole find form, both at the scrum and in the loose, that we haven’t seen that often.
Squad for next week:
Mako, Hartley, Cole. Kruis, Itoje, Robshaw, Haskell, Vunipola, Youngs, Ford, Nowell, Farrell, JJ, Yarde, Watson
LCD, Mullan, Hill, Launchbury, Clifford, Care, Slade, Daly
I would have marked Itoje higher. Agree Burrell had to be pulled but a great call from Jones to do it so early. Not a fan of Goode but Watson at FB would be interesting. Worth trying Te’o as well. Would prefer Itoje as blind side with Launchbury or Lawes in the 2nd row, although that is slightly cruel on Robshaw who had a great game but can he do it for a 2nd time? Haskell MOM – never too old for rugby!!
Watson at full back with Nowell going to the wing would be the only change.
Very surprised that Brown missed Foley on the disallowed try. He made a couple of aimless kicks and as noted elsewhere, he is nowhere as secure under the high ball as he was a year ago. I think Goode is better positionally than Watson at the moment and he would create space for Watson and Yarde, plus provide a second or even third playmaker (if Jones goes with Farrell at 12 and George Ford at 10).
Ford put in a lot of tackles and although not as effective as Farrell at tackling he gives time for his teammates to assist. Poor old Burrell, after a short reprieve, will no find himself out of the squad, so perhaps Lancaster was not wrong. Jones admitted his mistake after 20 mins.
Robshaw and Haskell outshone Billy and the Aussie back row. Robshaw’s tackle when the penalty came back off the post indirectly led to a try. I wanted to see more pace in the back row but Haskell’s pace and sidestep in the lead up to Yarde’s try was unexpected to say the least. More of that please. And 18 tackles, often at key points, as well as the morale-booster early one when he flattened Pocock.
Itoje demonstrated his athleticism in grabbing a lost line-out ball and his usual turnovers. I think keep the scrum as it is for next week as they asserted themselves over their Aussie counterparts. When the subs came on we lost our dominance at scrum time.
I haven’t seen anything of Te’o so can’t comment but I would guess Eddie will continue with Ford and Farrell at 10 and 12. So the only change may be at 15 but the old adage of “don’t change a winning team” may apply, so Brown may survive.
I wouldn’t want to change things too much at all. After a good win I wouldn’t want to much disruption so I’d keep Watson on the wing, although I do understand why people are calling for him at 15. The only changes I would make would be Teo at 12 and Goode at 15. Both really to see how they get on. If Teo doesn’t work then we can bring Ford on like this weekend.
I would keep the pack the same, but shuffle around the back line. If T’eo is fit and is working well with the defensive line then I would go with:
9. Youngs, 10. Farrell, 11. Yarde, 12. T’eo, 13 Joseph, 14. Watson, 15. Goode.
If T’eo is not ready:
9. Youngs, 10. Ford, 11. Yarde, 12. Farrell, 13. Joseph, 14. Nowell, 15. Watson.
Having Goode at 15 with a bosher at 12 would help the midfield get more ball off second/third phase and add to the creativity of the back line. If the Ford/Farrell axis is to be selected then I would give Watson a shot at 15. I thought Yarde did pretty well and Watson was certainly better than Brown.
As the author has prev acknowledged, these ratings are subjective.
He & everyone else seems to have sounded the death knell for Burrell. This is apparently due to his being entirely responsible for England’s lack of ‘D’ AND the 1st 20s lack of ball.
However, when JJ missed Kuridrani’s try, which got Oz back into it, zip mention.
Eh? Doesn’t add up.
P’raps Jamie is (& the rest are) trying to prove this subjectivity?
Interesting maybe, but hardly objective or necessarily that useful.
Burrell was defending too narrow and falling off tackles. He wasn’t entirely responsible for our lack of ball but to compete for the ball first you need to make a tackle. Once Ford came on we had better width on D so Aus started coming through the middle more targeting the 10 channel. this allowed us to compete at the breakdown and win penalties and turnovers
Yes JJ fell off a tackle it happens more than I would like but he had a better game than Burrell. i wouldn’t be adverse to swapping JJ but there are bigger issues than a single missed tackle
Agree with you Leon. There were several occasions I was wondering if Burrell had gone off as he didn’t seem to be where he should have been in defence. I thought he could have made an attempt to stop Hooper for his try. Watson obviously didn’t trust him to tackle the man he was supposed to, so he should’ve shifted to the outside but didn’t bother doing that either. If you go missing in your defensive line at this level your going to get replaced.
JJ may have slipped off a tackle but at least he was there to attempt a tackle.
Loving having my opinion of Haskell comprehensively destroyed. But I’m concerned in that he’s put in great performances for England before only to follow them up with mediocre ones. I hope he can do it next week as well.
Robshaw deserves to be higher. Having been written off by god knows how many people, he once again put in a superb performance for 80 minutes and he and Haskell utterly out-played a back row that had been considered perhaps the best in the world.
As does Kruis who got through an immense amount of work in the tough areas.
Brown’s performance will be remembered for the dropped ball, which to be fair was poor compared to his usual safe hands. But its also worth noting that his strong running over the gainline was one of the key efforts in getting England back in the game after they went two tries down. As for passing, well, if Watson hadn’t over-run him, Brown’s break and pass would have resulted in a try.
Still, think Goode has earned the chance of a start.