Following a 38-18 victory over Fiji in the international clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, here are the player ratings for England.
15 Marcus Smith: Acted as a second playmaker alongside his Smith namesake and there was promise at times, but it just didn’t quite click enough. Marcus helped create some chances, but it was all a bit too frantic. Came alive late on, however, to help the Red Rose pull away from Fiji. 6
14 Tommy Freeman: Back on the wing, and he was chasing kicks more than getting the ball in his hands, really. Did come into midfield on occasion, but he struggled to make a huge impact. 6
13 Ollie Lawrence: After surprisingly missing out against the Wallabies, Lawrence returned to the side, but there was a bit of rust to shake off. There were some decision-making issues, but he was vital to Ellis Genge’s try with a lovely run. 6
12 Fraser Dingwall: Known as a glue player and loved by team-mates for his ability to organise in both attack and defence, but he’s still got to make his tackles, and Dingwall slipped off a couple. 5
England’s best back
11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: Somehow got straight back up after being taken in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada and then touched down a couple of minutes later. Always made ground with the ball in hand but didn’t break free as much as he would have liked, although it was still a fine showing from the England wing. 7
10 Fin Smith: After George Ford’s control last weekend, Steve Borthwick was hoping to see the same from the young Northampton Saint, but the result was mixed. There were some good things but, when it slowed down, his option-taking wasn’t the best. 6
9 Alex Mitchell: Got tempo into England’s game but, like his backline team-mates, it got a bit too loose as he failed to take the right decisions a few times. 6
8 Chandler Cunningham-South: Borthwick is looking for a big ball-carrying eight following Tom Willis’ decision to leave for France, and Cunningham-South’s audition went rather well with the huge All Blacks encounter looming. Some big carries and some even bigger hits. Superb. 8
Consistently England’s best
7 Ben Earl: Has reached a certain point where his performance level rarely drops, even if he’s not absolutely blockbuster and that was the case on Saturday. Earl was always involved looking to make things happen, while also doing his core jobs well. 8
6 Guy Pepper: An exceptional talent who is learning plenty in his first year of international rugby. Like last weekend, he was good at close quarters without truly getting that reward at the breakdown. 6
5 Ollie Chessum: Very busy around the field and did his job in the set-piece, including being a reliable presence at the lineout. Also very physical in the closer exchanges. 7
4 Alex Coles: Like Chessum, he was a workhorse. Didn’t gain too much traction in the carry, but Coles is stepping up nicely at this level and is not letting England down. 6
3 Joe Heyes: Scrum wasn’t dominant, but it was a decent platform from which England could play off, but Heyes excelled elsewhere with some good carries in the loose. 7
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie: Looked powerful early on, as evidenced by his try, while his throwing was pretty much pinpoint, but Jamie George certainly helped calm things down when he came on. 6
1 Ellis Genge (cc): Similar to Heyes, the scrum had the edge without being a key weapon. Genge was busy around the field but Fiji shackled him pretty well as they were not too many barnstorming carries. 6
Replacements: Once again, changed the game. Tom Curry, Henry Pollock gave them energy, with the former also leading the defensive charge and actually cutting down the time and space for the Fijians. Henry Arundell had a very impressive cameo, while co-captain Maro Itoje came on slightly later to add further presence to that pack. Young props Fin Baxter and Asher Opoku-Fordjour also deserve credit for improving the scrum. 8