Following a dramatic 48-46 defeat to France in the Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday, here are the player ratings for England.
15 Elliot Daly: Kicked plenty early on, caught one high ball and then supplied the assist for Tom Roebuck’s try, but was questionable defensively. Potentially made errors for both Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s first-half tries with the right-hand side of the defence not organised. 6
14 Tom Roebuck: Finished his try well enough and there was another fine attacking moment in the first half. Was also able to defuse a French bomb, but France exploited the space he and Daly left. 6
13 Tommy Freeman: Much better from the Northampton star, who was physical on the gain line and also threatened in the wider channels, which is what we have come to expect from him in a Saints jersey. Thought he had won it with his late converted try. Defence is a work-on, but England have had a lot of changes in that backline in the Six Nations. 8
12 Seb Atkinson: An improvement from the Italy shocker as he did the simple things well. Still getting used to the pace of Test rugby, however, and needs to find more ways of making an impact. 6
11 Cadan Murley: One needless penalty aside, Murley had another good game. He is starting to put his shocking Test debut against Ireland to bed by doing the basics well and showing his power and speed in possession. 7
Tempo from the half-backs
10 Fin Smith: England played the type of game he thrives on. Knitted the backline together superbly with some lovely passing close to the line. Goal-kicking needs to be much better but his drop-kick conversion after the ball fell off the tee was outrageous. Deserves an extended run at 10. 8
9 Ben Spencer: Was so much speedier at the breakdown. Everyone knows he can do it for Bath but he has previously looked quite ponderous at the England base. However, he found his rhythm in Paris. 8
8 Ben Earl: Spent some time off the field through a blood injury and then as a result of Ellis Genge’s yellow card, but he still made plenty of metres. Wasn’t as influential as usual but was still impressive enough. 7
7 Guy Pepper: Got involved in plenty of breakdowns but struggled to slow down French ball. The hosts, like England to be fair, played with a lightning pace and the poachers, other than Maro Itoje, had little effect. Ridiculous work rate, however. 6
6 Ollie Chessum: Brilliant from the big man and not just for his two tries, although the intercept and 60-metre run was the highlight. Chessum was everywhere in both the loose and the tight in what was a massive performance. 9
Superb from front five effort
5 Alex Coles: A key man at the lineout as he managed to help the visitors win consistent ball at the set-piece, while he was also a real presence in the loose, but unfortunately went off with a nasty-looking injury. 8
4 Maro Itoje (c): Magnificent from the captain, who was a menace at the breakdown and also carried with real ferocity, something he hasn’t done for a while. Suggestions that he was at fault for the high tackle before his deliberate knock-on which led to Thomas Ramos’ match-winner, but it looked ridiculously harsh. We doubt that final act happens without referee Nika Amashukeli giving that penalty advantage. 8
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3 Joe Heyes: Incredible work ethic for his 75 minutes on the field. Scrummaged well against Jean-Baptiste Gros and was excellent in the loose. 7
2 Jamie George: A fine performance from the hooker, who was inch-perfect with his throwing and did his bit around the field. 7
1 Ellis Genge: Great in the scrum and outstanding around the field, but you can’t help but feel his yellow card was costly. France scored two tries during the 10 minutes he was off the field and that proved crucial in the end result. 5
Replacements: It was mixed. Couldn’t doubt the endeavour or the effort and Marcus Smith’s contribution was a net positive, but there was the odd issue here and there from Luke Cowan-Dickie, Henry Pollock and Jack van Poortvliet, whose box-kicking was a little too short. All three of those players did plenty of good things, but the little errors added up at the end. 6
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