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England player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series
By Liam Heagney
November finally ended in a smile for England last Sunday, Japan getting put to the sword following an exasperating run of Saturday matches where New Zealand, Australia and South Africa all skipped away from Allianz Stadium beaming with the victories secured by their greater prowess down the finishing straight.
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Steve Borthwick and co were left with plenty to chew. The kicking calamity against the All Blacks, the damned leaky blitz defence versus the Wallabies and then a general lack of oomph when it most mattered when taking on the Springboks. Routing the Japanese couldn’t – and didn’t – make up for any of this misfortune.
We’re now 28 games deep into the Borthwick era and his record is a breakeven 14 wins and 14 losses. That will needle.
Having awarded 17 players enhanced elite player squad contracts for the season that are worth a small fortune, this Autumn Nations Series was optimistically approached and the in-camp expectation was for a minimum three-wins-from-four return. It didn’t materialise.
Forty players – 22 forwards and 18 backs – were in camp over the four match weeks, 19 appearing as starters, 12 as replacements and nine more not making a single match day 23.
?? Cheslin Kolbe picked the perfect time to pick up the pace to score in the corner for South Africa to send the Springboks well on their way to victory against England ?#Breitling #DefiningMoment @Breitling pic.twitter.com/8NBgavLjcT
— Autumn Nations Series (@autumnnations) November 19, 2024
There were six ever-present forward starters and four ever-present backs and three of these 10 players who started all four matches – Maro Itoje, Ben Earl and Tommy Freeman – played every one of the 320 minutes available. Next up is the February 1 Six Nations trip to Ireland. In the meantime, here are the RugbyPass Autumn Nations Series England player ratings:
FULL-BACK (2)
George Furbank – 4.5/10
3 starts, 197 mins (1 try): Bang average series where he failed to kick on from last spring’s Six Nations promise.
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Freddie Steward – 3/10
1 start, 80 mins: Given his chance versus the Springboks, he was left grasping at air by fleet-footed opponents.
WING (6)
Tommy Freeman – 5
4 starts, 320 mins: Fared better on the right wing in the latter two matches compared to left wing isolation, but still not very satisfying apart from an outrageous assist for Furbank. Outside centre role in 2025, anyone?
Ollie Sleightholme – 7.5
2 starts + 1 run as sub, 205 mins (4 tries): Injury opened the selection door and he galloped through. Some tackling errors in the system but exceptional attack. Has to be a Six Nations starter.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – 6
2 starts, 120 mins (1 try): A shame that concussion against the Wallabies prematurely ended his series. Experienced the memory of a lifetime with his stadium-exploding try versus the All Blacks.
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Tom Roebuck – 5.5
2 runs as sub, 29 mins (1 try): A pair of short-lived cameos but was decent.
Elliot Daly – No rating
0 mins: Trained the first three match weeks, then stepped out due to an unspecified injury.
Cadan Murley – No rating
0 mins: Replaced Daly for the Japan match week but didn’t make the 23.
? Top class finish from Ollie Sleightholme!
??????? @EnglandRugby assert the dominance once again#AutumnNationsSeries | #ENGvJAP pic.twitter.com/9jexZIYsYe
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 24, 2024
MIDFIELD (4)
Ollie Lawrence – 6.5
4 starts, 313 mins: Rated as satisfying to good across the series, but the infuriating part was not give him more ball more against New Zealand.
Henry Slade – 3
4 starts, 291 mins: Wasn’t battle hardened enough for Test rugby having had just a single club appearance. His blitz was woundingly all over the shop.
Alex Lozowski – No rating
0 mins: Was seeking a first cap since 2018 but it didn’t materialise despite training all four match weeks.
Luke Northmore – No rating
0 mins: Trained all four match weeks but still uncapped.
OUT-HALF (3)
Marcus Smith – 7.5
4 starts, 303 mins (9 penalties, 13 conversions): Ended series with Borthwick realising he has to trust him, not whip him off as criminally happened against New Zealand. Excellent in attack but will rue defence which cost crucial tries against Australia (bit in instead of drifting) and South Africa (charged down kick).
George Ford – 2
2 runs as sub, 35 mins + 1 unused sub: Quite the fall in grace for one of England’s best in Six Nations 2024. Paid heavy price for lack of club action. Both appearances were error-strewn, leaving him subjected to some fan booing and an unused sub ordeal versus South Africa.
Fin Smith – 5.5
1 run as sub, 25 mins: Decent against Japan apart from one penalty clearance not finding touch, but his cameo mustn’t be over-rated given the low standard of opposition. Needed to play in one of the bigger Tests but Borthwick sadly didn’t fancy him.
SCRUM-HALF (3)
Ben Spencer – 5.5
2 starts, 125 mins: One of the month’s heart-warming stories as he made a first Test start at the age of 32 and didn’t disappoint facing the All Blacks. Unfairly punished for the in-game momentum loss versus the Aussies.
Jack van Poortvliet – 4.5
2 starts, 109 mins: In from out of the blue for a first cap in 15 months, but the nuisance Springboks had his number and he wasn’t an upgrade on Spencer. A missed opportunity with England without the injured Alex Mitchell.
Harry Randall – 4.5
4 runs as sub, 86 mins: Not considered a starter, his role was to add energy from the bench but the way England finished their big opening three games didn’t reflect well on what he did.
? @EnglandRugby score a scorcher!
? What a way to open the scoring! Smith and Slade set up Sleightholme to open the English account!#AutumnNationsSeries | #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/5rgJYEgbGA
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 16, 2024
LOOSEHEAD (3)
Ellis Genge – 5
4 starts, 232 mins: His scrummaging was on mostly on the money but aspects of his wider game, such as his usually reliable tackling, left him down.
Fin Baxter – 4.5
4 runs as sub, 88 mins: Similar to Randall, his brief as a sub in all four games was to add impetus from the bench, but New Zealand was the only fixture where he delivered.
Joe Marler – No Rating
0 mins: Left camp on the Monday night of the All Blacks match week. Then ignited a social media row with his haka comments and finished the week by confirming his Test rugby retirement.
HOOKER (3)
Jamie George – 4.5
4 starts, 210 mins (2 tries): His engine wasn’t what it was and his repeat early exits sparked questions about the validity of his captaincy. Did better in the latter two appearances. Lineout accuracy was generally on point.
Theo Dan – 3
1 run as sub, 27 mins: Chosen last month as an enhanced EPS player, he made just a single appearance against the All Blacks and then disappeared from consideration.
Luke Cowan-Dickie – 4.5
3 runs as sub, 92 mins (2 tries): Impressed against Japan but lacked accuracy and precision to make a real difference against the Wallabies and the Springboks.
TIGHTHEAD (4)
Will Stuart – 6.5
4 starts, 236 mins: Huge step forward in his credibility, especially with his consistent scrummaging. England’s set-piece lost momentum in the big games after he went off.
Dan Cole – 4
3 runs as sub, 59 mins: A series where time seemed to catch up with the much-celebrated 37-year-old. The South African appearance could well be his final Test career appearance.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 6
1 run as sub, 25 mins: What a story, the 20-year-old making a Test debut just 18 weeks after helping England to win the World Rugby U20 Championship in Cape Town. It was only a cameo versus Japan but it was satisfying to see youth given exposure.
Trevor Davison – No rating
0 mins: One of four players who trained every match week (Alex Coles, Lozowski and Northmore were the other three) without seeing action.
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SECOND ROW (5)
Maro Itoje – 7
4 starts, 320 mins (1 try): Played every minute with good reason as his grittiness was important in making England competitive at breakdown and set-piece. The bigger the player, though, the more high profile the mistakes. His horrors were the knock-on of the restart after he gave his team the lead against Australia with a converted try and the following Saturday’s try-cancelling neck roll on Malcolm Marx.
George Martin – 5.5
4 starts, 283 mins: This was his most inconsistent run in the Test shirt. Normally a glue player who does the basics exceptionally well, there were uncharacteristic missed tackles and a level of inaccuracy not usually associated with him.
Nick Isiekwe – 4
4 runs as sub, 50 mins: The third player who played off the bench in all four games along with Randall and Baxter, the impression was that Borthwick isn’t a massive fan. Three minutes against New Zealand and four versus the Springboks was way too short a time to contribute.
Alex Coles – No rating
0 mins: Trained the whole way through but only deemed good enough to help out on match day with the pre-game warm-up.
Charlie Ewels – No rating
0 mins: Trained matches weeks two and three but got not further.
Chandler Cunningham-South that is cold ?
? Watch live on TNT Sports #ENGvAUS
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 9, 2024
FLANKER (6)
Chandler Cunningham-South – 7
3 starts +1 run as sub, 291 mins (2 tries): The 21-year-old is now very much an integral part of the English back row with his level of physicality. Showed he can play a bit of ball too with his scores against Australia.
Tom Curry – 5.5
3 starts, 163 mins: Heartening to see him safely get through 80 minutes against the Japanese after tackle tech left him knocked out 15 days earlier. He was missed in the defence when he wasn’t on the field.
Alex Dombrandt – 4
3 runs as sub, 84 mins: Provided further evidence that he is struggling to take his game up a few notches and show that he definitely belongs at Test level.
Ben Curry – 4
1 run as sub, 20 mins: Was the additional forward on the six/two bench against New Zealand, he didn’t do enough in that appearance to demand further selection.
Sam Underhill – 7.5
2 starts, 82 mins (2 tries): We didn’t see a whole lot of him as he got injured against Japan, but he was exceptional versus the Springboks, reminding everyone of his class ability when fully fit and firing.
Ted Hill – No rating
0 mins: Trained three match weeks (missed Australia) but was another overlooked for the games.
No8 (1)
Ben Earl – 6.5
4 starts, 320 mins (1 try): England’s main ball carrier with 54 carries over the series, there was a satisfyingly good consistency to his game. Similar to Itoje, though, his few errors were high profile, namely the penalised no-arms tackle that revved up New Zealand and then the missed tackle on South Africa’s Damian de Allende for a Cheslin Kolbe try.
- Ratings index: 10/10 – Perfect, 9. Exceptional, 8. Very good, 7. Good, 6. Satisfying, 5. Average, 4. Insufficient, 3. Bad, 2. Very bad, 1. Terrible, 0. Unacceptable.
Is this the best pass of the year? ?#ENGvJPN pic.twitter.com/4RhyjrgVR2
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 25, 2024
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I know the article is about player ratings, but as I read it, especially the number of players who were in camp but didn't get into a match day XXIII, never mind the run on XV, I interpret it as "coaching ratings", and I am sorry but Steve Borthwick and his team do not score very highly in that regard. Picking George Ford against NZ after a month off due to a quad injury was downright incoherent, and whilst the RP rating reflects how he performed, the blame must go on the coaching staff not the player.
At the risk of being accused of being an arrogant Englishman, I think the England head coach job, should it become vacant, would attract a number of proven international coaches. Another option could be to put someone in above SB as "Director of Rugby" or similar, to mentor an inexperienced coaching group that should not have been allowed to assemble in the first place, in my view.
Short version: England must finish in the top 3 in the 6N, or else change should be mandatory.
Can’t really complain about those scores. Individually, too many were off their best and went missing in big, match defining moments. Collectively, the team often looked muddled and lacked cool-headed, leadership especially in the final quarter of games. This was further compounded by a quality drop-off from the bench.
Calls for Borthwick’s dismissal have grown increasingly louder with each passing game as he has been shown to be tactically and selectively subpar. His position is now in the balance and I don’t believe he’ll be kept on unless England fix their defensive issues and beat at least one of Ireland, France or Scotland in the 6Ns, which on the latest showing looks increasingly unlikely.
Couple of returning players in Chessum and Mitchell coupled with a stronger bench, might give England fans a few reasons to remain optimistic.
Team i would like to see
Furbank, Feyi-Weboso, Freeman, Lawrence, Sleightholme, F.Smith, Mitchell, Baxter, George, Stuart, Itoje, Martin, CCS, Underhill, Earl
Dan, Genge, AOF, Isikwe, T.Curry, Spencer, M.Smith, Lozowski
A refreshingly accurate player rating article, would have had Baxter a bit higher but otherwise seems about right given the amount of game time and impact each player had.
Sad thing is come the six nations we will still see Slade and Ford eating up minutes regardless of club form as Borthwick has proved he has a devil you know attitude and is unwilling to take risks
The only game Underhill really played was against the best team in the world where you've said he was exceptional and rated him 7.5?
Smith deserved higher. His defensive errors you've highlighted were part of a failing defensive system and trying to clear up JVPs charged down kick. Both very forgivable. Yet in attack he created most of our tries single handedly and both his kicking from hand and tee were great.
Will Stuart was also better than 6.5.
A lot of these ratings are pretty harsh, I think individually most players were pretty solid. It's the cohesion in attack and defence which was lacking. I'd rate the players higher and give a 1 to Wiggles and JEA.