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With the British and Irish Lions having taken 12 of England’s player pool this summer, Sunday’s game against the USA was a valuable opportunity for head coach Eddie Jones to mix up his selections and give some new faces a chance to stake a claim for a long-term spot in his squad.
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England recorded a 43-29 victory at Twickenham and whilst there were plenty of moments for optimism, the side’s maul defence and discipline will go down as areas to work on before they take on Canada the following weekend.
Check out our player ratings for the England side below.
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15. Freddie Steward – 8
An excellent debut for Steward who set up both Ollie Lawrence and Joe Cokanasiga with quick hands and a deft kick respectively. He dominated the aerial contest repeatedly and used his frame well as a carrier when required.
14. Joe Cokanasiga – 8.5
A nice return to international rugby for Cokanasiga who dealt well with the aerial contests and delivered multiple turnovers at the breakdown and in the tackle. He was good value for his two tries.
13. Henry Slade – 6.5
Not overly involved in the game at times, but when he got his hands on the ball, good things tended to happen. The delay and accuracy on his passes opened up the USA defence on more than one occasion.
12. Ollie Lawrence – 7
Lawrence showcased his hands early on with a nice pass over the top, before his pace and power was on show when he crossed the try line in the first half. An injury unfortunately saw him leave the field just before halftime.
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11. Max Malins – 6.5
The versatile back left the field with an injury after nine minutes, but not before he won a contested ball on the restart and offloaded to a supporting Sam Underhill for England’s first try.
10. Marcus Smith – 7.5
A solid start for Smith, whose composure and play on the gain-line certainly helped England motor into a healthy first half lead. His tactical kicking was also effective and he capped the display with a well-deserved try.
9. Harry Randall – 7.5
A couple of kicking errors aside, Randall did well instilling his tempo and energy into the England team, most notably with his desire to take a quick tap penalty. Grew into the game as the USA team tired in the second half.
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1. Ellis Genge – 9
A commanding performance from Genge, who stepped up admirably with so many of his regular teammates away with the Lions. He dominated his opposite number in the scrum, carried physically and was able to force turnovers in the tackle.
2. Curtis Langdon – 6.5
The hooker hit on all eight of his throws and gave England the solid set-piece foundation they needed to launch their exciting back line.
3. Joe Heyes – 6.5
Bounced back well from giving up an early penalty for not driving straight at the scrum. Put his body about in defence and helped England win the battle of the gain-line.
4. Josh McNally – 5.5
The lock couldn’t quite exert himself on the game in the way he would have wanted to, including an unforced error when he played the scrum-half at the breakdown.
Due to make his England bow at 31, Josh McNally has quite the origin story. #ENGvUSA https://t.co/JNozQj9FD1
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 4, 2021
5. Charlie Ewels – 6
There were flashes of Ewels’ ability on show on Sunday, although it was not the all-action performance that could have seen him put down a marker to challenge for a starter’s spot moving forward.
6. Lewis Ludlow – 6
The blindside was England’s primary lineout target and was regularly the quickest man back up off the floor and back in the defensive line.
7. Sam Underhill – 8
Like Genge, Underhill stepped up as one of the ‘veterans’ of the English pack. His carrying, tackling and breakdown work were all impressive and his try in support of Malins was a great example of the work rate and energy he brought.
8. Callum Chick – 5.5
Not quite the impact he would have liked to have on debut, as he slipped off a couple of tackles and wasn’t able to dominate as a carrier. Helped Ludlow with the dirty work, though.
Replacements
16. Jamie Blamire – 6
Blamire couldn’t replicate Langdon’s efficiency at the lineout but he was able to redeem himself with a charge-down and try on the scrum-half after a lost lineout.
17. Beno Obano – 6.5
Kept England’s scrum advantage going and made a couple of physical hits in defence.
18. Trevor Davison – 6
Helped keep England’s scrum dominance in place.
19. Ted Hill – 6
A couple of physical tackles after coming into the engine room.
Big Joe is ready to rewrite his rugby narrative after a Test career stall#ENGvUSAhttps://t.co/XrlXU51QIC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 4, 2021
20. Ben Curry – 6
Not too many opportunities to influence the game after his late arrival.
21. Lewis Ludlam – 7.5
Ludlam was one of the replacements to bring a real injection of impetus, as a tackler, breakdown influencer and defensive set-piece option.
22. Dan Robson – 6
Came on the field as a wing due to England’s injuries and wasn’t able to influence the game too heavily, but didn’t do anything wrong, either.
23. Jacob Umaga – 6
There were a couple of missed tackles that Umaga will want back but ultimately he kept things ticking for England in a back line that had to be dramatically re-jigged.
