England player ratings vs Wales - 2021 Six Nations
In what was a game that will be remembered as much for the refereeing decisions as it will for the rugby that was played, England succumbed to their second defeat of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations, as they fell to a 40-24 loss to Wales in Cardiff.
Grand Slam next?! #sixnations2021 #WALvsENG pic.twitter.com/eO22GS7GvJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 27, 2021
Despite the disparity on the scoreboard, there were plenty of encouraging displays from the English players, although the old theme of indiscipline costing them in crunch games came back to haunt them. In attack, England really flashed signs of life after some struggles of late.
Nevertheless, significant errors in key moments cost England and that is reflected in the players ratings below.
1. Mako Vunipola – 6
The loosehead hit the ground running with a couple of strong carries and held his own at the scrum. He erred on the wrong side of the referee’s whistle away from the set-piece, though.
2. Jamie George – 5
One of George’s quieter performances in an England jersey and although only one of his lineouts was lost, the English set-piece did not seem as fluid and clinical as it has shown itself to be in recent years.
3. Kyle Sinckler – 7
In addition to anchoring the English scrum, Sinckler impressed in defence with his line speed and the physicality of his tackling, even in space against more agile ball-carriers. He was also on hand to snaffle loose balls on the floor and his excellent ball placement set up Anthony Watson’s first half try.
4. Maro Itoje – 5
It’s a game of fine margins and Itoje was inches away from a number of very impressive defensive plays, although he got on the wrong side of the referee early and earned himself four first half penalties. HIs contributions outside of that were effective, though it’s hard not to say the infringements blotted his copybook.
5. Jonny Hill – 5
Hill started the game strongly with his work at the lineout and exerting his physicality in defence, though his second half penalty cost England a try.
6. Mark Wilson – 6
Wilson ticked the boxes in defence and at the breakdown in attack, helping give England’s quick and secure ball.
7. Tom Curry – 7
A typically hard-working defensive performance from Curry, who was regularly part of the two-man tackles which denied Wales front-foot ball in the middle of the pitch. That said, even Curry wasn’t immune from England’s discipline issues.
8. Billy Vunipola – 8
After labelling his own performances as “rubbish” in recent weeks, Vunipola turned in a much better game with ball in hand in Cardiff. His carrying was strong and he was regularly coming on to the ball at speed, consistently giving England front-foot ball and/or drawing in multiple Welsh defenders to stop him.
9. Ben Youngs – 6
There were a couple of moments when Youngs’ passes did not quite their mark but the scrum-half was on the money for the vast majority and showed in the second half that he still has the ability as a threat around the fringes to keep defences honest and on their toes.
10. George Ford – 6
Ford’s silky handling and measured passing was a key contribution to one of England’s more impressive attacking phase play performances in the last year. He dove-tailed nicely with Owen Farrell and the combination prospered when they were delivered quick ball by the English pack.
11. Jonny May – 6
As ever, May chased kicks effectively and energetically, although opportunities for him to get his hands on the ball in space were few and far between. He dealt well with the contested aerial bombs, too.
12. Owen Farrell – 7
Although focus will fall on Farrell’s responses to the refereeing decisions in the first half, his performance around that was very impressive. As mentioned earlier, he combined well with Ford and he offered an effective carrying option outside of the playmaker. He was also clinical in defence and added 14 points to England’s total.
13. Henry Slade – 6
A solid outing from Slade who didn’t do anything wrong in the moments he was involved in the game, both offensively and defensively. That said, it still feels like at times that England don’t know how to get the best out of Slade’s skill set.
14. Anthony Watson – 7
Watson continued his impressive Six Nations on Saturday. He looked for work off of his wing, showcased his acceleration, footwork and power in attack, and was solid defensively and in the aerial battles.
15. Elliot Daly – 5
The full-back had a couple of good aerial takes under pressure from Wales, although his work on the counter-attack, specifically how early he would attempt to step the defence, looked like a man a little short of confidence. A spill in the back line also cost England a possible try late in the first half, too, and was one of four turnovers conceded.
Replacements
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
A missed tackle aside, Cowan-Dickie added some much needed oomph in attack and connected on his sole lineout.
17. Ellis Genge – 5
The loosehead provided some nice momentum with a couple of dominant tackles, although he also contributed to England’s discipline issues with a late penalty.
18. Will Stuart – n/a
Unused replacement.
19. Charlie Ewels – 5
An unnecessary penalty at a lineout deep in Wales’ territory robbed England of momentum and a chance to pressure their opponents.
20. George Martin – n/a
Unused replacement.
21. Ben Earl – 6
Earl offered a nice handling and distribution option in the England back row after his arrival, although his opportunities to impact the game were limited.
22. Dan Robson – 4
Even Robson wasn’t immune from England’s indiscipline and a penalty for changing his lane allowed Wales to kick at goal and make it a two-score game with less than 10 minutes left to play, as well as throwing an intercept pass when England were approaching the Welsh try line.
23. Max Malins – n/a
Came on too late to have an impact on the game.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
1 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
3 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
3 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
2 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
16 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
16 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to commentsLove it when we overlap! Promise it was not forethought.
19 Go to commentsjfc can this guy plz stay out of the news for one week
2 Go to commentsIf stormers aren’t available. Based on form and likely availability at the time of the wales Test, you’d think Masuku would be a no-brainer to start. But starting Jordan also makes sense having Masuku come off the bench to close out the game.
2 Go to commentsGlad Tom Curry not playing needs time to recover such a great player also his brother Ben how well is he playing now .
1 Go to commentsLet’s examine what might be irking the brainless E: Up until 20 years before this coming Julys tests: 16 games: 14 wins for SA; 1 win for Ire; 1 draw From 20 years until July’ tests Ireland V SA: 13 matches Ireland won 8; SA won 4; 1 draw Points scored Ireland 261; SA 189 Ave Winning Margin: Ireland 11 points; SA 4 points (away 3, home 6) Away win record: Ireland 33.33%; SA 25% Neutral matches 1: Ireland win RWC France 2023. Last SA win June 2016 (8 years ago) They boast 3 World cups in that period (they do boast). The above record is not good, probably not much better than theirs against NZ for same period. That’s why the dopey E is starting fights in his head. He will probably ship a yellow when things don’t go their way in the first test.
127 Go to commentsGoode is like a wet fart on The Rugby Pod and should be shoved aside. Jim knows what he is on about and can get on better without Goode’s nasty little cheap shots.
127 Go to comments