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| England Captain Chris Robshaw Following His Sides Defeat |
South Africa’s physical advantage and superior kicking game
was enough to give them a 1-0 lead in the 3 test series. Despite this, no
English fans should be disheartened by a narrow loss to one of rugby’s super
powers and there was glimpses of a very good English side.
Player Ratings:
Joe Marler-6.5-
Marler had a decent debut performance, holding his own against a very physical
front row. In open play, he brought dynamism which we would normally associate
with a flanker shown by a couple of crucial turn overs. He also seems to have
ridden himself of his immaturity and anger issues. A promising start.
Dylan Hartley-5.5-
An exceptional line out game where he hit all of his jumpers, however, he
didn’t show his talent in ball carrying that we’ve come to expect and he was
also guilty of a few missed tackles, be that they were on much faster men.
Dan Cole-5.5- Had
a few strong carries but appeared to be beaten back in the scrum several times.
His legs seemed to fade and we barely saw him in the second half. Not an eye
catching game in any sense.
Mouritz Botha-7- He
proved to be effective both in the tight with the line out and also in the
loose. Made countless tackles and was never afraid to front up. Very decent
game against his country of birth.
Geoff Parling-6-
He ran a very efficient line out unit (10 from 10 on their own throw and 3
steals on South African throws). However, he is not a very effective ball
carrier and was often seen to go in too high. But those line out stats mean any
rating lower than a 6 can’t be justified.
Tom Johnson-7- Despite
being England’s only real option as a true blind side, he justified his
selection any way. He showed that he had gas in the open field whilst also
proving effective at the break down. Perhaps overworked himself in the first
half as he appeared to fade away- strong game nonetheless.
Chris Robshaw-8.5- Captain
Fantastic. We all knew he was a world class player but we finally saw he could
be a world class open side flanker too. An absolute menace over the ball and
was a leading hand (along with Johnson) in an England side forcing 17
turnovers. Only criticism could be that he decided to pick and go when
sometimes it wasn’t the best option available. His stats say it all however, 21
tackles, 31 rucks hit and 4 turnovers, all of which were highest on the pitch.
Ben Morgan-5- He
was virtually anonymous for large patches of the game and could perhaps be seen
to be lacking fitness levels due to his large build. Missed a few tackles too.
However, we did still see glimpses of why he was picked in the first place with
a couple of very strong runs.
Ben Youngs-6- It
seems that Ben has finally realised how to force the tempo by taking the ball
as soon as it becomes available. However, this came at the price of a strong
kicking game. His box kicks were often too long and did not give his chasers a
chance.
Owen Farrell-5- Solid
goal kicking but that’s about the only positive thing I can say. His kicking
from hand was poor and he often wasted turnover ball by kicking. His passing
was temperamental and he didn’t really give his outside backs much opportunity
to have a run.
Ben Foden-7.5- I
was unsure about his selection on the wing but he certainly justified it in
this game. He had one very strong run after recovering a restart and finished
off a try brilliantly. Can’t fault him and his rating would’ve been higher if
he had actually received more ball, he can blame his 10 and 12 for that.
Brad Barritt-5- Despite
being his usual brave self in defence, he just didn’t offer enough on the ball.
He is a blunt ball carrier but lacks pace and a kicking game and thus this game
didn’t suit him. England looked a lot more exciting when Toby Flood came on.
Manu Tuilagi-8.5- England’s
best player alongside Robshaw. He was England’s most effective attacking threat
and achieved the mean feat of bouncing off John De Villiers, not just once, but
twice. Also was very decent in defence with one outstanding hit on Pierre Spies
saving a probable try. Finally showing he’s more than just a raw talent.
Chris Ashton-8- In
my eyes, this is the best we have seen Ashton play since the 2011 Six Nations
games against Wales and Italy. Whilst it was not his normal game of tracking
lines, we finally saw him able to step defenders when one on one. He made
several line breaks and was very solid in defence too.
Mike Brown-6.5- A
missed tackle for South Africa’s second try and a sliced kick into touch means
that Brown’s performance doesn’t receive a top rating. However, he was a rock
under the high ball and showed glimpses of attacking talent too. Finally ready
to be an international 15.
Subs-6- I
would’ve liked to see J Joseph get more game time as in the 4 minutes he had,
he made one line break. Toby Flood had a decent game at 12 but didn’t look
entirely comfortable in defence- I would start him next test. Doran-Jones
looked frankly useless. Palmer and Dickson both added something too.
By Chris Sumner-Smith (@csumnersmith)
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