ENG v NZL: Eng Player ratings
Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:55
Fullback encounter: Muliaina and Armitage
Martin Johnson's England said showed plenty of heart, but not enough class, in their 32-6 defeat to the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday. Pete Murison rates all the players performances...
Another big defeat and with a number of yellow cards it was certainly not an England performance which will have to many people raving about it. That said there was some, albeit little, improvement from last weekend and a couple of players who will not have done their future England chances any harm.
England:
15 Delon Armitage:
Supremely confident under the high ball and determined in both attack and defence Armitage was one player who continues to show great promise for England. A solid performance from someone still learning at the top level.
8/10
14 Paul Sackey:
Quiet day with limited opportunities. Must be getting tired of his front row standing
just inside him and taking his ball! Hard working and committed as always.
6/10
13 Jamie Noon:
One of those players whose effort you can never fault but simply not enough of a threat with the ball in hand.
5/10
12 Riki Flutey:
Poor start, possibly because of nerves, he looked distinctly average up against his former teammates Nonu and Smith althoug did improve a little in the second half as the rest of his team wilted. Fine club player but needs to produce at the top if 'Johnno' is going to persist with him.
5/10
11 Ugo Monye:
Wayward kicking and hardly penetrating when in attack. Full of enthusiasm and with great pace he still has some way to go at international level.
4/10
10 Toby Flood:
Really struggled at the start, poor touch kicking as well as at the goal but did better
as the game went on. Ultimately though was still was unable to unlock the Kiwi line at anytime. Yellow Card
5/10
9 Danny Care: (Replaced by Harry Ellis on 61 minutes)
A persistant pest for Jimmy Cowan he possible gave away a penalty too many but Care remains, for me, one of the few bright lights from a dark November for England.
7/10
8 Nick Easter:
Defensively Easter deserves a huge amount of praise. Abrasive and committed he was a huge asset, particularly in the first half.
7/10
7 Michael Lipman: (Replaced by Tom Rees on 56 minutes)
A strong first half from Lipman he went toe-to-toe with McCaw and did better than many may have expected. Decent runout for the Bath captain.
6/10
6 James Haskell:
Great start to the game with some bruising tackles and
work at the breakdown but poor discipline led to him be yellow carded. Strong with ball in hand he briefly showed bits of his best form.
Yellow Card
6/10
5 Nick Kennedy:
Showed why he should never have been left out last weekend. A great asset in the lineout Kennedy worked tirelessly around the pitch as well.
7/10
4 Steve Borthwick (captain):
Big day in terms of leadership - clearly not intimidated by the occasion in that way. Having to handle Alain Roland for large portions of the game he will have learnt a lot of about being an international captain this November. Personal performance as a player - nothing really noteworthy unfortunately.
6/10
3 Phil Vickery: (Replaced by Matt Stevens on 50 minutes)
Another very average performance from the front rower. Some good work in the first half but
ultimately not dominant at the scrums or effective enough at the breakdowns.
5/10
2 Lee Mears
One of the only England players to have done himself some good this November Mears had a dull day at the office – only ‘highlighted’ by his sinbinning early in the first half. Yellow Card
5/10
1 Tim Payne
Gave both John Afoa and Neemia Tialata a lard time in the scrums and some good work in the breakdowns. Not a bad days work from the Wasps No.1
7/10
Replacements: (20 minutes or more to be rated.)
16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Croft, 19 Tom Rees, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Danny Cipriani, 22 Dan Hipkiss
17 Matt Stevens
Once again found himself in his favourite outside centre berth on a couple of occasions. Struggled up against Woodcock in the
scrums as well.
4/10
19 Tom Rees:
The fourth and, thankfully, final recipient of a yellow card Reed did some good work at the breakdown but the rest of his team where dead on their feet by the time he made an appearance. Yellow Card
5/10
20 Harry Ellis:
Repacing Care Ellis simply was starved of ball and therefore unable to make any real impact during his 20 minute spell on the pitch.
5/10
