Sco v Eng: English player ratings
Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:05
Scotland and England played to a 15-all stalemate in their Six Nations clash at Murrayfield where the Calcutta Cup was on the line.
Neither side ever really attacked the tryline with penalty and drop-goal attempts deciding the outcome of the match.
The scrums were also a complete shambles and were constantly reset and used up game time with the referee having to constantly talk to the front rows.
What was built up to be a clash between two old rivals was only interesting because of the closeness of the score with nobody giving the game a much needed attacking spark.
Timmy Hancox rates the English players:
England:
15 Delon Armitage: Replaced by Ben Foden
Fielded balls at the back efficiently, but was very reluctant to ever run the ball back at Scotland and choose to conservatively kick the ball back at them to no avail.
5/10
14 Mark
Cueto:
Never had the ball in any real space although he did show his strength with some strong ball carries and a few good tackles on the dangerous Max Evans.
6/10
13 Mathew Tait:
Was rarely given the ball to play with although he was on of the few players who looked to try and create something. He was busy on defence and made some handy tackles in the midfield.
6/10
12 Riki Flutey:
Was never available to his flyhalf as an attacking option and put a lot of pressure on both Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood as a result.
4/10
11 Ugo Monye: Replaced by Ben Youngs
Ran well and briefly showed off his speed, but wasn't able to find space on the outside and looked to venture into the midfield. He was stretchered off after a sickening collision with Kelly Brown.
6/10
10 Jonny
Wilkinson: Replaced by Toby Flood
Wasn't give a lot of support by his backs and had little option but to kick the ball. His goal kicking was accurate and he wasn't afraid to put in some good tackles before going off injured in the second half.
6/10
9 Danny Care:
Was busy at the breakdown and tried to get things to happen quickly without much support and used the forwards to carry the ball up for him whenever he could.
6/10
8 Nick Easter:
Wasn't very impressive at the back of the scrum and failed to created an attacking platform that way. Was sound on defence and didn't make any notable errors.
6/10
7 Joe Worsley:
Was a tackling machine as per usual and knocked Scotsmen down whenever he could find them. Made one or two handy runs with the ball and got around the field well.
7/10
6
James Haskell: Replaced by Lewis Moody
Gave away several penalties on the deck and didn't make the kind of impact he would have like with ball in hand. He did make some telling tackles though..
6/10
5 Steve Borthwick:
Worked hard at the breakdown and was good in the line-outs. Can't be criticised for the workload he gets through.
7/10
4 Louis Deacon: Replaced by Courtney Lawes
Was a good man to have at first receiver and made a good break in the first half. Generally solid performance all round.
6/10
3 Dan Cole: Replaced by David Wilson
Had a tough time in the scrums but made up for it with a decent performance in the tight-loose phases of the game..
6/10
2 Dylan Hartley: Replaced by Steve Thompson
Had a good day finding his jumpers in the line-outs and was a
useful runner in the loose to bash the ball up for his side.
6/10
1 Tim Payne:
Was awful in the scrums and together with Euan Murray made a mess of the set pieces and effectively stalled the game.
4/10
16 Steve Thompson: On for Dylan Hartley in the 61st minute.
Not enough time to be rated
17 David Wilson: On for Dan Cole in the 76th minute.
Not enough time to be rated
18 Courtney Lawes: On for Louis Deacon in the 73rd minute.
Not enough time to be rated
19 Lewis Moody: On for James Haskell in the 61st minute.
Not enough time to be rated
20 Ben Youngs: On for Ugo Monye in the 55th minute.
Was given a tough debut out of position on the wing, but looked to make the most of it and look promising in the few instances where he had the ball to play with.
6/10
21 Toby Flood: On for Jonny Wilkinson in the 44th minute.
Had the same problems as Wilkinson with not enough support from the backline players when he wanted to run the ball. He kicked well and almost won the game for his side with a long rang penalty going just under the crossbar and his final drop-goal being charged down in the dying seconds.
6/10
22 Ben Foden: On for Delon Armitage in the 49th minute.
Was full of running as usual and looked dangerous when he attacked from deep and joined the line. Must surely be given an opportunity in the starting XV against France.
7/10
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