Six Nations: England Player Ratings v Wales
- 2074
England punished an error-strewn Wales performance to win 23-19 at Twickenham and remain France's nearest challengers in the 2022 Six Nations.
Here is how we rated Eddie Jones' charges.
15. Freddie Steward - 7
As usual, Steward was sound under the high ball and offered a strong ball carrying option in attack.
14. Max Malins - 6
Malins threatened with the ball in hand and dealt with some of Wales' attacks. He chased England's kicks well and did a ton of work off the ball.
13. Elliot Daly - 6
He kept Wales' defence honest with some nice carries and landed a good shot on defence in the first half. He slipped off a few tackles in a solid enough performance.
12. Henry Slade - 7
Slade shifted the ball on well when it was on and linked up nicely with Marcus Smith. He also completed a wonderful 50:22.
11. Jack Nowell - 7
A strongly all-round game from Nowell, who made 11 tackles, a turnover and over 50 running metres.
10. Marcus Smith - 8
ITV's man of the match, Smith, defended relatively well as Wales targetted his channel. The flyhalf nailed six of his eight attempts at goal scoring 18 points in the 23-19 victory. He had some good carries and linked up well with Henry Slade.
9. Harry Randall - 7
With his snipes around the breakdown, Randall kept the Welsh defence on their toes. His service was swift and on point, before he made way after the hour mark for Youngs to break the England men's cap tally.
1. Ellis Genge - 8
Genge put in a powerful 72-minute shift with brilliant carries and hard hits on defence. He had his ups and downs at scrum time, but he had the upper hand in the end.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie - 6
The hooker lasted just 25 minutes before he was forced off through injury. He was going through his work well before then.
3. Kyle Sinckler - 7.5
Similar performance to Ellis Genge. He battled away on the tighthead side before gaining the upper hand before he subbed off with 11 minutes left to play. Some soft touches with the ball in hand and brutal carries.
4. Charlie Ewels - 7
Ewels ran the England lineout well and put pressure on the Welsh set-piece. Outside of the set pieces, he carried strongly and made his tackles.
5. Maro Itoje - 8.5
Itoje took the fight right into the heart of the Welsh defence. He carried the ball ferociously and tackled with great intent. He won three turnovers, including the crucial final one to seal the result for England. He pestered Wales' lineout and shone in all facets of the game. Easily one of England's best on the pitch.
6. Courtney Lawes - 7.5
The hard-hitting England captain returned to test rugby with an excellent performance where he thundered into tackles and carried hard into the Welsh defence. He was lucky to escape a yellow card late in the game, and his error almost cost England.
7. Tom Curry - 7
Curry did not return to the pitch after halftime due to an injury. He enjoyed a busy 40 minutes making seven tackles.
8. Alex Dombrandt - 8.5
One of England's best on the day. He pounced on Elias' overthrow at the lineout to score his first test try while he regularly made metres through the Wales defence. He got stuck in defensively, making 13 tackles.
Replacements:
16. Jamie George - 7
17. Joe Marler - 6
18. Will Stuart - 5
19. Nick Isiekwe - 6
20. Sam Simmonds - 7
21. Ben Youngs - 6
22. George Ford - n/a
23. Joe Marchant - 6