England Player Ratings v Ireland

November 21, 2020
5029
Ultimate Rugby

A massive defensive effort and two tries from Jonny May saw England to a 18-7 victory over Ireland at Twickenham.

Here is how we rated Eddie Jones' charges.

Elliot Daly -7

Ireland certainly didn't test Daly enough in the air as the fullback had a quietly solid game at the back. He stab one or two nice kicks in behind the defence but wasn't too impactful.

Jonathan Joseph - 7.5

Looked threatening whenever he touched the ball but Joseph was sharpest on defence. He made an excellent ankle tap in the first half when he lost an aerial deul, one of the few he did lose, and shot up nicely on defence throughout. Three defenders beaten and 35 running metres racked up from just five touches.

Ollie Lawrence - 7.5

Quickly got the ball out to May for the opening try of the game while Lawrence stood firm in defence missing just one of his attempted 16 tackles.

Henry Slade - 7

Stabbed a few nice kicks in behind the Irish defence. He didn't get much ball as Ireland dominated possession but he did step up to make an incredible try saving tackle on Chris Farrell.

Jonny May - 8

Plucked the cross-kick out of the air well to score the opener. Scored an absolute blinder for his second from his own half. England didn't have much possession but when May did get the ball, he did wonders with it.

Owen Farrell - 8

Solid defensively as he shot up leading the defence for England, surprisingly we was also handy in the rucks while he controlled the game well too. His kick set up the first try of the game and he continued to kick well throughout.

Ben Youngs - 7

Almost set up a great try when he took a quick tap early and caught Ireland off guard but the final pass from Owen Farrell didn't go to hand. While Youngs didn't have any notable snipes or attacking plays, he kept a good tempo for the England attack and pinned Ireland back with some good kicks.

Mako Vunipola - 7.5

Ticked all the boxes and some. Made his tackles, scrummaged really well and had some nice touches with ball in hand. A busy game on defence with 15 tackles.

Jamie George - 7.5

Just the one lineout dart didn't go to hand as Jamie George put in yet another strong shift in all departments. Won a turnover, made over 15 tackles and carried well.

Kyle Sinckler - 8.5

A massive shift on defence making over 19 tackles. He scrummaged well too and hit double-digit numbers on defence.

Maro Itoje - 9

Put massive pressure on the Ireland lineout with Joe Launchbury while laying into the Irish attack with a mamoth 24 tackles without missing. He did give away a silly penalty early on in the second half but otherwise, Itoje was simply outstanding and well deserved his man of the match award.

Joe Launchbury - 8

Pressured the Irish lineout brilliantly with Itoje well he also lent his weight on defence with 15 tackles. Went about his work with little fuss while also dominating in contact. Pulled in the 69th minute after a superb shift.

Tom Curry - 8

Won a nice penalty at the breakdown in the 7th minute and continued to trouble the Irish breakdown at key moment. Another huge tackle count with over 20 without missing.

Sam Underhill - 8

19 tackles in 63 minutes, Underhill was powerful for England with a number of his tackles being dominant as he drove Irish ball carriers backwards.

Billy Vunipola - 8

An excellent penalty won in the 30th minute to stop a promising Irish attack. Vunipola joined his fellow back rowers with a massive tackle tally finishing on 22 while he also made good metres, 28, on attack from just 9 carries.

Replacements:

Tom Dunn - n/a

Got on in the final minute.

Ellis Genge - 6.5

Laid in with a few hefty shots on defence and carried strongly in an impactful 18 minute cameo.

Will Stuart - 6

Penalised once at the scrum but did well the rest of the time he was on.

Jonny Hill - 6

Picked up from where Launcbury left off and impressed with England defending most of that period.

Ben Earl - 7

Built on the good work done by Sam Underhill. 8 tackles and won a key turnover.

Dan Robson - 6