Player Ratings: England vs France
- 4340
Following England's emphatic win over France, we have rated how the two starting lineups faired. England was dominant with their kicking game putting France under all sorts of pressure with Jonny May claiming a fantastic first half hattrick.
England
1. Mako Vunipola - 7
Massive work rate before he hobbled off in the 43rd minute. Made 12 carries and 11 tackles.
2. Jamie George - 7
Solid with his lineout throws with just one dart missing its target. Carried and tackled well, making it incredibly difficult for Dylan Hartley to take the starting jumper away from him.
3. Kyle Sinckler - 8
Had some great touches with ball in hand and was strong in the scrum against a powerful French front row.
4. Courtney Lawes - 9
Lawes repaid Eddie Jones' faith with Itoje missing the clash through injury with a dominant all-round performance. His line speed was superb and he landed a few big blows including one on Mathieu Bastareaud.
5. George Kruis - 6.5
Got the job done before he was replaced by Joe Launchbury. He called the lineout well and carried strongly.
6. Mark Wilson - 8
A workmanlike performance in the trenches from the blindside. With the help of Curry he slowed France's attacking ball down well but missed 5 of his 23 attempted tackles.
7. Tom Curry - 8
Another massive shift from the young flanker who is making the #7 jersey is his own. He topped the tackle count with a tally of 19 and was sensational at the breakdown.
8. Billy Vunipola - 8
Combative and aggressive, Vunipola set the tone early on with a big double hit with his brother Mako. He made 30 running metres from his 9 carries and weighed-in with 7 tackles before he departed the Twickenham turf just after the hour mark.
9. Ben Youngs - 8.5
Worked superbly well with Owen Farrell to put the French back three under immense pressure. He controlled the game well and his passes were crisp.
10. Owen Farrell - 9
France struggled in the backfield and that was mostly down to the sensational kicking game that Owen Farrell executed. He was credited with a try assisted and scored one of his own while also making 43 running metres beating 2 defenders.
11. Jonny May - 9
Lethal and effective, May pounced on all three of his opportunities in the first half to score a fantastic first half hattrick. He was strong defensively when France did attack but was found wanting when Damian Penaud scored late in the first half. He chased all kicks brilliantly and enjoyed a fantastic performance.
12. Manu Tuilagi - 7.5
Tuilagi was brutally effective for just over an hour before George Ford entered the fray. He carried the ball well, made intelligent decisions on defence and linked up well with Henry Slade forming what could be England's best centre partnership.
13. Henry Slade - 8
Another great game the English outside centre who starred in England's win over Ireland last week. He came up with the intercept in the build-up to the penalty try, looked after Bastareaud on defence and added another kicking option for England. Slade was also excellent in the air.
14. Chris Ashton - 7
Somewhat surprising that England racked up over 40 points with this man not getting his name on the scoresheet. Ashton did, however, set up Jonny May for one of his three tries and was good on defence before he was replaced by Jack Nowell 10 minutes after the break. Got less ball and opportunities as May but made the most of them.
15. Elliot Daly - 7
A solid performance in the 15 jersey for England. He made some great split-second decisions that his side greatly benefitted from, one of which leading to the opening try of the game. Faded off in the latter stages of the game.
France
1. Jefferson Poirot - 6
Poirot struggled in the scrum against Kyle Sinckler and was forced to put in a 77-minute shift with Danny Priso suffering an injury off the bench. Made 9 carries and 9 tackles for his side.
2. Guilhem Guirado - 5
A warrior performance with little success as he threw his weight around trying to pull his side back into the contest. Made an early blunder that England punished and was taken off with 5 minutes left to play.
3. Demba Bamba - 4
Struggled in the scrums but tried to get his side on the front foot with his work rate. Was largely nullified by England's physical approach.
4. Sebastien Vahaamahina - 4
Fairly anonymous, made 8 tackles but wasn't as effective at the rucks as he usually is. Was taken off before the hour mark.
5. Felix Lambey - 5.5
Courageous with his work ethic but little came off for the young second rower.
6. Yacouba Camara - 5
Got stuck into the rucks but was ineffective with his ball carries and failed to counter the presences of Tom Curry and Mark Wilson.
7. Arthur Iturria - 6.5
Claimed two turnovers for his side and was one of France's biggest threats in the ruck. Made all but one of his 11 attempted tackles and made good metres with his carries.
8. Louis Picamoles - 7
One of the best Frenchman on the day. Picamoles carried physically making 59 running metres from his 17 carries and weighed-in with 11 tackles. He constantly looked to get his side on the front foot but got little help from his teammates.
9. Morgan Parra - 4
Failed to ignite France's attack and had a number of wayward box kicks. Was replaced shortly after the break for Antoine Dupont who made a noticeable difference, to say the least.
10. Camille Lopez - 4
Struggled defensively and like Parra, he failed to get France's attacking ticking. Was taken off before the hour mark.
11. Gael Fickou - 3
Along with the rest of his outside backs, Fickou was anonymous in the backfield with England benefitting greatly. Was shown a yellow card for his early tackle on Chris Ashton and spent 10 minutes in the bin.
12. Geoffrey Doumayrou - 4
Carried the ball strongly gaining 34 running metres and missed just one tackle. Did not apply enough pressure on the likes of Tuilagi and Farrell to slow down England's attack.
13. Mathieu Bastareaud - 4
Gained 45 running metres throughout the game but was slow to react on defence with England's kicking game. He was also smashed by Courtney Lawes and struggled to contain Henry Slade.
14. Damian Penaud - 5
Penaud had a rollercoaster of a game at Twickenham. He was one of France's most deadliest attacking weapons gaining 85 running metres beating 5 defenders. He also tracked back well at times to collect Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs' kicks but at the same time was caught out positionally with those same kicks. He did well to finish off his first Six Nations try but ultimately it will be a game to forget for the youngster who lined up against Jonny May.
15. Yoann Huget - 3
Was found wanting at the back as Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs constantly found grass with all of their kicks in the first half. He failed to help the likes of Damian Penaud and Gael Fickou and did not return to field after the first half. He set up France's only try of the game but that piece of magic was not enough to improve his rating.
