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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Gerard Meagher at the Allianz Stadium

England 59-14 Japan: Autumn Nations Series player ratings

England's Ollie Lawrence is tackled by Japan's Dylan Riley.
Ollie Lawrence (centre) had by far his most effective showing of the autumn against Japan. Photograph: David Davies/PA

15) George Furbank Replaced just after his try. If England are going to play him at full-back they must find a way to utilise his abundant talent. It has been a relatively quiet autumn but not really his fault. 7

14) Tommy Freeman Produced the moment of the match, just as England had gone a little flat, with a remarkable offload to Furbank. Has done very little wrong all month without setting world alight. 8

13) Ollie Lawrence Little about this performance to suggest a lack of hunger or discipline, as Eddie Jones once wrote. By far his most effective showing of the autumn. Nagging suspicion he is a flat-track bully though. 8

12) Henry Slade Caught out for Naoto Saito’s try – he tends to get exposed when the blitz fails – but showed a few lovely touches. Work to do to tighten England’s defence in coming months. 7

11) Ollie Sleightholme If nothing else England have a born finisher on their hands. He is still getting up to speed with the defensive system but he certainly knows where the try-line is. 7

10) Marcus Smith Delightful hands for Ben Earl’s try. Has been England’s brightest shining light this autumn, even if there remain doubts he can manage the side through the toughest of games. Kicked a bit too much possession away in second half. 7

9) Jack van Poortvliet Smashed by Japan’s hulking lock Sanaila Waqa in the early exchanges. Kicked well enough but neither he nor Ben Spencer have done enough to give Alex Mitchell much cause for concern. 6

1) Ellis Genge Much better with the obvious caveat of decidedly inferior opposition. He needed a strong showing before England disperse back to their clubs. 7

2) Jamie George Just 48 minutes this week but two tries in that time to end what must have been a trying month on a high. Much to ponder through between now and the start of the Six Nations. 8

3) Will Stuart Fine pass off his right hand for Sleightholme’s first-half try. Has been pretty solid all month after a summer in which he struggled in New Zealand. Won’t want to see scrum penalty England conceded again though. 7

4) Maro Itoje A nuisance throughout against players he is always likely to outperform. England need him to find another level when they next line up in Dublin, however. 7

5) George Martin Maybe it is a harsh assessment but these are the kind of matches Martin should trample all over. The hope is that he develops into England’s enforcer-in-chief but he is not there yet. 6

6) Tom Curry Perfectly fine performance but did he really need to play two weeks after such a nasty-looking concussion? That England don’t seem to understand why leaving him out of a match they would always win emphatically might have been for the best is disturbing. 7

7) Sam Underhill Kept place after fine showing against South Africa and produced another powerful finish from close range. Injured himself in the process though and was forced off after 15 minutes. 6

8) Ben Earl Got England going with a straightforward try under the sticks. Bulldozed over for another. Fewer explosive moments of late, a couple of glaring errors, but always gives it everything. 8

Substitutes

Luke Cowan-Dickie (for George 48) Powerful finish 7; Fin Baxter (for Genge 53) Couple of errors 6; Asher Opoku-Fordjour (for Stuart 55) Solid from the debutant 6; Nick Isiekwe (for Martin 67) Fine lineout steal 7; Chandler Cunningham-South (for Underhill 15) Perfect match in which to make an impact 8; Harry Randall (for Van Poortvliet 48) Much better 7; Fin Smith (for Furbank 55) Silky 7; Tom Roebuck (for Slade 61) Took try well 7.

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