England player ratings vs France

Tough, gritty win for England against a French side much more resolute in defense than they have been recently.

Here are my England ratings for the match, based on the following guidelines.
0 = side would have been better off with 14 men.
1 = a cardboard cut out would do a better job.
2 = dismal
3 = very poor
4 = poor
5 = average
6 = good
7 = very good
8 = excellent
9 = outstanding
10 = WOW!

Sheridan - 7: seemed to have the better of Mas in the scrum before he was forced off by injury.
Hartley - 6: not quite the presence he was the first two weeks. Hit his jumpers well and some good work around the park, struggled to hook the ball back at scrum time on occasion.
Cole - 7: Another very good performance from the Leicester prop, scrummaged powerfully, pushing Domingo backwards, and carried well.
Deacon - 8: Best performance in an England shirt, made the hard yards around the rucks, tackled strongly, excellent on restarts and at the line-out. Forced the penalty which saw Wilkinson overtake Dan Carter.
Palmer - 9: rightfully MOM, superb workrate throughout with some fine carries. Excellent work at the line-out and charge down led to Foden's try.
Wood - 8: continues his excellent start to international rugby, tackled everything (great hit on Trinh Duc) and carried very well.
Haskell - 6: less visible with ball in hand than against Italy, but worked hard at the breakdown to slow down French ball, and tackled well. Gave away a daft penalty for off side at a kick.
Easter - 6: solid and dependable as usual, you can always rely on him to make the hard yards. Lucky to escape sin binning in the first half though.
Youngs - 5: promising halfbreak early on, but struggled for the rest of the first half, scragged a few times and the odd loose pass too. Improved after the break as England took control.
Flood - 5: got some poor service and tried a bit too hard at times in the first half, several loose passes. Still kicked kis goals and better in the second half until forced off with injury.
Cueto - 6: solid as ever, the game didn't really suit his style, but he tried hard to get involved.
Hape - 5: defended well but little to offer in attack. Turned over early on, and squandered a decent chance in the second half.
Tindall - 8: best game for a while. Defended very well and offered a good threat in attack, making plenty of meters.
Ashton - 6: not the flamboynce of his last two performances, but was a threat whenever he got the ball, needs to back himself one on one.
Foden - 7: Good brave catch early on, lovely hand-off on Trinh-Duc for the crucial try and solid in defense. Beaten for the odd high ball but no great shame in losing out to Rougerie in the air.

What do you think?

Oh yeah, forgot the replacements...

Corbisiero - 6: has had arguably the toughest first two matches a prop could ask for, and once again coped well in the scrum. Less visible around the park than against Italy, but promising for the future.
Thompson - 6: equalled Brian Moore's record for most capped England hooker, threw well, scrummaged well. Powerful presence.
Shaw - 6: useful cameo, brings experience and grunt to England's pack.
Fourie - not enough time to make an impact, but a last minute charge reminded us of his powerful ball-carrying skills.
Care - 7: seems to have much improved since he was dropped, kept England moving forwards nicely and didn't overcomplicate things as he has done in the past.
Wilkinson - 6: beautiful first penalty to overtake Dan Carter. Couple of poor kicks out of hand, tackled like a maniac as usual.
Banahan - not enough time to make an impact (did he even touch the ball?)

Martin Johnson - 8: whatever he said at half-time worked, his subs were well-timed, and England have three wins out of three.

Pretty reasonable... I think both Care and Wilko deserve a 7, mainly cos the Young and flood got a real test (which they passed), but care and JW came on to steady the boat at the end...

Just wish you would change your name... Chelsea is not a suitable name for a Rugby fan

Ah but if you read my introductory post I'm a fan of many sports (though with Chelsea's current dismal showings I've gone off football a bit ).

However, when I first joined 606 I picked the name mad_for_chelsea, and just felt that it was easier to keep the same user name on here...

Anywayyyyyy, back on topic, just felt there were a couple of poor kicks from Wilko, which is why I put him down as a 6 only, but thinking it through, maybe he deserved a 7 (let's not forget the psychological advantage he brings when he takes the field against France).

If I did half points he'd be 6.5...

touche... and I can agree with that, does give continuity...

Just seen this and now want to put foden as a clear 1 point...

http://twitpic.com/44g8cd

(only gets 1 for scoring a try!!!)

What is he thinking...

Oh! My! God!
How awful is that?!?!?!

Going by my ratings guide-lines, that's a clear 1 - "a cardboard cut out would do a better job" - I mean, no cardboard cut out could be worse than that!!!