England's Victory Over Ireland - A Few Ratings

15 Mike Brown 8/10 Mr counterattack. Incisive break to set up England's opening attack and that was how he played all afternoon, making the run for Danny Care.

14 Jack Nowell 6/10 Curate's egg of an opening half. Energetic and industrious, but let himself down under high ball. However, was just the sort of wing needed on a day when everyone had to get involved.

13 Luther Burrell 6/10 Too much hard work to shine in first half, but got close to third try in three Tests at the start of the second. Not outclassed by his opposite 13.

12 Billy Twelvetrees 7/10 Growing into the job, taking some of the heat off Farrell, both with a big boot and some deft distribution. Also earned his corn defending in the second half.

11 Jonny May 6/10 Sixth-minute fumble denied wing his first England try, but tried all afternoon. Heaven help the opposition when he gets his satnav sorted.

10 Owen Farrell 6/10 Not the shrinking violet. In fact, may like the rough stuff a bit too much and needs to keep discipline before he gets a reputation.

9 Danny Care 7/10 Mr Tempo. He took every chance to turn the Ireland defence and was on the right wavelength when his Harlequin team-mate Brown broke through.

1 Joe Marler 6/10 Not much chance for grandstanding with so many front-row chores to do, but he was on hand when England had to up the pressure after the Kearney try.

2 Dylan Hartley 7/10 A front-row leader when England's scrum started to creak and an absolute gem when hitting lineout targets.

3 David Wilson 5/10 Brave day. Shaky start for England scrum and turned over in loose. More game time would have helped, but he lasted 20 minutes more than predicted.

4 Joe Launchbury 8/10 The all-round lock. Good lineout, big shove in the scrum and a ball winner in open play. A couple of turnovers went his way, the second leading to a penalty.

5 Courtney Lawes 7/10 The go-to man in the lineout, especially as he calls the shots. Big hits all over the place, but England needed his increased maturity.

6 Tom Wood 6/10 Handy escape valve for England lineout, but otherwise had his hands full all afternoon. Looked shattered when he limped off after 70 minutes.

7 Chris Robshaw 7/10 The back-row partnership with Wood is rarely less than exceptional. Works tirelessly for the team and helped to engineer opening for the try.

8 Billy Vunipola 8/10 Double-teamed by anxious Ireland defence and lasted only 36 minutes when England needed so much more from him.

REPLACEMENTS Ben Morgan (B Vunipola, 36) Took a while picking up the pace of a torrid game; Mako Vunipola (Marley, 64) Not the kind of day for him to make his mark; Henry Thomas (Wilson, 70); Dave Atwood (Wood, 70); Tom Youngs (Hartley, 74).

Mike Brown: Another hugely impressive display. Took two incredible takes under pressure and broke the gainline as first receiver before hitting a great line and delivering a perfect pass to set up Danny Care's try. 9/10
Jack Nowell: He may still only be 20 but the Exeter wing looks to the manor born. Once again was comfortable on the ball, always looking for half-gaps and riding tackles. 8/10
Luther Burrell: His strength was overall more apparent in defence that going forward but one strong carry almost brought him what would have been a third try in as many games. 7/10
Billy Twelvetrees: Looked to straighten England's attacking play by using his strength and feet and took one restart superbly. Although he had the odd handling error he was a rock in defence. 7/10
Jonny May: Should have finished a try in the first half but lost possession over the line. Recovered in the second half and managed to grow as an attacking threat. 7/10
Owen Farrell: A typically energetic performance and his kicking was crucial once again. However, a moment of petulance almost ruined things. 7/10
Danny Care: His energy and commitment were once again central to England's second half revival and thoroughly deserved his try. 8/10
Joe Marler: Was a huge physical presence in the loose, carrying superbly and working hard at scrum time. 7/10
Dylan Hartley: His line-out throwing was again flawless and he worked tirelessly to disrupt and harry the Irish maul, making his presence felt at the breakdown. 8/10
David Wilson: A courageous display given his lack of game time over the last two months. Came under big pressure at the scrum but kept carrying and had a huge tackle count. 7/10
Joe Launchbury: A stunning display by the Wasps forward. His tap-tackle on Dave Kearney in the outside channel could have saved the game and stole at least two crucial turnover balls. 9/10
Courtney Lawes: He appeared to relish the intensity of the physical challenge as Ireland raised the tempo at the start of the second half. Some bone-crunching hits. 8/10
Tom Wood: Not as prominent as a carrier but was hugely physical again in the loose and made a try-saving tackle on Andrew Trimble in the first half. 7/10
Chris Robshaw: Impressive leadership throughout the game and gave a nice ball inside for England's try. 8/10
Billy Vunipola: Found himself heavily marked and he struggled to repeat his ball-carrying heroics against Scotland and France before he was forced off late in the first half with a knee injury. 6/10
Replacements: Ben Morgan looked uncomfortable under the high ball but grew into the game and made some important carries from the base of the scrum in the face of intense Irish pressure. Mako Vunipola made some important big hits.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ill repeat what I said on the main game thread...but I think Marler is simply not getting any of the recognition he now deserves. For me he is developing into a very good international prop who is strong in all facets of the game. And at only 23 I think he is...he could become a world class one. He has made the loss of Corbs a lot less concerning than many thought.

A 6 from the guardian? Really?

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ill repeat what I said on the main game thread...but I think Marler is simply not getting any of the recognition he now deserves. For me he is developing into a very good international prop who is strong in all facets of the game. And at only 23 I think he is...he could become a world class one. He has made the loss of Corbs a lot less concerning than many thought.

A 6 from the guardian? Really?

yappysnap wrote:My own as I saw it:

Mike Brown - The best player on the field, closely followed by his opposite number but it was Brown's day. 9/10

Jack Nowell - Very mixed, some dodgy hands and struggled to find space but tackled well especially late in the game 5/10

Luther Burrell - Still making some classy running lines, tackled well too. 7/10

Billy Twelvetrees - Mixed ball in hand and some of his passing was still forced, tackled very well and organised England's D to perfection. 7/10

Jonny May - A few nightmare moments and Mike Brown will be taking him off the Xmas card list. Needs to relax and just back himself more, also crab less. 4/10

Owen Farrell - Pretty poor over all, missed a pretty simple kick, failed to organise his backs and every time he was in the Irish 22 he lost the plot. Taking the ball into contact in the opening mins was criminal. 5/10

Danny Care - Did very well behind England's scrum, added spark and tempo to the game and scored the key try. 8/10

Joe Marler - Put in a lot of big hits, tackled the opposition to a stand still and his side of the scrum was pretty solid. 7/10

Dylan Hartley - Had some issues hooking the ball under pressure but the rest of his game was pretty spot on. 7/10

Dave Wilson - Looked what he was, a player returning from a lengthy injury. Did well even to make half time. 5/10

Courtney Lawes - Has become a key component in the pack, supreme at the lineouts and his carrying was destructive. 7/10

Joe Launchberry - Won a key turnover in our own half and while he maybe doesn't add the bulk needed yet his athleticism after 79 mins was herculean, just ask Dave Kearney.7/10

Tom Wood - Another grafting game from Wood did all the ugly stuff that keeps the opposition backrow under wraps. 7/10

Chris Robshaw - The same as Wood but his vision for the break and offload was the match defining play. 8/10

Billy Vunipola - Was coping well with the sloppy scrum and just beginning to carry hard when he got injured. -

Youngs - Managed to not mess up any lineouts, Vunipola - didn't get a chance to shine, Thomas - Looked comfier then Wilson tbh, Attwood - a big turnover at a key time and added some stability in the scrum, perhaps earnt a start against Wales?, Morgan - Made a huge impact coming on and didn't tire out either.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ill repeat what I said on the main game thread...but I think Marler is simply not getting any of the recognition he now deserves. For me he is developing into a very good international prop who is strong in all facets of the game. And at only 23 I think he is...he could become a world class one. He has made the loss of Corbs a lot less concerning than many thought.

A 6 from the guardian? Really?

EnglishReign wrote:Agree with you I think, yappy. You can relax when Care and Brown get the ball, they just ooze class.

I'm a huge Jonny May fan but I can't stand up for some of his decision making yesterday! I don't get it - he actually runs in a straight line for Glaws most of the time and is as clinical a finisher as anyone in the prem. Needs a huge last couple games to keep Yarde out of the team.

GloriousEmpire wrote:I thought the England backs looked more cohesive. Individually I still have doubts about The current crop, but at least they seemed to be able to contribute collectively. Basic skills were superior in terms of just getting the passes in the right place.

Now that they have taken that step, I'll be looking for them to add some more interesting attack patterns and improve their general awareness of each other's positioning and availability.

beshocked wrote:Yappysnap have to disagree with some of your ratings feel you are very harsh on Farrell.

Would give him a 6/10. Made some decent tackles, some great touch finders, made a tough kick first up. Okay he should have nailed a relatively straightforward penalty and should have spotted an overlap or two but May should have scored a try.

Twelvetrees - awful. Missed tackles,knocked on, gave away penalties/turnovers. Pretty ineffectual when he actually kept the ball in hand, showed little to no creativity. 4/10


No point Twelvetrees being in the team if he's not delivering what he should. I thought he had turned the corner vs Scotland.