England vs France: Player Ratings

England and France got their Rugby World Cup warm-up schedules underway on Saturday night, with England triumphing over France at Twickenham, 19-14.

Stuart Lancaster’s experimental XV enjoyed some good moments against a much more experienced French side, with the back line in particular grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

We have run the rule over both sides and come up with our ratings for their opening game of the summer.

England

15. Alex Goode – 7

Set up Jonny May for a try with a sumptuous cross-field kick and defended well, especially early in the game when both May and Anthony Watson were playing flat, leaving the full-back to cover the entire width of the pitch.

14. Anthony Watson – 8

The Bath full-back-cum-wing bagged a brace and displayed his potent combination of footwork and acceleration when he rounded Brice Dulin for one of the more memorable scores at Twickenham in recent years.

13. Henry Slade – 9

It was a marvellous debut for the Exeter Chief who pulled England’s strings from outside centre in a way highly reminiscent of the role Conrad Smith performs for New Zealand. He set up Watson’s first try of the game with great hands and did likewise in the build-up to May’s score, both of which highlighted his fly-half skill set and tremendous vision.

12. Sam Burgess – 8

His long-term future may still be in the back row but Burgess impressed at 12, proving to be the defensive linchpin that has been missing in the England back line of late. He showed nice hands and an impressive understanding of the position in the build-up to Watson’s second try of the game.

11. Jonny May – 8

Reportedly one of the stars of England’s training camp in Denver, May rewarded Lancaster’s faith with a fine outing at Twickenham, devastating the French defence by coming off his wing and joining the back line at pace and from deep.

10. Owen Farrell – 7

The Saracen was composed and precise, playing well on the gain line and showing his maturity. With George Ford entrenched as England’s fly-half, it would have been easy for Farrell to overplay his hand, but he managed the situation well and brought the best out of Burgess and Slade.

9. Richard Wigglesworth – 6

Wigglesworth marshalled the pack well and provided quick, precise service to Farrell for the fly-half unleash England’s new-look centre partnership.

1. Mako Vunipola – 6

The loosehead started well but seemed to fade quickly against France’s Nicolas Mas. He redeemed himself with a lively start to the second half and showed his value in the loose against a tiring defence.

2. Rob Webber – 6

Webber didn’t offer much in the loose but his accuracy at the lineout, where he hit 100% of his jumpers, should be enough to see him make England’s RWC squad.

3. Kieran Brookes – 5

Struggled against Vincent Debaty and left the field with what looked like a wrist injury after a particularly dominant French scrum.

4. George Kruis – 7

Kruis was probably the standout English forward (along with James Haskell from the bench) and did his hopes of pipping Dave Attwood to a spot in the squad no harm at all. His lineout work and defensive intensity were both very noticeable.

5. Geoff Parling – 6

It was a quiet outing for Parling. The former Leicester Tiger usually rules the roost at the lineout, but with Webber’s favoured targets seeming to be Kruis and Tom Wood, Parling looked a little out of place.

6. Tom Wood – 6

Captained the side well enough in Chris Robshaw’s absence, but England’s capitulation at the breakdown, albeit not solely the responsibility of Wood, will not have reflected well on the flanker. His work at the lineout helped make up for deficiencies in other areas.

7. Calum Clark – 5

Tackled manfully and showed good work rate, but a quiet day at the breakdown and his yellow card for a neck roll may be the thin line between Clark making and missing out on England’s final 31-man squad.

8. Ben Morgan – 6

Morgan was only given 40 minutes on his return from a broken leg and didn’t really see enough of the ball to make a positive or negative impression.

16. Luke Cowan Dickie – 5

17. Alex Corbisiero – 5

18. David Wilson – 7

19. Dave Attwood – 6

20. James Haskell – 7

21. Danny Care – 6

22. Danny Cipriani – 6

23. Billy Twelvetrees – 6

France

15. Scott Spedding – 6

It was not the performance Spedding needed to secure his place in the French first team, as the full-back couldn’t provide the counter-attacking threat that the open game at Twickenham demanded from both sets of back threes.

14. Sofiane Guitoune – 5

Struggled to impact the game with France focused on dominating up front and his few chances with ball in hand often ended up with him isolating himself and turning over possession.

13. Rémi Lamerat – 5

The French pack laid the foundations for the back line to play but the centre trucked the ball up too often when he got his hands on the ball and failed to unleash his wingers. It was a Tevita Kuridrani-esque performance, but with none of the tackle-busting power of the Australian.

12. Alexandre Dumoulin – 6

As with Lamerat, Dumoulin failed to spark the back line in the way in which the French public hoped he would and other than a few powerful carries, had a fairly average outing at Twickenham.

11. Brice Dulin – 6

The winger came close to grabbing a French try in the opening minutes but couldn’t quite match the pace of May who was covering in defence. At the other end of the pitch he gave up a one-on-one try to Watson and then quickly faded out of the game.

10. François Trinh-Duc – 7

Started strongly and though he faded a little as the game went on, he looked comfortable and ambitious at fly-half, something which has not been a given with other French 10s of late. Trinh-Duc’s tactical kicking was particularly impressive and helped France heap pressure on England early in the game.

9. Morgan Parra – 7

Parra kicked accurately at goal and did a good job directing his dominant pack around the pitch. He didn’t offer much of a threat around the fringes however, and given France’s quick recycling at the breakdown, it could have been an area of the game capable of swinging the match in France’s favour.

1. Vincent Debaty – 8

Gave his younger opponent a gruelling night in the scrum, squeezing a couple of penalties out of Brookes. The loosehead showed he still has plenty of gas left in the tank and is certainly a viable option to be in France’s preferred XV come the RWC.

2. Dimitri Szarzewski – 6

The hooker captained his side well, but his lineout throwing wasn’t as accurate as he would have liked and he didn’t offer the attacking threat that the rest of his pack exhibited.

3. Nicolas Mas – 7

Had an enjoyable outing against Vunipola and showed his wealth of experience in the scrum, comfortably turning the screw against the mammoth loosehead. The Frenchman may have gone a long way towards securing France’s number three jersey for the RWC.

4. Alexandre Flanquart – 7

A good all-round performance from Flanquart, who contributed significantly at the breakdown and set-piece, doing a large amount of the unseen work for Les Bleus.

5. Yoann Maestri – 7

Like Flanquart, Maestri contributed across the board for France and continues to show his credentials as not only a budding leader in the French pack, but also as a potential captain post-RWC.

6. Yannick Nyanga – 7

Hurt the English defence with a number of powerful carries and was never far from the dirty work at the breakdown. France’s significant advantage at the contact area was largely due to the technique and effort of Nyanga.

7. Fulgence Ouedraogo – 7

The flanker was forceful in defence, preventing England’s bigger carriers in the pack from breaking the gain line, and was rewarded in the second half with a well-deserved try for his efforts.

8. Louis Picamoles – 9

Picamoles was well on his way to a rating of 10 in the first half, but a quieter second half saw him just fall short of the perfect game. His carrying was physical and effective, breaking plenty of tackles and then unleashing support runners with some of the deftest hands you’ll see from a forward.

16. Guilhem Guirado – 6

17. Xavier Chiocci – 6

18. Uini Atonio – 4

19. Sébastien Vahaamahina – 5

20. Loann Goujon – 6

21. Rory Kockott – 7

22. Rémi Talès – 6

23. Gaël Fickou – 6