England’s World Cup came crashing to a halt as they fell 33-13 to Australia at Twickenham.
The hosts were totally outclassed by a slick-looking Wallabies side and are now eliminated with a game still remaining in the pool stages.
Here’s how we rated the players on both sides of the ball:
ENGLAND
15. Mike Brown – 6
Put his team under pressure early with poor positional awareness. Never seemed to settle into the match at all.
14. Anthony Watson – 8
Arguably England’s best performer on the night. Hardly put a foot wrong in the first 70 minutes and finished his try beautifully.
13. Jonathan Joseph – 7.5
His presence gave England so much more confidence to attack, but suffered a little in defense.
12. Brad Barritt – 6.5
Helped link play well in the first half but was nowhere to be found on either try.
11. Jonny May – 6
Didn’t do much wrong in his 40 minutes on the pitch. Didn’t get much service as England waited until the second half to throw it around.
10. Owen Farrell – 6.5
Had a solid game but England needed a game-changer at 10, which Farrell just can’t offer. A stupid yellow card marked the end of the game.
9. Ben Youngs – 6
Did his best but saw too many turnovers. Failed to organise his forwards properly.
8. Ben Morgan – 6
He carried well in the opening period but went missing soon after.
7. Chris Robshaw – 5.5
He was completely found out against two world-class openside flankers. The refusal to pick Steffon Armitage never made any sense.
6. Tom Wood – 5
Didn’t offer Robshaw any help in taking down the Hooper-Pocock axis.
5. Geoff Parling – 6
Made some good lines but England needed far more.
4. Joe Launchbury – 6
A disappointing outing for a player who can offer so much. For all he did, he was caught out in defense too many times.
3. Dan Cole – 4
Anonymous in every aspect of the game.
2. Tom Youngs – 6
One of England’s better forwards, but still wasn’t able to do enough.
1. Joe Marler – 4.5
Offered nothing in the loose, and has no Plan B if the ref notices his angled driving at the scrum.
Replacements
Ford’s introduction at halftime allowed England to spread the ball more, but the lack of any other game-changers on the bench was starkly apparent. Burgess was lucky not to pick up a yellow at the same time as Farrell.
AUSTRALIA
15. Israel Folau – 6
A surprisingly quiet night for one of the most talented players at the tournament.
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper – 8
Still one of the most fun players to watch in world rugby.
13. Tevita Kuridrani – 7
Did all he needed to do.
12. Matt Giteau – 9
Possibly the most gifted footballer in the world. Still a joy to watch after so many years.
11. Rob Horne – N/A
Unfortunately for Horne, his early injury meant he missed the majority of this famous victory.
10. Bernard Foley – 10
A monumental effort. Two tries and a 100% kicking ratio gave him an Australian record against England. Announced himself to the world.
9. Will Genia – 8.5
His importance to this team was clear once he left the pitch.
8. David Pocock – 10
Cheika’s decision to move him to number eight is truly inspired and it could win them the World Cup.
7. Michael Hooper – 9
Was lucky not to be yellow carded late in the first half, but had a phenomenal game in every other aspect.
6. Scott Fardy – 7.5
The quiet one of the Australian back row, but always looked comfortable.
5. Rob Simmons – 8
Another great game as the Wallabies pack proved too strong for the hosts.
4. Kane Douglas – 7.5
By no means world-class but he doesn’t need to be in this team.
3. Sekope Kepu – 7.5
Threw one of the tastiest offloads you’ll ever see and more than held his own against Marler after a slip at the first scrum.
2. Stephen Moore – 7
There was a worry that Australia would miss him when he went off, but they have enough leaders to cope.
1. Scott Sio – 7
The Australian scrum worked perfectly after a few early jitters.
Replacements
Kurtley Beale played a key role in the second try and generally made a great example of himself after replacing Horne early on. All the replacements maintained the high level of Australian play, with the exception of Nick Phipps at scrumhalf.
