England
15 Mike Brown 5/10
Solid as ever under the high ball, bar one miscommunication with May. Gave away a silly penalty in second half. Not finding space at moment.
14 Semesa Rokoduguni 6/10
Not the dazzling rugby he was picked for, but this was a very neat showing. Safe under the high ball, solid hits, including one on Savea. He can come again.
13 Brad Barritt 7/10
Wonderful shift in defence and neat with the ball in hand. Set May off on his wonder run. Did miss one tackle, but when you make this many …
12 Kyle Eastmond 6/10
Contained the big man opposite, which was the main concern, and did it well. An impressive recovery from June. Charged-down kick was a pity.
11 Jonny May 7/10
Two points first up for that wonder try. Serious pace and footwork in minimal space against the world’s best. Not his only run, but did fade.
10 Owen Farrell 5/10
Accurate off tee and a couple of neat chips. But a big ask after so little rugby to do much more than get through this, which he did.
9 Danny Care 6/10
Very sharp in first half. Each one of his box-kicks was on the money. But his accuracy in that department waned in the second half.
1 Joe Marler 5/10
A lot of tackles, only two scrums. Being a prop never used to be like this. A disruptive influence whenever the All Blacks came near him.
2 Dylan Hartley 6/10
Lineout was immaculate, for which much credit, because there were a lot of them. One of two to miss Kaino in build-up to try.
3 David Wilson 5/10
See Marler, only for him it was lots of carries, few scrums. England’s scrum dominated with new front row – or maybe New Zealand’s got worse with theirs.
4 Dave Attwood 7/10
Fine game. Bordering on the massive. A big lineout presence and just as much so round the park. Lock forward not a problem in this squad.
5 Courtney Lawes 6/10
Left midway through first half but was in credit. Great early tackle, disrupted All Black maul and close to a try. Did miss Kaino, though, in build-up to New Zealand try
6 Tom Wood 4/10
Key component of England’s lineout, but otherwise a quiet game of heads-down industry, spoilt somewhat by the concession of three penalties and almost a yellow card.
7 Chris Robshaw 8/10
Extraordinary performance in the first half when he outplayed the great man opposite. Then outplayed by same in second but still in thick of it.
8 Billy Vunipola 7/10
Some major carrying – we expect nothing less. Very close to making the line early on, then great break in second half but turned over by the master (McCaw).
REPLACEMENTS George Kruis (for Lawes 23) Good effort – from Dorking RFC to here in no time 6 Ben Morgan (for Vunipola 53) Matt Mullan (for Marler 55) Ben Youngs (for Care 62) Anthony Watson (for Rokoduguni 63) George Ford (for Eastmond 65) Rob Webber (for Hartley 74) Kieran Brookes (for Wilson 74)
New Zealand
15 Israel Dagg 5/10
Mixed bag. Bad start when he was skinned like never before by May, but otherwise sound in first half. Nearly butchered try in second but ledger even by end
14 Ben Smith 7/10
What a class player he is. Even when it’s not his game, which this wasn’t really, he is neat and clever, always adding something
13 Conrad Smith 6/10
Didn’t get off to a good start when, like Dagg, he was left for dead by May, but never ruffled. Handling exemplary and sound in defence
12 Sonny Bill Williams 6/10
Couldn’t quite impose himself to begin with and made the odd error, but grew into it. One run in the second half had England creaking
11 Julian Savea 6/10
Never less than a handful, but England managed to handle him all right. One cute chip and chase in the second half ramped up the pressure
10 Aaron Cruden 6/10
What to say? Goal-kicking was an issue for NZ, but if we can forget that he was deadly, as all All Black 10s are, with ball in hand. Was it a try, though?
9 Aaron Smith 7/10
Wasn’t quite as accurate with his early box kicks as Care, but otherwise sharp. Quick thinking put Cruden over for “try”. Fast and smart
1 Wyatt Crockett 5/10
Not much to report in scrum. Did seem to get better of Wilson at one but NZ penalised. An early spill. Otherwise industrious
2 Dane Coles 5/10
He ran like a winger at one point and is quite the handful in the loose. In the tight? Still not sure. Silly lash out with boot put him in the bin
3 Owen Franks 7/10
Great game. Again, not much scrummaging and was penalised (harshly) at one, but otherwise a big presence round the field. His break paved way for try
4 Brodie Retallick 5/10
The quieter of New Zealand’s lock forwards, but took a restart well and was involved in some big collisions. Off at half-time
5 Sam Whitelock 7/10
Big afternoon’s work. A lot of carries but unlike so many big men the prospect of an offload always present. Unlucky not to snatch a try with quick thinking
6 Jerome Kaino 8/10
He was pretty much superman for the 67 minutes he was on. Difficult to recall a single mistake. Endless tackling, big carries, soft hands, a chargedown…
7 Richie McCaw 8/10
Outplayed in first half, then as so often raised it when it mattered. Is there any better emblem of his team? Try, turn-overs, carries, tackles…
8 Kieran Read 7/10
Hands were a delight – when are they not? A lineout presence, as usual. Architect of tries, plus ça change? One day he’ll have a bad game…
REPLACEMENTS Patrick Tuipulotu (for Retallick ht) Excellent second half in the loose 7 Charlie Faumuina (for O Franks 48) Ryan Crotty (for C Smith 48) Beauden Barrett (for Cruden 60) Ben Franks (for Crockett 60) Keven Mealamu (for Coles 66) TJ Perenara (for A Smith 67) Liam Messam (for Kaino 67)
