England
Anthony Watson, full-back, 7/10 Left for dead by Koroibete for Hooper’s disallowed try and positioning at times not quite there. Tried to get things going in attack and certainly deserves another crack at No15.
Jonny May, wing, 7/10 A mixed bag. Maybe should have picked off an early interception and fumbled again soon after to put England under pressure. Chased hard and finally got his reward at the death.
Jonathan Joseph, centre, 8/10 Dealt with Australia’s two battering ram centres well in the first half, not quite so well in the second but deserved his try for his effort throughout. Much better than last week.
Owen Farrell, centre, 7/10 A calm head and a few excellent kicks but not quite the impact we perhaps expected. Just his presence helped though and was significant in getting Koroibete’s try disallowed.
Elliot Daly, wing, 8/10 Ford and Youngs looked for him with cross-field kicks and he stuck gamely to the task of chasing them and eventually reaped the rewards by beating Beale to ball for try.
George Ford, fly-half, 6/10 Kicked a lot from hand, often targeting Australia’s left wing. Clearly part of the game plan so he stuck to it well but for second consecutive week he could not provide the spark.
Ben Youngs, scrum-half, 6/10 More alert than last week, constantly looking to go quickly and set up Daly with a lovely kick with the outside of his right boot. Passing was not quite on the money.
Mako Vunipola, prop, 6/10 Another guilty of poor handling, understandable in these conditions, but could not establish himself at the scrum. Did not reach the heights of last week – maybe this was a day for Marler.
Dylan Hartley, hooker, capt, 8/10 One of his best performances as England captain. Kicked things off with great tackle on Hodge and continued in that vein thereafter. Showed good hands.
Dan Cole, prop, 6/10 Looked to be getting the better of Sio early on, but not in the eyes of the referee. Judged on his set-piece work, so a satisfactory shift. Nothing more.
Joe Launchbury, lock, 9/10 England’s answer to Ronseal – Eddie Jones knew exactly what he would get when recalling Launchbury, namely tireless work all over the pitch. Ended match with 17 tackles.
Courtney Lawes, lock, 8/10 Walloped Beale with one of his trademark big hits and snared McMahon too. Fast becoming one of England’s most consistent performers.
Chris Robshaw, flanker, 7/10 Early rumble again and covered extremely well towards the end of the first half – even if he immediately gave the ball away. Did fine back on the openside apart from a needless penalty for late hit on Beale.
Sam Underhill, flanker, 6/10 Plenty of early involvement with a couple of tackles, a couple missed as well. Offered himself to carry too before early departure. We can but hope he shakes this habit of suffering head injuries.
Nathan Hughes, No8, 7/10 Fired up from the word go and always looking to get in the faces of Australia, perhaps a little too much. Plenty of carries but his handling lets him down at times.
REPLACEMENTS: Jamie George 7 (for Hartley 57) Takes some credit for late flurry; Joe Marler 7 (for Vunipola 64) Made his tackles after coming on; Harry Williams 6 (for Cole 67) Little time to make impact; Maro Itoje 8 (for Underhill 17) Monstrous performance, albeit with a couple of penalties against; Sam Simmonds 7 (for Hughes 63) Nice pass in buildup to May’s try; Danny Care 8 (for Youngs 70) Very impressive cameo; Henry Slade 6 (for Ford 70) Could not really influence proceedings.
Australia
Kurtley Beale, full-back, 6/10 Saw a huge amount of ball, as was expected, but badly caught out for Daly’s try. Received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on as well. Did not shy away from things but one for the scrapbook.
Marika Koroibete, wing, 8/10 Softly spoken but a hell of a game. Unlucky to have try disallowed, having made it with the initial break, and always looked lively with ball in hand. Still relatively new to union but a classy operator.
Tevita Kuridrani, centre, 6/10 Important tackle on Launchbury in the first half but a poor knock-on which ultimately led to Daly’s try. Rarely able to influence things up the middle, or out wide with Joseph opposite him.
Samu Kerevi, centre, 7/10 Enjoyed a couple of eye-catching runs in the second half – not his fault that Kuridrani could not gather his offload after one of them. A surprise to see him make way.
Reece Hodge, wing, 6/10 Came off wing to try and get involved and showed his goal-kicking skills. Reasonable under the high ball but could not find his way through traffic the way that Koroibete could.
Bernard Foley, fly-half, 6/10 An inauspicious start with a forward pass and a rank first kick at goal. Tends to need a fast start to impose himself but did make one mini-break in the second half.
Will Genia, scrum-half, 7/10 England certainly targeted him and succeeded in frustrating him in the first half. Showed his class to respond, however, making an important break early in the second half.
Scott Sio, prop, 6/10 Experienced campaigner and he stood up well to Cole at scrum-time and carried well. Not as eye-catching as his fellow prop Kepu but probably was not his kind of game.
Tatafu Polota-Nau, hooker, 6/10 One or two wobbles at the lineout and not the day to show up in the loose too often. Scrum was fine, so future Leicester Tigers hooker can be satisfied with his day’s work.
Sekope Kepu, prop, 8/10 Showed up well in the loose, hitting double figures for his number of carries and made some of them count, too. Australia’s scrum held up well, so takes plenty of credit.
Rob Simmons, lock, 6/10 Has a reputation for being little more than a good lineout option. That aspect was not perfect but he shouldered added responsibility considering Enever’s inexperience.
Blake Enever, lock, 5/10 Not a debut to remember. Came up against three superb English locks when Itoje was introduced. Struggled at lineout, too, though it was a big ask to throw him straight in.
Ned Hanigan, flanker, 7/10 Australia’s standout back-row in the first half. He was busy early on, making his tackles and doing his best to make yards. Kept taking knocks, however, and made way at half-time.
Michael Hooper, flanker, capt 5/10 Repeated offences at the breakdown, just as he was a week ago, and earned himself another yellow card. Perhaps a touch unlucky to have try disallowed – just not his day.
Sean McMahon, No8, 6/10 Talked up before the game for the balance that he brings to the back row but did not get any change out of Hughes. Is not the most imposing of No8s and it showed. .
REPLACEMENTS: Stephen Moore 5 (for Poloa‑Nau 64) In the way for Koroibete’s disallowed try; Tom Robertson 6 (for Sio 70) On periphery; Allan Alaalatoa n/a (for Kepu 67) No chance to be involved; Matt Philip n/a (for Enever 62) Barely any more experienced than Enever; Ben McCalman 6 (for Hanigan ht) Important hit on Itoje; Lopeti Timani n/a (for McMahon 79); Nick Phipps 4 (for Genia 71) Caught out for Joseph’s try; Karmichael Hunt 5 (for Kerevi 67) Couple of touches and one knock-on.
