England
15 Freddie Steward Effortlessly graceful in the air – he never looks like dropping one – and took his first of what should be many tries well. 8/10
14 Manu Tuilagi Rarely stayed on wing, coming infield and charging at the defence. Perhaps best to play him in his best position, though. 6
13 Henry Slade Spent a lot of time at wing or full-back and, while he showed his quality, looked a square peg in a round hole at times. 6
12 Owen Farrell (capt) A solid return to the side but, if he limps off, then it’s a safe bet he is hurt. A concern, with South Africa due here next week. 6
11 Jonny May Did not make the most of one promising opportunity in the first half and was subdued thereafter. 5
10 Marcus Smith Not bad. Kicked too much early on but showed his ability when putting Steward away. Forced things a little. 7
9 Ben Youngs Kicked well and distribution on the money, including one fizzed long pass when falling backwards. 7
1 Bevan Rodd Needless early penalty against but responded with strong carry in Australia’s 22. Brought some ballast to the scrum, too on impressive debut. 8
2 Jamie George Rampaging run up the middle, just when England were going quiet. But dropped one over the line and was injured in the process. 6
3 Kyle Sinckler Plenty of grunt but his delicate touch with ball in hand sets him apart and grew in influence as match wore on. 8
4 Maro Itoje Not his most disciplined of performances but upped his game when Australia threatened a comeback. 6
5 Jonny Hill Strong carry early in the second half but ultimately held up. Slowly but surely growing in stature at this level. 7
6 Courtney Lawes As usual, lovely footwork to buy himself an extra yard. England’s most consistent forward at present. 7
7 Sam Underhill Not one of his more conspicuous matches but perhaps hard to make an impact when breakdown was such a mess. 6
8 Tom Curry A lot of work, though yet to convince fully at No 8 and Dombrandt’s cameo showed what a specialist can do when given the chance. 7
Australia
15 Kurtley Beale Beaten a little easily for Steward’s try and endured a frustrating afternoon, finding himself on the end of too many loose passes. 5
14 Andrew Kellaway The former Northampton wing had a big impact on the Rugby Championship but hasn’t been able to bring that form north. 5
13 Len Ikitau Has “effort” emblazoned on his wristband and there was no lack of it. Almost caught England napping but Smith was alert to it. 6
12 Hunter Paisami Levelled Smith in the first half to force the knock on, and made a scything break in the second. 7
11 Tom Wright Can have no complaints over yellow card – which felt the correct sanction – and fumbled the ball when well placed to dart down the left. 4
10 James O’Connor Goal-kicking was on the money from the off and, having sat far too deep against Scotland, brought a better balance to his game. 6
9 Nic White Busy and industrious throughout and came up with a remarkable tackle to deny George a try. 7
1 Angus Bell Mindless tip tackle on Lawes earned himself a yellow card when Australia were just a point behind. 4
2 Folau Fainga’a One or two wobbles at lineout time and missed a couple of tackles before being replaced. 5
3 James Slipper Gave up one scrum penalty to Rodd but responded well and kept on toiling away at the coal face. 6
4 Rory Arnold Brings a bit of muscle to the Wallabies pack and made some important metres in heavy traffic. 6
5 Izack Rodda Silly breakdown penalty against but was disruptive at the lineout and a general thorn in England’s side. 7
6 Rob Leota Provided a lineout option and showed up well as a carrying option but his discipline was a problem. 6
7 Michael Hooper (capt) Effort and energy in abundance, as we have come to expect. Was the game’s top tackler when he limped off after 55 minutes. 7
8 Rob Valetini Made a monstrous tackle on Youngs when England were threatening and made a couple of dents. 6
