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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Simon Collings

England player ratings vs New Zealand: Ford stars, powerful Lawrence, Pollock bright

England made it 10 wins on the spin with an emphatic victory over New Zealand.

Steve Borthwick’s side ran in four tries as England defeated the All Blacks for only the ninth time time in their history.

England had been on the back foot early on and trailing 12-0, but they roared back to secure a 33-19 win.

Simon Collings was at Twickenham to see England in action...

Backs

Freddie Steward 6

Had to come off after just over 20 minutes due to a head injury. Was bright before then, especially under the high ball.

Tom Roebuck 7

Showed how much of a weapon he can be under the high ball with a couple of excellent grabs. His hard work was rewarded with a late try.

Tom Roebuck dives over for England’s final try (AFP via Getty Images)

Ollie Lawrence 8

A top performance from the centre. Scored England’s opening try with a powerful run and showed slick hands to set up Dingwall for his.

Fraser Dingwall 7

Ran a lovely line for his try to put England into a commanding lead. Knitted things together well in the centres.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 7

Lively in the first half, when he saw a good amount of ball. Made a few dangerous breaks.

George Ford 8 | Star player

The coolest man in Twickenham. Slotted two vital drop-goals before the break and teed up Dingwall's try with a perfect 50-22 kick.

Alex Mitchell 7

Lifted tempo early in the second half, when England capitalised on New Zealand being a man down. Kicking got better as the game went on.

Forwards

Fin Baxter 7

Come on so much in the past few months and this was sign of his progress. Solid in the set-piece.

Jamie George 6

England’s line-out struggled and they lost three of their five in the first half. Taken off early after the break.

Joe Heyes 8

A massive performance from the prop. Excellent at scrum time and won a big penalty in England’s 22.

Maro Itoje 7

The line-out usually runs so slickly with him - and it was better after the break. A nuisance at the breakdown and led well.

Alex Coles 7

Started in the absence of the injured Ollie Chessum. So nearly scored when he crashed over from cross range, but was held up.

Guy Pepper 7

Kept his place in the team and repaid Borthwick’s faith with a good showing. Worked tirelessly at the breakdown.

Sam Underhill 8

Set the tone in the first few minutes with a big tackle. Felt like he was everywhere defensively, but still scored a try, too. A monster performance.

Sam Underhill’s try gave England the lead (AFP via Getty Images)

Ben Earl 7

Carried so well and made a few excellent breaks. Sent to the sin bin towards the end for a penalty at a maul.

Replacements

Marcus Smith (Steward 22’) 7

A live wire when he came on and made things happened in attack. Coped fairly well under the high ball.

Luke Cowan-Dickie (George 44’) 6

Steadied the line-out and put himself about in the loose, too.

Ellis Genge (Baxter 56’) 7

Brought energy all over the park. Such a weapon for England to have a player like that on the bench.

Will Stuart (Heyes 56’) 7

Made an impact by helping England assert more dominance at scrum time.

Henry Pollock (Pepper 56’) 8

A key part of the ‘Pom Squad’. Typically busy and won a penalty for a great steal at a ruck. Helped create Roebuck’s late try.

Henry Pollock kicks a loose ball to set up England’s fourth try, scored by Tom Roebuck (Getty Images)

Tom Curry (Underhill 56’) 6

A bit of surprise to see him on the bench, but he helped give England a lift.

Ben Spencer (Mitchell 73’) N/A

Chandler Cunningham-South (Lawrence 79’) N/A

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