Player Ratings: England

Yesterday at 03:59 PM

OPINION: Now we can say for certain this is a Steve Borthwick team definitely on the up, their sublime 68-14, 10-try record Cardiff hammering of Wales moving them on top of the table ahead of the final match of the championship on Saturday between title favourites France and Scotland.

Borthwick's tenure had been a snakes and ladders adventure until top steps forward followed by more steps backwards, but their completion of a first four-wins-from-five Six Nations campaign since they last won the title in 2020 signals a giant leap for the head coach and the credibility of his team.

Final day Anglo-Welsh fixtures had a powder keg history, Wales memorably upsetting the odds in 1999, 2007 and 2013, but this Round Five Welsh side was a shambles fully deserving of what was their 17th successive Test loss.

With an error-ridden Ireland eventually edging Italy to move top of the table by mid-afternoon, it was over to England in Cardiff to see what they could achieve.

The first job was silencing the crowd in the opening 10 minutes and they did this brilliantly, Maro Itoje and Tom Roebuck scoring converted tries either side of a disallowed score from Blair Murray.

It was next door the previous night at Arms Park where England U20s got 13-3 up and were then outmanoeuvred, losing a Grand Slam and the title in a jolting 13-23 loss. There was no repeat of that collapse here.

Yes, Wales did close to 14-7 with a 31st minute Ben Thomas try, but how England finished the half was clinical, Tommy Freeman, replacement back-rower Chandler Cunningham-South and Will Stuart all scoring to secure a 33-7 interval lead.

No one can deny that Wales were dire; their fans even voted with their feet and streamed towards the exits long before the finish.

But the creative calibre of this English performance, which was decorated by second-half tries from Alex Mitchell, the debut-making Henry Pollock (two), sub tighthead Joe Heyes and a second from Cunningham-South, definitely won't escape the attention of Andy Farrell when he feeds this easy on the eye evidence into the mix ahead of his British and Irish Lions tour squad selection.

Here are the England player ratings:

15. Marcus Smith – 7.5
Restored to the starting line-up after last weekend's short-lived benching, his impacts were positive in attack and he was also a safe pair of hands under the high Welsh ball.

14. Tom Roebuck – 8.5
A first Test start, the rookie looked like he was around for years. Started with a confident catch, demonstrated power when finishing his 10th minute try and was also involved in the third and fifth tries, showing great intelligence in what he did.

13. Tommy Freeman – 8
Shifted into the midfield to alleviate the injury loss of Ollie Lawrence, he delivered a text book choke tackle on 14 minutes but his defending could be questioned for Wales' 31st-minute try. He hit back within minutes, though, with a classy finish to seal the fabulous individual feat of scoring a try in every round of this year's Six Nations. Exited on 49 minutes, not looking his most comfortable.

12. Fraser Dingwall – 8.5
Came in from the cold last weekend and didn't disappoint. Was even better here, however, and the way England's attack functioned will reflect very well on him. No slouch either in defence as witnessed in the 46th-minute race he won to touch down behind his line and deny Wales a try.

11. Elliot Daly – 7.5
Last week's starting fullback, this week's starting left wing after an in-game change to centre against the Italians. Such is the value of Daly's versatility. Was relieved that flapped aerial ball that led to the Murray try for Wales with England 7-0 up was disallowed for a knock-on. Big carry in the lead-up to his team's second try highlighted his value in the carry. His intervention was also critical in Mitchell scoring try No6.

10. Fin Smith – 9
Had already made the No.10 jersey his own this spring, but the variety of his attacking play here was exactly what England needed to take things to the next level. The superb assist pass for the Roebuck try showed chutzpah while his crosskicks were dynamite. Left with his job fabulously done on 56 minutes with his team 40-7 up.

9. Alex Mitchell – 8.5
Had frustrations with some first-half bouncing balls, including the one that got away in the lead-up to Wales' disallowed eighth-minute try. However, the bounce that favoured him when scoring from his 55th-minute kick ahead was sweet and a deserved reward for a 68-minute display where the quality of his pass was top notch.

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1. Ellis Genge – 8
Would have missed the match if his partner went into labour but with the new arrival still to appear, the loosehead provided the type of robustness that unsettled Wales when the match was there for the winning. Started his solid outing with the scrum penalty win that earned England the territory for their second try. Played for 62 minutes.

2. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 7.5
Back in the XV after rotating with Jamie George, his line-out wasn't the smoothest but he more than made up for that with the frequency of his tackling. Was on top of that particular chart when he exited on 48 minutes, his best moment being the snazzy hand trip that denied Murray when it looked like the fullback had gassed him and would score in the first half.

3. Will Stuart – 8
Rounded off his five starts campaign with another impressive outing. There was a free conceded at the game's first scrum, but everything else purred and his 48-minute performance was capped by the determination he showed when finishing off his try on the blow of half-time.

4. Maro Itoje – 8.5
The British and Irish Lions tour captain-in-waiting set the tone for this swashbuckling England effort with his third-minute try. Led his team astutely and managed his communications well with referee Nic Berry.

5. Ollie Chessum – 5
Showed a momentary glimpse of his determination to grow into the enforcer role, spikily reacting to defend Tom Curry when he was pushed when getting up after an early scrum collapse. The pitch was he was gone on 19 minutes, paying a painful price for an awkwardly attempted tackle.

6. Tom Curry – 8
Huge carry in the lead up to the opening try ignited his day, but for a change he wasn't his team's best back-rower despite his excellent work rate.

7. Ben Curry – 9
Promoted from the bench, he was a brilliant addition who gleefully subdued the Welsh during his 59 minutes, never ging them a sniff. His carrying was a nuisance to the red-shirted opposition but what topped his lot was the brilliance of 47th-minute steal on his own tryline to break fleeting Welsh momentum.

8. Ben Earl – 8.5
Switched from openside to start at No.8 for the first time since round one, he also brilliantly took the fight to Wales and his only annoyance would be conceding the no-rollaway penalty that gave the home side the chance to kick to the score and score off the line-out. Delighted in a 36th minute ruck penalty win; then finished the match as a midfielder, playing their for the last half hour to accommodate the rookie Pollock.

Replacements:

17. Fin Baxter – 6.5
Given the closing 18 minutes, he quickly got stuck into the revelry and will have enjoyed his cameo.

18. Joe Heyes – 7.5
Another send on just eight minutes into the second half, he capped his grand outing with his well-taken 70th-minute try.

19. Chandler Cunningham-South – 9
Had a 61-minute runaround due to Chessum's early exit and he was immense value, scoring twice and being a thorn for the Welsh forwards.

20. Henry Pollock – 9
What a debut for the affable 20-year-old. Arrived in on 49 minutes and was a try-scorer 18 minutes later. Wasn't satisfied with that, adding a second on 79 minutes. A memorable start to what should be an excellent career.

21. Tom Willis – 7.5
Got the last 21 minutes and while he won't gain the plaudits that others will hog, his brilliant break and offload to set up Heyes to score was class.

22. Jack van Poortvliet – 7
The 68th-minute sub kept the tempo high, England bossing the try count 3-1 while he was on.

23. George Ford – 8
Rewarded for his training ground effort in preparing the teams in previous rounds this spring, his 56th minute introduction was followed by England piling on more scores to their 40-7 lead. It was his lovely inside pass that sent Pollock in his second try.

@Rugbypass

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