England v South Africa England player ratings (out of 10)

1. Luke Cowan-Dickie 6. Had a destructive first half at scrum time, so much so that the South African management had to take off starting tight-head Keeble after 30 minutes. Carries well and is mobile for a front row, but faded in the second half when England needed their front row dominance to keep them in the game.
2. Koree Britton 5. Part of an England front row that has stood out this year. Strong scrummager and strong ball carrier but needs to hit more intelligent running lines and also faded in the second half. Some key throws went astray when England desperately needed to secure possession, but this was mostly down to strange calls to the back of the lineout which may not have been his fault.
3. Kyle Sinckler 7. Undoubtedly England’s best player of the tournament. Destructive scrummager, strong carrier and unbelievably mobile in the loose. Looks like the player that could start putting pressure on Dan Cole if given the game time at Quins.
4. Sam Twomey 4. Line out option but little more. Desperately inferior to his South African counterparts in all facets of play. Poor.
5. George Merrick 4. Part of a second row partnership that was dominated. A Line out option, but poor handling skills and brainless running lines.
6. Billy Vunipola 6. Clearly a physical presence, made some telling carries and was unlucky to be taken off so early. Perhaps needs to work on his fitness as he fades in and out of games.
7. Chris Walker 4. Poor performance from the captain. Gave away too many penalties, missed tackles and lacks a ball carrying game. Overshadowed by opposite number Ardendorff.
8. Jack Clifford 6. One of the few assured set of hands in the England team. Fantastic offloading game, good skill set and never stopped going all game. Part of a losing back row but clearly has a bright future.
9. Dan Robson 5. A talented prospect in the mould of young English scrum half’s such as Youngs, Simpson and Care. Needs to work on game control.
10. Tommy Bell 5. Managed a 5 due to his impressive goal kicking range. Lacks the game management of Heathcote who had to come off early. Doesn’t offer much in attack from full back either.
11. Charlie Walker 4. Has potential, but needs to learn how to impose himself better with tracking lines. Was bundled into touch on occasions due to thoughtless running lines.
12. Ryan Mills 3. Dreadful game and a dreadful tournament. One of this team’s senior players yet missed tackles, kicked and passed poorly. Looks half the player he was in last year’s tournament, and was very much culpable for the Small-smith try. Back to the training ground.
13. Sam Hill 4. Overshadowed by the mercurial Small-smith opposite him. Some nice touches but fairly anonymous. Does however have potential with his physical attributes.
14. Marland Yarde 6. Worked hard and did show some initiative. Poor execution and obvious deficiencies in skill set to unlock an aggressive South African defence.
15. Ben Ransom 8. Didn’t start the game, which was a travesty. Thankfully got 55 minutes, and was one of England’s few players that tried to make things happen. Strange that he wasn’t given more opportunity despite having such a strong tournament last year.