England’s Player Ratings vs. South Africa- South Africa 22 England 17

Stuart Lancaster was “happy with the endeavour and the effort” that his side put in against the Springboks; however, he felt that the game was one “we could have won”. There were some fairly average performances in the team, but the performances of Manu Tuilagi, Tom Johnson and Mike Brown (in the first half) stood out.

15. Mike Brown-6  The Harlequin had a positive impact in the first half, his counter attacking guile was on show and his kicking from hand bar one kick out on the full was outstanding. He tailed off in the second half, but that was due to the lack of possession England won in the second 40.

14. Chris Ashton-6 The winger was another who looked a potent attacking threat in the first half, he chose some excellent running lines and looked hungry for work. He also made some key tackles to keep the Springboks out in the first half. England need to get Ashton on the ball more in the 2^nd test, it goes without saying that without quality possession, the strike man is ineffective.

13. Manu Tuilagi-8 Leicester’s youngest Tuilagi got the better of the very experienced Captain Jean de Villiers in the first test. He put the centre on his back many times both in attack and defence. Fortunately for de Villiers, Frans Steyn was able to back up his skipper to prevent Tuilagi from breaking free. Tuilagi also made a huge try-saving tackle in the first half; he was one of the stand out performers for England.

12. Brad Barritt-5 The centre had a good defensive game, but he was unable to get any go forward and offer anything in attack. It was a quiet game for Barritt on his return to his motherland.  Lancaster may look at other options in the midweek match to assess any other players who can step up and take his place in the second test.

11. Ben Foden-6 Apart from his try in the final play of the game, the Northampton man had little effect going forward. However, to his credit he did field some high kicks with authority showing that if he is not to be selected on the wing in the next game that he could comfortably return back in to the full-back berth.

10. Owen Farrell-5 This may seem a harsh rating for the young fly-half given that he landed 4 successful penalty attempts. However, knocking over kicks is a minimum requirement for an international fly-half. Farrell gave nothing in attack, he needs to learn how to unlock defences and when and where to spread the ball wide. His inexperienced showed in when he threw a terrible pass out wide which nearly led to an intercepted try for South Africa. If Flood is fit he must be given 60 minutes mid week to see if he is ready to take the no.10 shirt back. Farrell is a centre in my eyes, he did well in the Six Nations, but he can not give enough in attack.

9. Ben Youngs-5  The Leicester scrum-half had an inconsistent game, at times his passing was perfect; however, his box kicking was not good enough. Against a very dangerous South African back-three, England was fortunate enough not to concede tries from counter-attacks.

8. Ben Morgan-6 The new Gloucester man looked a little short of match fitness following a period on the side lines with injury. That said, Morgan did make one fantastic break in the first half which nearly led to a try and he kept the powerful South African back-row in check around the fringes.

7. Chris Robshaw-6 England’s Captain had a fairly solid game, his work around the breakdown won England a few crucial penalties and he looked eager for work in the loose. Stuart Lancaster has chosen the right man to lead England as the fight back that England made was impressive against a South African side with all the momentum.

6. Tom Johnson-7 The former Dean Close pupil had an outstanding first test for England. His work rate was phenomenal; he made a test series worth of tackles and won plenty of turnovers. Johnson’s one major slip was in the first half when he could not help himself from putting his hand in to a scrum and hooking the ball back before it popped out. He gave away a penalty for his misdemeanour and will have learnt a lesson on the need for subtlety with foul play.

5. Geoff Parling-5 The Leicester man looked short of power against the Springboks; perhaps it is time for Tom Palmer to return to the starting jersey.

4. Mourtiz Botha-6 Not a bad effort form the Saracens line-out man, the set-piece was fairly strong against a well organised South African line-out. Botha also made a few inroads in to South African territory with some strong ball carries.

3. Dan Cole-5 The scrum struggled to compete at times even though England had the weight advantage over the South African pack. The penalty count will be crucial at altitude, England will not be able to give away penalties in their own half, if they do, they will risk Frans Steyn punishing them from 60 metres out.

2. Dylan Hartley-6 Hartley was another who ran out of steam in the second half; his absence for disciplinary reasons was notable in the final quarter. The line-out was ok, but he Hartley needs to give more in the loose and in the scrum if England are to succeed.

1. Joe Marler-5 The Harlequin prop had an average debut, he managed to keep the scrum up for the majority of the game, but he was not an influential ball carrier or tackler in open play. He needs a big second test as the replacements available in the front row are not up to the job.

Replacements: Toby Flood (6) came on for the ineffective Brad Barritt and looked more likely to open up the South African defence. I would like to see him start in the mid week game. Phil Dowson (5) replaced Ben Morgan and had no impact whatsoever; Lancaster may wish to give him and James Haskell a chance against the South African Barbarians. The other replacements came on far too late to make an impact, Jonathan Joseph looked dangerous as he made a clean break, but sadly in the front row, Paul Doran-Jones and Lee Mears could not cope with the pressure of the South African scrum in the final plays of the game.

Have you got any thoughts or comments? Post them bellow or message/follow me on twitter @tommyd91