England player ratings vs Japan: Ollie Sleightholme a big positive with Marcus Smith classy again
England ended a run of five straight defeats in a row by cruising to victory over Japan.
Steve Borthwick’s side ran in nine tries during a thumping 59-14 win against an inexperienced Japan side, who were put to the sword.
Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme all went over in the first-half, while captain Jamie George bagged a brace, too.
It was more of the same after the break as Luke Cowan-Dickie scored two tries and George Furbank and Tommy Roebuck got in on the act, too.
Simon Collings was at Allianz Stadium to see England in action...
Backs
George Furbank 7
Back in the team and scored England’s sixth try by combing with his club team-mate, Tommy Freeman.
Tommy Freeman 8
Created England’s sixth try with an outrageous offload behind his back. Unlucky to have his own try ruled out for a knock-on earlier in the move.
Ollie Lawrence 7
His best performance of the autumn, which is expected give the opponent. Made a few great breaks and was key in England’s opening try.
Henry Slade 7
Involved in a lot of England’s best attacking play. Acted as fly-half for their opening try and kicked through for their sixth.
Ollie Sleightholme 8 | Star player
Produced a great finish in the corner to score England’s fifth try before half-time. One of the positives from this Autumn Nations Series.
Carried on his excellent autumn with yet another good performance. Somehow of his passing and offloading was ridiculous. Such a classy player.
Jack van Poortvliet 7
Shaky against South Africa last week, but this was better. Made a few good breaks and his box-kicking was more accurate, even in the wind.
Forwards
Ellis Genge 6
A pretty quiet performance from the prop, who did enjoy dominance at scrum time. Off with just under 30 minutes to go.
Jamie George 8
The beneficiary of England’s driving maul on two occasions as he scored England’s third and fourth tries. Off early once again, but the game was done by then.
Will Stuart 7
Had a surprise hand in England’s fifth try when he threw a big pass out wide, which led to Sleightholme scoring.
Maro Itoje 7
Helped England dominate the line-out, which proved an effective weapon today. Led the side when George went off.
George Martin 6
Kicked things off with a few solid carries and tackles in the opening stages. Another solid performance to wrap up his autumn.
Tom Curry 7
Back after missing last week’s defeat to South Africa due to concussion. Got through 80 minutes and was typically tireless.
Sam Underhill 6
Scorer of England’s second try after powering over from close range, although replays show he may have dropped it. Off straight after that due to injury.
Ben Earl 7
Got England on their way by scoring the opening try. Carried the ball well all game and was busy at the breakdown, too.
Replacements
Chandler Cunningham-South (Underhill 14’) 7
On earlier than expected, but continued to state his case with another good performance. Carried really well.
Luke Cowan-Dickie (George 48’) 8
Bundled his way over for England’s seventh try after a maul had collapsed. Scored another shortly after too, again powering over from close range.
Harry Randall (Van Poortvliet 48’) 7
A bright performance off the bench. Added plenty of zip and energy to England’s attack.
Fin Baxter (Genge 53’) 6
A steady performance from the prop, who helped England maintain dominance at scrum time.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Stuart 55’) 6
On for his debut and there is a lot of hype around the youngster. This was a quiet start, though.
Fin Smith (Furbank 55’) 8
A really impressive display off the bench as he pulled the strings. Setup Roebuck’s try with a lovely kick out wide.
Tom Roebuck (Slade 61) 7
Should have scored when sent through by Smith, but chose to cut inside. Made amends minutes later, with a good finish to get his first try for England.
Nick Isiekwe (Martin 67’) N/A
