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Home / Sport / Rugby

2019 Rugby World Cup: England v South Africa player ratings

Daily Telegraph UK
2 Nov, 2019 12:10 PM8 mins to read

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Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa celebrates. Photo / Getty

Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa celebrates. Photo / Getty

England's Rugby World Cup hopes were crushed by South Africa in Yokohama, ending defeated 32-12.

Eddie Jones' side struggled to get going and went into the break behind. Second-half tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe secured victory for the Springboks.

Who rose to the occasion and who struggled on the biggest stage?

Here Charlie Morgan and Ben Coles from the UK Telegraph dish out their marks for both teams.

England

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15. Elliot Daly - 4
A tough first half, in which he was beaten in the air by Mapimpi and then fumbled a bouncing ball. South Africa's kicking half-backs continued to pepper him.

14. Anthony Watson - 5
Jacques Nienaber's aggressive defensive system stopped England playing with width, which cut off Watson. A nudge on Mapimpi proved costly as well.

13. Manu Tuilagi - 5
Kept quiet in the first half by South Africa's pressing defence. Made a few good defensive decisions and a huge hit on Vermeulen from a restart.

12. Owen Farrell (captain) - 5
Threw a pass across his own dead-ball area early on, setting a frantic tone. He kicked four penalties but could not ignite England's phase-play.

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11. Jonny May - 6
Assured in the air, not least when leaping to stop a penalty going into touch. England's most prominent runner, but that is not saying much.

10. George Ford - 4
Targeted aerially in the back-field and looked rattled. Kicked into touch on the full once and was stifled by a rush defence led by De Klerk.

9. Ben Youngs - 4

England halfback Ben Youngs. Photo / Mark Mitchell
England halfback Ben Youngs. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Service returned to its clunky worst in the first half, epitomised when a forced pass from a set move sailed into touch.

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8. Billy Vunipola - 6
Bent the Springboks line without quite breaking it in the first half. Remained industrious but was continually enveloped and eclipsed by Vermeulen 6

7. Sam Underhill - 7
An excellent tournament continued with a number of crunching tackles and penetrative carrying. It was a surprise that he was sacrificed so early.

6. Tom Curry - 6
Seemed subdued and his uncertainty behind Itoje from a first-half restart cost England. Pounced on Pollard to win a turnover in the 54th minute.

5. Courtney Lawes - 5
Penalised before a minute had elapsed for failing to roll away and spilled in a lineout. Carried well but replaced at halftime.

4. Maro Itoje - 8

England lock Maro Itoje misses a kick-off. Photo / Mark Mitchell
England lock Maro Itoje misses a kick-off. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Looked like a leader even amid an awesome performance from South Africa's pack, topping his side's tackle-count. Will be central to how England respond.

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3. Kyle Sinckler - N/A
A fantastic tournament was brought to a sudden end by a concussion in the third minute. Typically, he had bolted after a kick and was tackling wing Mapimpi.

2. Jamie George - 5
South Africa's defensive jumpers made it tougher for England to control the lineout. Threw one errant offload to Watson and was part of a dominated front row.

1. Mako Vunipola - 5
Felt the pressure of the burly South Africa scrum. Although he was tireless in the loose, set-piece inferiority hurt England badly.

Replacements:

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (on for George, 60) - 5
Busy from the bench, especially at the breakdown and with a couple of dynamic carries.

17. Joe Marler (on for M Vunipola, 45) - 6
Surged through Koch to force a scrum penalty and charged around to make a few robust tackles. Can be proud of his contribution this tournament.

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18. Dan Cole (on for Sinckler, 3) - 3
Mtawarira's power brought a stream of penalties as the replacement tighthead struggled to stem the tide. His 95th England cap was a very difficult one.

19. George Kruis (on for Lawes, halftime) - 5
Brought on at half-time to shore up the set-piece operation. It worked initially but South Africa still strangled England comprehensively.

20. Mark Wilson (on for Underhill, 60) - 6
Curiously under-used this tournament and lifted England's energy with one lasso tackle standing out.

21. Ben Spencer (on for Youngs, 75) - N/A
The last England replacement to arrive was only given five minutes. Would Willi Heinz have been trusted earlier?

22. Henry Slade (on for Ford, 49) - 5
Brought on in an attempt to enhance England's attack but the Springboks were too good.

23. Jonathan Joseph (on for May, 69) - N/A
Arrived just before Kolbe's solo stunner killed off the game. A few bright touches but not enough to influence proceedings.

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South Africa

15. Willie le Roux - 7
Was due a big game and looked like his old self, but only in patches. Still prone to the odd misfield or dodgy kick. Subbed for Frans Steyn before the end.

14. Cheslin Kolbe - 8

Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa celebrates. Photo / Getty
Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa celebrates. Photo / Getty

Back fit but saw little of the ball until hammering the nail into the coffin with a typically wondrous try. But this was all about his defence, shutting down England's space out wide.

13. Lukanyo Am - 8
Dropped a pass when the Springboks appeared to have a short overlap, but can really move when let loose. Marshalled the defence so well yet again and helped set up Mapimpi's score.

12. Damian de Allende - 7
Lots of carries but for a fair but not overly impressive chunk of yardage. Sharp defensive reads though in the midfield to limit the impact of Manu Tuilagi.

11. Makazole Mapimpi - 9
Soft feet can get him out of trouble. The main challenger to Daly under the high ball and he seemed to win every contest. Hailed as a try-scorer and clinched the trophy with his try, but this proved his all-round ability.

10. Handre Pollard - 8

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Springboks first five-eighths Handre Pollard. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Springboks first five-eighths Handre Pollard. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Missed a straightforward opening penalty but never looked back off the tee. Came up with an outstanding take under the high ball and looked more assured than England's playmakers.

9. Faf de Klerk - 7
Not just a box-kicker. Even an error at the base turned into a dangerous counter-attack before half-time. Tackled above his weight as ever but was a cog today rather than the main man.

8. Duane Verumeulen - 9
Better under the high ball than he gets credit for. Trapped Farrell at the ruck to earn three points and was king of a messy breakdown, despite being penalised once.

7. Pieter-Steph du Toit - 8
Unusual to see him rocked back by Sam Underhill but phenomenal workrate as ever, smothering Curry for one turnover. Never allowed England to win the one-on-one collisions.

6. Siya Kolisi (c) - 7
Unseen graft and leadership at the heart of this side, making 10 tackles before the 50-minute mark. Finished with a dozen before departing, replaced by Louw.

5. Lood de Jager - 6
Nasty arm injury tackling Billy Vunipola forced the new Sale signing off after a quarter of the match, having made five tackles and helped the Boks hurt England's scrum.

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4. Eben Etzebeth - 8
Pressured Lawes for an early lineout steal. Led the way for South Africa in the tackle count and as the main lineout operator. One lovely offload out the back to De Allende.

3. Frans Malherbe - 9
Not many props win scrum penalties off Mako Vunipola but Malherbe was too big, too powerful, too good. Also found time to make 10 tackles in 43 minutes.

2. Bonga Mbonambi - 6
Forced off for a Head Injury Assessment after copping a heavy blow to the head tackling Lawes after 20 minutes, have played his part in the scrum, rightly picked ahead of Marx.

1. Tendai Mtawarira - 9
Instantly squeezed a penalty out of Dan Cole and had the run on him throughout in the eyes of Jerome Garces. A game to rank alongside his demolition of Phil Vickery in 2009.

Replacements

16. Malcolm Marx (on for Mbonambi, 21) - 8
Soft penalty given up in his own 22 kept England in the mix but his hands helped create the key score for Mapimpi and made an extraordinary amount of tackles, real impact.

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17. Steven Kitshoff (on for Mtawarira, 43) - 6
Not as effective in the scrum as 'Beast' but did little wrong either, chipping in with his share of carries from close range to shut England down.

18. Vincent Koch (on for Malherbe, 43) - 6
Appeared to be business as usual at the scrum before South Africa wobbled, Marler getting on top for a penalty. Order was then restored for Saracens' sole South African on the field.

19. RG Snyman (on for Etzebeth, 59) - 6
Kept the machine going in the closing stages with a take at the lineout and his fair share of tackles. Has consistently made an impact when called upon by Rassie Erasmus.

20. Franco Mostert (on for De Jager, 21) - 8
Springbok scrum didn't miss a beat with Mostert in the engine room early replacing De Jager. Always shown a remarkable appetite for work and incredibly well made 16 tackles.

21. Francois Louw (on for Kolisi, 63) - 6
No big turnovers this time off the bench but the Springboks did not need them either, with the Bath back-row making four tackles with England already down and out.

22. Herschel Jantjies (on for De Klerk, 76) - N/A
Merely a cameo at the very end when De Klerk went off the field, but considering he started the year as a relative unknown with the Stormers, it's been some rise.

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23. Frans Steyn (on for Le Roux, 67) - 6
Astonishingly has never lost a Rugby World Cup game, and became the only player in this matchday squad to win two titles with the Springboks.

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