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England player ratings | The 33 players capped at Rugby World Cup 2023
By Liam Heagney
When Jack Walker entered the fray on Saturday in Lille with 26 minutes remaining, it was a squad rotation job fully done by England. All 33 players in their Rugby World Cup group had now become capped at France 2023, the perfect sort of team-building statistic for them to take into their two-week break in between Pool D matches.
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That’s a lay-off where training will only recommence this Thursday after the players were given permission to break free from base camp at Le Touquet-Paris-Plage and do what they like for a few days.
It won’t be until October 7 – versus Samoa in Lille – when they are back in action on the pitch and this pause after victories over Argentina, Japan and Chile in Marseille, Nice and Lille respectively is a perfect moment to rate the contribution off all the players Steve Borthwick took with him across the Channel on August 31. Here are the RugbyPass England player ratings for the September part of their Rugby World Cup campaign:
FULL-BACK (2)
Freddie Steward – 7
2 starts (149 mins): Rated 4.5/10 for his Summer Nations Series, he gets an upward bump here after World Cup starts versus Argentina and Japan, improvement rewarded by that excellent catch and dive to score in the corner from a left-footed George Ford crosskick late on in Nice.
Marcus Smith – 8.5
1 start, 2 runs as sub (96 mins): Understandable if his head dropped given his marginal involvement off the bench in the opening two games, but his attitude was excellent and he turned it on with his first full-back start against Chile. Two tries, including that solo humdinger of a kick-and-chase from halfway, and loads of positive actions. A class act that must start in October if England are to become a genuine title threat.
WING (4)
Elliot Daly – 5.5
3 starts (210 mins): A Borthwick favourite, he is the only player to have started all three games at the finals. His wing play was stymied by England’s blunt attack in their opening two matches but he defended well when needed and seemed to enjoy himself running the outside centre channel for 50 minutes against Chile.
Jonny May – 4
2 starts (160 mins): A player whose story is an example of not throwing a tantrum in a deflating moment, playing the long game instead. Could have told Borthwick to shove it in August when omitted from the World Cup squad, but Anthony Watson’s injury led to starts against the Pumas and the Japanese. The pity is England’s shackled game plan just doesn’t suit his best attributes.
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Henry Arundell – 10
1 start (80 mins): Okay, his sole appearance came against minnows Chile, but in the circumstances he was excellent and a scorer of five well-finished tries to equal a mark set 20 years ago by Josh Lewsey. Having been anonymous in his two previous England starts under Borthwick, he would have been under pressure to show he could star in the starting jersey and he stylishly did this to surely pressure Borthwick into involving him next month.
Max Malins – 3
1 start (70 mins): Scored two tries at the top of the year versus Scotland, but it hasn’t happened since then for the winger as his game has too many loose ends and selection setbacks. Must have been so envious seeing Arundell score five from the right wing versus Chile compared to his blank on the other side.
CENTRE (3)
Joe Marchant – 6
2 starts, 1 run as sub (170 mins): On quite a run of heavy involvement after a Six Nations limited to just 96 minutes. A starter in England’s two big games, his fear will be that with Owen Farrell back from suspension, Borthwick will revert to the 2019 tactic of Ford, Farrell and Manu Tuilagi at 10, 12, 13.
Manu Tuilagi – 5.5
2 starts (138 mins): Excellent in the backs-to-the-wall 14-man situation against the Pumas, much less so versus the Japanese where he looked out of sorts and offered little with England needing to create.
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Ollie Lawrence – 5.5
1 start, 2 runs as sub (102 mins): Marchant has the jump on him in terms of pecking order, but he went well at inside centre versus Chile, beating defenders for fun and driving powerfully in contact. England’s penchant for playing Tuilagi, however, will squeeze him out.
OUT-HALF (2)
George Ford – 8.5
2 starts, 1 run as sub (185 mins): It’s crazy that someone who, until mid-August, hadn’t started an England game since March 2021 is now so important to the blunt Borthwick blueprint. That’s an approach that drew the ire of fans fed up with the amount of kicking versus Japan, slow ruck ball only further encouraging him to tamely boot the ball rather than play through the hands. That said, he was truly immense versus Argentina in striking a 10-minute drop goal hat-trick and kicking all 27 points, a perfect example of living in the moment. That’s why he rates so highly as without him, England would likely have lost that key encounter which has set up their campaign.
Owen Farrell – 5
1 start (80 mins): Came back from his ban to skipper the team in the rout of Chile, but the No10 shirt is Ford’s to keep for the remainder of the tournament and he will be hoping that Borthwick goes down the 2019 10/12 route next month.
SCRUM-HALF (3)
Alex Mitchell – 6
2 starts (118 mins): Cut from the May cloth in that he is the other player starting at the finals who wasn’t in Borthwick’s plans until injury intervened. Looked the part against Argentina in playing with a bit of abandon in the 14-man circumstances, but kicked way too much against Japan and it was one particular wasted kick of his that ignited the loud boos from the England fans.
Danny Care – 5.5
1 start, 1 run as sub (71 mins): Talked about Argentina potentially being the greatest week of his career only to them learn he was just the sub backing up Mitchell. Didn’t do enough versus Chile to earn that starting shirt next month.
Ben Youngs – 4.5
2 runs as sub (51 mins): In terms of someone to share the No9 workload, England’s record caps holder is a handy fella to have off the bench and he helped quicken things against Japan which admittedly wasn’t hard given how laboured the team was. His run versus Chile, though, was likely the end of his road at this tournament.
LOOSEHEAD (3)
Ellis Genge – 5.5
1 start, 1 run as sub (75 mins): Still not in the best of form following a below-par August and while he helped lay the foundation for the all-important Argentina win, Joe Marler has closed the gap to the extent that Genge is not long the clear first-choice. At least his bolshy “Write us off now, all the best” pre-finals tweet has aged well with England three wins from three.
Joe Marler – 7
1 start, 2 runs as sub (111 mins): Excellent off the bench against the Pumas, England would have been in dire straits without his assists for the first two tries against the Japanese. Of course, the second one was a farce as he unwittingly headed the ball forward after a Will Stuart deflection but they all count.
Bevan Rodd – 4
1 start (54 mins): The second most patient man in the squad of 33 as his token 11 minutes off the early August bench in Cardiff was followed by a seven-week wait for his start and more minutes versus Chile. To give him his on-pitch due, he burrowed over for the bonus point try, but he is the epitome of a squad man at these finals, there in case of an emergency only.
HOOKERS (3)
Jamie George – 7
2 starts (147 mins): Brought all his experience to bear in ensuring England didn’t fold down a man for 77 minutes against Argentina. Topped the tackle chart that Marseille night with 15. Had his issues, though, with the onus on England to create against Japan, summed up by the botched attempted catch when he came around on the loop at a lineout kicked to the corner late in the first half in Nice.
Theo Dan – 6
1 start, 2 runs as sub (67 mins): We like his energy and his ability to get on the ball and carry more than George does. Also showed his passing ability with a lovely first-half assist for Arundell’s second try against Chile, but still behind his Saracens rival in the Test pecking order given England’s blunt style of game plan.
Jack Walker – 3
1 run as sub (26 mins): Definitely the most patient man in this squad, becoming the last of the 33 to get on the pitch when summoned to replace Dan in Lille last Saturday. That will be the highlight of his tournament.
TIGHTHEAD (3)
Kyle Sinckler – 5
2 starts (105 mins): England need him fully firing next month but his form is a slow burner. Fared better against Chile but struggled in general play against Japan, and that is a worry heading into October.
Dan Cole – 8
1 start (51 mins): Just the single start but that was a hats-off performance, getting stuck into the Argentina set-piece and being the perfect robust character to ward off a crisis with England losing a man to a third-minute red card. Mentally, would have taken a lot to bounce back from his nightmare 2019 final. A heartwarming comeback story.
Will Stuart – 4.5
3 runs as sub (84 mins): Tasted action across all three weekends, but his game is too loose at the minute. Looked the part subbing against the Pumas, but very much not so against Japan and Chile.
SECOND ROW (4)
Ollie Chessum – 6
2 starts, 1 run as sub (160 mins): If he could carry, he would be a potential world-class player in the making. That unease with the ball was evident when looking for the try line against Japan, although England did score through Lewis Ludlam off the recycle. That aside, he has shown fine promise, doing everything a player in his role must do with a massive engine and a smile.
Maro Itoje – 6.5
2 starts (160 mins): Deserves much praise for his defensive Marseille effort but Nice wasn’t so nice. A stat emerged last week that he was the player who has cleared most rucks at the tournament after two rounds (62). Sounds great, but the curiosity is England’s ruck speed after Argentina and Japan was 13th of the 20 teams at the finals (4.39secs) and they had the second-most rucks lasting longer than five seconds (29 per cent). That needs a hurry up, be it Itoje himself or the England collective.
George Martin – 5.5
1 start, 2 runs as sub (118 mins): Some will feel the jury is still out, that Jonny Hill would have been the better World Cup pick given his nuisance value. Martin, though, is the more disciplined operator which was why he was picked and his versatility has gotten him three finals caps with more to follow off the bench.
David Ribbans – 5
1 start (80 mins): Got his start against Chile and that might be all the action he will get. He did well, particularly at the maul, but two penalties against won’t help his cause given Borthwick’s clampdown in that area.
BACK ROW (6)
Ben Earl – 8.5
2 starts, 1 run as sub (173 mins): Another player whom Borthwick wasn’t a fan of to begin with, sending him away from the Six Nations to work on his game. The fruits of that tuition were evident in his excellent ball-carrying effort against Japan, while 13 tackles versus Argentina were even more important. Definitely not your traditional bulky No8, but he has risen to the World Cup occasion.
Courtney Lawes – 8.5
2 starts (134 mins): Immense against Argentina, finishing as his pack’s best ball carrier, it was his alertness to play on after Marler’s header that got England their crucial game-breaking try versus Japan. Has rolled back the years, playing a captain’s part.
Lewis Ludlam – 7
2 starts, 1 run as sub (119 mins): His enthusiastic personality comes across well on the pitch. Made a crazy 11 tackles in just 14 minutes off the bench against the Pumas and while he was less effective as a starter versus Japan despite his first-half try, his energy was at the heart of shattering Chilean resistance after a 0-0 opening quarter.
Billy Vunipola – 2
1 start, 1 run as sub (96 mins): Leggy in August before his suspension, he continued to be leggy in September and didn’t make a telling impact. Very, very average in his start against Chile.
Jack Willis – 7.5
1 start (80 mins): Rates highly on the basis of his single cap, a try-scoring effort versus Chile where he put in 18 tackles. The issue for him, though, is that he could now be frozen out of the selection given Borthwick has his favourites.
Tom Curry – 0
1 start (3 mins): A single red-carded tackle was the story of his September World Cup. Has it all to do versus Samoa to prove he is a must-pick for the quarter-finals.
Latest Comments
The weather was dreadful but the playing surface was great so there is no real excuse for such another poor standard of play from both sides. Dragons just the better team. But, what a shocking decision by the TMO not to award the Fifita try. This pretty much sums up Welsh rugby with poor teams and poor officials. The WRU have a lot of work to do and it needs to be done quickly to avoid rugby being lost to our future generations.
Go to commentsNo chance of Borthwick selecting any young talent. He announced his selection policy from the outset with naming a poor OF as Captain, retaining an equally poor Youngs and Vunipola brothers when there were many better EQP in the Premiership. SB revival of Leicester was based on SA muscle and a terrific Welsh flanker he has generally ignored young English talent.
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