Cheers guys. I think Mako to 6 would be a little harsh because it was only in the last game that he was really caught out in the scrum.
I'm assuming we'll see Attwood/Laucnbury start in NZ with Lawes probably tied up in the premiership final. Who is our lock on the bench then I wonder?
Anyway, the backs:
Danny Care:The lifeblood of England's creativity. Five tries (I think?), a number of assists and a great improvement over Dickson and Youngs in terms of his speed. Accuracy of service and box kicking could still have been tighter. 8.5
Lee Dickson: Solid but unimaginative. Dickson can be relied to come on and do the basics right, albeit a little slowly at time. Doesn't offer any creative spark or unpredictability. Was unfortunate to be brought on against France when Care should have stayed on the pitch, I though Dickson was unfairly blame for England's inability to get a final score. 6
Owen Farrell: A mate of mine summarised Farrell's performances this tournament very well the other week. 'I don't like him as a player but you can tell he is really trying hard, which make me feel bad for not liking him'. He has his admirably qualities, a rock in defense, pesky at the breakdown and his kicking seems to have finally reached the Wilkinsonesque proportions the media have given him. He is also clearly trying to be more attacking, with some success. A team doesn't score 14 (I think) tries in a tournament with a complete dullard at ten. However he still passes too the man, rather than ahead of the man, and is asking for a Weir style interception with some of his long balls. Gets a 7 larger because of his kicking, otherwise would have been lower.
George Ford: Hard to rate given that he only played twelve minutes of rugby. Looking just at him cameo against Italy the obvious conclusion is that he is ahead of Farrell in attack by a country mile. If Twelvetrees had stayed on and Ford come on when Manu did I am confident we would have score more. As it was his little break to set up Robshaw was magical, and something Farrell would never full off. 7 (would be higher if we'd seen him tested defensively and he'd coped).
Billy Twelvetrees: Got a lot of flak early on in the tournament but I think he's really grown into the 12 shirt. We've been crying out for him to get some game time for well over a year now so I never really bought into the idea that a few average performances should have seen him swapped for Eastmond. Considering the pressure he's been under at Glos I thought it was to be expected that he wasn't going to waltz into the England side and produce his best rugby straight away. I think Lancaster's faith in him has been rewarded. Once he stopped falling over he showed an excellent all round game. Good distribution, strong carrying, willingness to hit rucks and the ability to contain top class opposie numbers (Roberts, Fofana and D'Arcy). 8
Luther Burrell: The find of the tournament. We were all a bit wary of him at 13 I think but he has been excellent. One defensive wobble on the wing against France (not his fault, he should never have been out there!) and that was it. Combined running much better lines than any 13 we've had recently with the ability to fix the man and pass! Sounds simple but after two season on Manuball it was like mana from heaven. IMO he has the shirt. 8.5
Manu Tuilagi: Nice to see him back but He's going to have to up his game if he wants to get back into the starting XV. The Italy game showed his is still a destructive force carrying the ball but also that he hasn't picked up any real passing skills during his lay off. Out attack lost structure and the wide men were starved of the ball almost from the moment he came on. Must do better. 6
Jack Nowell: Bright start to his England career. Was patient, did a lot of good defensive work (not many wingers tackle Picamole!) and scored a well taken and well deserved try against Italy. Really in contention for a place in the XV when Yarde and Wade are fit.
7.5
Jonny May: Made a lot more meters that his sideways running suggests! When he found a space he looked good and was integral in some of England's best attacking moves of the tournamnet. Often seemed to have the ball hospital passed to him when we were out of ideas though, which didn't help. I think he side wise running style can work, he just needs more time to get used to test rugby where defense is tighter. Whether he'll get that time on the other hand... 7
Mike Brown: 10. Need I say more?
Alex Goode: At fault for two French tries that probably cost us the Grand Slam. I feel for him because having seen him play ten at Sarries I've come to the conclusion that he is really a fly-half being forced to play at fifteen. Where he playing 10 he'd probably be, behind Ford, our second choice on merit. As it is his career looks to be over unless Brown is injured. 5.5
One last point. My real disappointment with England this tournament was the strategy with subs and the selection of the bench, especially in the backs. Why did we have Barritt and Goode on the bench in France? Why didn't Ford get blooded in Scotland? Why did Youngs come on at Murryfield when out line out was winning us so much ball? Why are so many 'token' changes made for the last few minutes? Most pressingly why, with the game easily won and a score to chase, did Ford not come on at the same time as Manu in Italy? And why move Farrell to 12? Why didn't Attwood get more time? These are all questions I can find no satisfactory answer to.
It seems to be more of an issue with the backs, where I've long suspected Lancaster pays too much attention to Farrell Sr. but the forwards aren't immune either. Very rarely will a player come on for the last five minutes and make any real impression on the game. Bring them on earlier, give them time to get into the game and surely there will be a greater benefit both for the team and the individual? Clive Woodward was talking cr*p when he said there should have been no changes in Rome. We needed to freshen up our attack but not by taking off one of our players of the tournament (Burrell) and bringing on a crash ball 13 with hardly any game time in the last six months! The fascination with keeping Farrell on the pitch, both when he was cramping up in Paris and when he moved to 12 in Rome, is also galling.
