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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Simon Collings

England player ratings vs Japan: Ollie Sleightholme a big positive with Marcus Smith classy again

Ollie Sleightholme once again went over for a try - (David Davies/PA Wire)

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...

England were in dominant mood as they returned to winning ways (AFP via Getty Images)

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.

Marcus Smith 8

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.

Jamie George scored two tries before half-time (Getty Images)

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

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