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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Duncan Bech

England v New Zealand player ratings as hosts complete stunning comeback

Freddie Steward: Touched down in the closing stages as part of a stunning comeback, but New Zealand had limited his involvement until then. 7/10

Jack Nowell: Restored to the right wing after recovering from an abdominal injury, he largely played a peripheral role as the attack faltered. 6

Manu Tuilagi: One surging run in the third quarter was evidence of the tide turning but this was not one of the Sale centre’s famed afternoons against New Zealand. 6

Owen Farrell: Amassed his 100th cap and somehow stayed on until the end despite suffering an ankle injury early on. Involved in the comeback. 7

Jonny May: Full of running and looked to get involved as much as possible. Almost escaped in the second half but the tourists’ defence held firm. 7

Marcus Smith: Landed the conversion that drew the match but was booed by the crowd for kicking the ball out when England had one last chance to win. 6

Jack van Poortvliet: A torrid afternoon for the rookie scrum-half with his gifting of a try to New Zealand the worst of several conspicuous blunders. 4

Ellis Genge: Grafted hard in defence and was at the heart of a concerted effort to keep the All Blacks in the third quarter. 6

Luke Cowan-Dickie: The line-out was accurate but England have had better mauling days. A menace on the floor, winning one turnover penalty. 7

Kyle Sinckler: Rolled his sleeves up and got stuck into the tourists. The scrum functioned well and Sinckler’s basics were sound. 7

Maro Itoje: Suffered a knee injury early on but gritted his teeth to battle through the pain and finish the match. Grew in stature. 7

Jonny Hill: England were strangely passive at the breakdown, allowing the All Blacks to take control. Needs to assert himself more. 6

Sam Simmonds: There were mistakes but this was generally a towering afternoon from the number eight-turned-flanker whose carrying was dynamite. 8

Tom Curry: Not as conspicuous in the loose this autumn but Curry has been effective at the breakdown. His engine did not let him down. 7

Billy Vunipola: Made some big carries but has not been operating at full throttle and this campaign feels like a step backwards after the July tour. 6

Replacements: England’s comeback was all about the bench. Take a bow second row Dave Ribbans who showed real skill in the sweeping moves that led to the last two tries. Replacement prop Will Stuart weighed in with two tries and his front-row colleague Mako Vunipola was immense. 9

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