Gerard Meagher at the Allianz Stadium 

England 37-42 Australia: Autumn Nations Series player ratings

Marcus Smith again provides the sparkle for England but Tom Wright dazzles to help Australia snatch dramatic win
  
  

Tom Wright scores Australia’s first try to embellish a fine all-round performance.
Tom Wright scores Australia’s first try to embellish a fine all-round performance. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

England

George Furbank On the periphery of things but Australia take a lot of credit for that. Hasn’t showcased what he can do in attack in either match yet. 5/10

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso Excelled last week but in the wars this week, going off for an HIA and then permanently after Williams’ try. Not an afternoon to remember. 5/10

Ollie Lawrence Saw more of the ball in opening 10 minutes than he did across 80 last week. Did not do a great deal with it though. 6/10

Henry Slade Moved inside one this week and though England claimed it was largely cosmetic he struggled to make much of an impression. 6/10

Tommy Freeman Hasn’t really been his autumn so far. Does what you’d expect of him, chasing kicks, claiming high balls but no x-factor. 6/10

Marcus Smith Where would England be without him? Glorious grubber in buildup to Cunningham-South try and continued in that vein. At the heart of everything. 9/10

Ben Spencer Same problems around the ruck as last week early on before settling into box-kicking stride in second half. Occasionally kicked too long. 7/10

Ellis Genge Made a few dents with the ball in hand during England’s early flurry and got the better of Tupou at scrum-time. 8/10

Jamie George Ran a fine lineout but seemed powerless to stop Australia fighting their way back in first half. Made way with half an hour to go. 6/10

Will Stuart Another decent shift. Maybe he feels scorned after missing out on an enhanced contract but has been a good autumn so far for him. 7/10

Maro Itoje Did not have everything his way but when he assumed the captaincy things improved for England. 8/10

George Martin Another who is not quite making the kind of impact we know he can. Went off gingerly midway through second half. 6/10

Chandler Cunningham-South Two first-half tries, demonstrating both his pace and power. Rapidly becoming a fan favourite at Twickenham. 8/10

Tom Curry Suffered a nasty-looking head injury after colliding with Valentini and made way. Was missed and could well be ruled out against South Africa. 5/10

Ben Earl Not hitting the heights he did earlier in the year and outshone by teammates and opponents in the back-row. 5/10

Replacements Luke Cowan-Dickie (for George 51) Brought some oomph 7; Fin Baxter (for Genge 62) Struggled again 5; Dan Cole (for Stuart 69) 5; Nick Isiekwe (for Martin 60) Couldn’t get up to speed 5; Alex Dombrandt (for Curry 23) Mixed bag 6; Harry Randall (for Spencer 62) Better than last week 6; George Ford (for Furbank 62) Couldn’t calm things down 6; Ollie Sleightholme (for Feyi-Waboso 51) Fine finishes 8.

Australia

Tom Wright Such a counterattacking threat, slipping his way through England’s defence at will, and had the pace to score Australia’s opening try. 9/10

Andrew Kellaway The former Northampton winger gave a penalty away but chased hard. Kept going and eventually got his reward. 7/10

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii Showed his aerial ability with his very first touch and why he commands so many column inches with his basketball pass to Wright. 9/10

Len Ikitau Suaalii may have commanded attention but Ikitau was just as impressive, particularly with the stunning pass to put Jorgensen away. 8/10

Dylan Pietsch A busy winger, always looking to get involved but could do with an extra yard of pace to get away when he finds space. Early withdrawal. 6/10

Noah Lolesio Kicked superbly from the tee and provided a calming presence at fly-half. Outshone by Smith but no shame in that. 7/10

Jake Gordon Covered in claret and the Wallabies looked more threatening when McDermott came on. Needs to up his speed of pass. 6/10

Angus Bell Bulldozing carry to sit Curry down and repeatedly got Australia over the gainline. Among the outstanding forwards on show. 9/10

Matt Faessler One or two lineout wobbles but on the whole a solid hour before he was replaced. Got through plenty of work. 6/10

Taniela Tupou Struggled at scrum-time and twice penalised in the first half. Carries hard but not the explosive impact his nickname of Tongan Thor suggests. 6/10

Nick Frost Picked for his lineout prowess which was not flawless. Not as energetic or as physical as Williams. 7/10

Jeremy Williams Did so well to get the ball down in the left-hand corner. Is an all-action lock, covering so much ground for the Wallabies. 8/10

Rob Valentini Some thunderous carries which helped drag Australia into half-time lead. When he hits, he hits hard. 8/10

Fraser McReight Not quite as much of an impact as his fellow back-rowers but no complaint. Dug deep for 80 minutes. 7/10

Harry Wilson A captain’s innings from the cricket obsessive. Great support line to score Australia’s second try and did not stop going all afternoon. 9/10

Replacements Brandon Paenga-Amosa (for Faessler 60) Dynamic 7; James Slipper (for Bell 71) N/A; Allan Alaalatoa (for Tupou 45) An improvement 7; Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (for Williams 60) Added some clout 8; Tate McDermott (for Gordon 64) Livewire 8; Ben Donaldson (for Lolesio 71) 8; Max Jorgensen (for Pietsch 48) What a finish. 8.

 

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