Italy beat England for the first time ever on Saturday in an historic afternoon in Rome.
The loss was also England’s third-straight following defeats to Scotland and Ireland, with their Six Nations campaign in tatters ahead of the final week.
Check out ESPN’s player ratings after Italy’s 23-18 win.
1. Ellis Genge – 6
Again didn’t look at his fierce best. Went toe-to-toe with a superb Italian scrum for the most part but didn’t have the impact he would have wanted with ball in hand.
2. Jamie George 6.5
Steadied the lineout after the Ireland game. England’s best option at hooker right now. Solid enough at scrum time too.
3. Joe Heyes – 5.5
Put under pressure at the scrum but came out of it OK. Couldn’t find much rhythm but did enough to cause issues against a strong Italian outfit.
4. Maro Itoje – 6
The captain looked back up to speed after a couple of off weeks with a lot more energy and stepped up when his side needed. Fierce on the ground as well. However, his yellow card left a huge hole in his side with Italy scoring while he was off.
5. Alex Coles – 6
Had an opportunity to show what he can do with Ollie Chessum dropped but didn’t quire rise to the occasion. England missed Chessum’s physicality.
6. Guy Pepper – 6
Strong with ball in hand and did the basics well. Carried with intent and didn’t miss too many assignments on defence.
7. Sam Underhill – 6.5
Stepped up well considering the late call up following Tom Curry’s injury in the warm up. He was relentless at the breakdown and caused real headaches for his opposite numbers. However, his yellow card was the beginning of the end for England.
8. Ben Earl – 7
Has a strong case for being England’s best, and certainly most consistent, through this tournament. He sets the tone for much of what England do well but didn’t make a huge impact on attack.
9. Ben Spencer – 7
Started strong and his kicking was on point. Combined well with Fin Smith. Given a chance with Alex Mitchell injured and didn’t do too much wrong.
10. Fin Smith – 6.5
Led the attack well early on, did the simple things well. When he combined well with Spencer England’s attack did start to sing a bit more than it has in recent weeks but fell away later in the game.
11. Cadan Murley 7.5
Great under the high ball and his explosive pace caused issued for Italy’s defence. Deserved his chance and took it but couldn’t add a try for his efforts.
12. Seb Atkinson – 5
Had a decent first half but struggled against his opposite number, Tommaso Menoncello, who is one of the in-form centres in the world right now. Didn’t do enough to cement his place going forward.
13. Tommy Freeman – 6
The questions about Freeman at 13 will grow louder in the fall out fo this one. When he gets going he’s good, but is he better off on the wing?
14. Tom Roebuck 6.5
Carried well and was decent in the air but didn’t have much involvement as the game went on. Finished his try well.
15. Elliot Daly – 6
Kicked well at times, Daly offered some needed experience in the new look backline but didn’t have the x-factor needed to get England’s attack going. Looked off the pace later in the match.
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie n/a
17. Bevan Rodd – 6
18. Trevor Davison – 5
19. Ollie Chessum – 5
20. Chandler Cunningham-South n/a
21. Henry Pollock – n/a
22. Jack van Poortvliet 6
23. Marcus Smith n/a
