RUGBY WORLD CUP BLOG

England v Australia player ratings (263)

• BBC Sport Rugby
• 6 Oct 07, 05:38 PM

Marseille - Tom and Ben here, together in one blog. Here are our player ratings for England's quarter-final against Australia. Tom's rated England and Ben, Australia.

Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts!

ENGLAND

Jason Robinson – Great burst up the middle early on and from then on faultless under the high ball. Hamstring fully recovered. 8

Paul Sackey – For a man criticised for his defensive shortcomings, made the key tackle of the match when he came off his wing to nail Mortlock man and ball when the Wallabies had a three-man overlap. Solid under the high ball and unlucky not to pouch Mike Catt’s kick into the corner. 8

Mathew Tait – Allayed the pre-match fears that he would be taken apart by Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock. Given few chances to show his attacking skills but always lively and justified his place ahead of Dan Hipkiss. 7

Mike Catt – Massively improved from his last World Cup outing against the Springboks. Kicked beautifully from hand, put in a big shift in defence and unlucky to knock on Jonny Wilkinson’s quick pass when five metres out. 8

Josh Lewsey – Not his best game. Let Lote Tuqiri escape for Australia’s try and spilled the ball with England pressing hard at the other end. 7

Jonny Wilkinson – A strange match for England’s talisman – his kicking won England the match, but equally his misses almost cost them it too. Still struggling to control this World Cup ball, and will have nightmares about that missed drop goal – but rock-solid in defence and a key stabilising force in the backs when the pressure was on. 7

Andy Gomarsall – A dependable presence throughout, despite a nasty gash to the head. Kept his discipline despite the nerve-wracking tension and pressurised George Gregan into key errors as the match moved into squeaky-bum time. 8

Andrew Sheridan – Another brutal demolition job from England’s prime Aussie-destroyer. Made a complete mess of Guy Sheperdson from start to finish and deservedly won the man of the match award. 10

Mark Regan – Hit his jumpers all afternoon and justified Brian Ashton’s decision to bring him back at the ripe old age of 35. There’s life in the old dog yet. 8

Phil Vickery – Led from the front with a performance that shocased his vast experience. Determination written all over his face at the start, and could barely contain his joy at the end. 8

Simon Shaw – Dominant at the breakdown and powerful on the rumble, he rose to the challenge of the most important match of his England career. 8

Ben Kay – Set the tone for England’s performance with a fine take at the first line-out of the match. Typically bullish in the loose and at the breakdown. 8

Martin Corry – Some good carries and cute touches in the loose as England strung togther their most fluid performance for months. 8

Lewis Moody – Out-shone his illustrious opposite number George Smith in one of the key battles of the day. As always, sharp at the breakdown as England turned the ball over again and again. 8

Nick Easter – Another England forward who will look back on possibly his best match for his country. Caused Australia endless problems at the breakdown and stole the ball with Australia threatening on a number of occasions. 9

Replacements:

George Chuter – Continued his good form at this tournament and carried on where Regan left off at the line-out and the scrum. 8

Matt Stevens – Replaced skipper Vickery as the tension rose and maintained the pack’s dominance. 8

Lawrence Dallaglio – Only a brief appearance for the old warrior, but didn’t he just love being on the pitch when the final whistle went? 7

Joe Worsley – Replaced Moody and continued his team-mate’s fine work. 7

Toby Flood - Came on for Catt and did a job that belied his inexperience. Made one lovely break from deep and should make the bench again for the semis. 8

AUSTRALIA

Chris Latham – Some typical scything breaks from the Queensland full-back but failed to spot an overlap which could have led to a try. 7

Adam Ashley-Cooper – One good break from the young winger but struggled to get any sort of handle on the contest. 6

Stirling Mortlock – The usually bullish Wallaby skipper had an inconsistent day goal-kicking and failed to stamp his authority on the game when he received the ball. 5

Matt Giteau – Managed to unlock the England defence on several occasions but, like his fellow three-quarters, did not have enough ball to play with. 7

Lote Tuqiri – Scored the Wallabies’ only try, always looking for the ball and looked dangerous whenever it came his way. 8

Berrick Barnes – Starved of possession and guilty of some poor decision-making, but did show some class with ball in hand. 6

George Gregan – Not the way the veteran scrum-half wanted to bow out. Toiled manfully behind a disintegrating pack, but was panicked into making some poor decisions by lack of ball. 6

Matt Dunning – Lightning struck twice for the Aussie loose-head. He received a pasting against England at Twickenham two years ago, and was made mincemeat of again in Marseille. 3

Stephen Moore – Hit his jumpers all afternoon and mobile round the paddock, but, like his props either side of him, was pummelled at scrum-time. 5

Guy Sheperdson – Had his contest with Andrew Sheridan been a boxing match, his corner-man would have thrown in the towel after a couple of rounds. 3

Nathan Sharpe – Solid in the line-out but, like the rest of the Aussie pack, often on the back foot at the breakdown and in the scrum. 5

Dan Vickerman – An ill-disciplined display by the Waratahs lock, particularly in giving away a penalty when Australia looked like scoring. 4

Rocky Elsom – Second best at the breakdown all afternoon and spilled the ball when Australia had a scoring opportunity. 4

George Smith – Not a great day for the talismanic open-side, who was upstaged by his opposite number Lewis Moody. 5

Wycliff Palu – Some good carries but struggled to impose himself at the breakdown at the rear of a back-pedalling pack. 6

Replacements:

Drew Mitchell – Very sharp when he came on, and showed good footwork when carving through England’s midfield. 7

Hugh McMeniman – Little time to impose himself but showed some aggression in the loose. 6

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