England player ratings vs France: Ollie Lawrence and Tommy Freeman cement places as Ellis Genge thrives

Ben Earl continues his superb form as George Ford and Marcus Smith both impress in Lyon heartbreaker
Nick Purewal16 March 2024

England so nearly stole another last-gasp victory, only for Thomas Ramos’ long-range penalty to swipe France a 33-31 Six Nations win in Lyon.

The Red Rose men ran in four fine tries in a thriller by the banks of the Rhone, to end their campaign in style, just sadly not in winning fashion.

Here, Nick Purewal runs the rule over the England performances.

Backs

George Furbank: 7

Calf injury cut his night horribly short, just seven minutes in. Solid enough start before that though.

Tommy Freeman: 8

Took his try well and cemented his place in this team moving forward with his mix of power and pace.

Henry Slade: 7

An improved showing in attack from a vital cog in this backline. Still needs to tighten up in defence though.

Ollie Lawrence: 8

Another powerful, direct showing from the Bath star, who has surely nailed down the No12 shirt moving forward.

Ollie Lawrence had two tries as England fell to an agonising defeat by France in Lyon
Getty Images

Elliot Daly: 7

A solid effort from a reliable operator for this England squad.

George Ford: 8

Piloted England around the field superbly, showed deft hands for several of the tries, and kicked perfectly off the tee.

Alex Mitchell: 7

Added zip and pace to England’s attack again, and clearly England’s best No9.

Forwards

Ellis Genge: 8

His best performance in this championship, from a man who grew in stature as the tournament wore on. Getting back to his best.

Jamie George: 8

Another important showing from the emotional heartbeat of this team.

Dan Cole: 7

Delivered at the scrum once more, and this time against one of the world’s biggest packs.

Maro Itoje: 7

A constant menace and nuisance to the French forwards, another telling contribution from then powerful Saracens lock.

George Martin: 7

Piled into the French pack all night long in a showing of industry and grunt.

Ollie Chessum: 8

Has laid the foundations to become some player at blindside flanker, which would be an impressive shift from lock.

Sam Underhill: 7

England’s chief scrapper battled for everything on the ground and in the tight too.

Ben Earl has become a talismanic figure in the England back row
REUTERS

Ben Earl: 8

A talismanic presence in this team’s attack now, a complete focal point with his destructive and pacy ball carrying.

Replacements

Theo Dan (for George, 49): 7

Unlucky with one lineout but carried the ball well and at pace

Joe Marler (for Genge, 49): 7

Another aggressive cameo from the bullish Harlequin.

Will Stuart (for Cole, 49): 7

Kept up the set-piece pressure to great effect.

Ethan Roots (for Chessum, 54): 7

An impactful cameo from the Exeter man.

Alex Dombrandt (for Underhill, 66): 8

A massive turnover almost led to an England win.

Danny Care (for Mitchell, 69): 7

Battled hard to add impetus and incision.

Marcus Smith (for Furbank, 7): 8

Turned in another blistering showing, and was just as comfortable at full-back as fly-half.

Manu Tuilagi (for Slade, 59): 7

A physical presence from his first moments on the field.

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