England rugby player ratings: Who was to blame for Ireland Six Nations defeat?
ENGLAND may already have lost the Six Nations but there should have been no shortage of motivation against Grand Slam-hunting Ireland at Twickenham.
Anthony Watson - 6
Badly caught out under a high kick to concede opening try. (Mike Brown might have caught it?). Carried off on stretcher after half an hour just when starting to look part of the game.
Jonny May - 5
Caught out defensively multiple times in first half and when given opportunities out wide, ran straight into tacklers as opposed to creating offload opportunities or beating men. Late try was a simple finish and meant very little in context of game.
Jonathan Joseph - 3
Passed poorly, spoiling multiple attacking opportunities by putting the ball behind his man. Accumulated one single metre of ground gained with ball in hand.
Ben Te’o - 7
The only England player to make an offload in the first 50 minutes.
Elliot Daly - 8
Excellent under the high ball in early stages and well-placed to benefit from the sin bin overlap for opening try. Second try was made by Mike Brown but even without the tries, Daly was England's very best.
Owen Farrell - 7
Could be heard calling plays in every corner of the stadium on a day when England needed leaders. Perfect grubber for Daly try but two-faced performance overall. Kick into Haskell’s head the comedy foil to occasional moments of brilliance.
Richard Wigglesworth - 6
Box-kicked intelligently but didn’t bring the dynamism England needed. Perhaps unsurprising.
Mako Vunipola - 6
Often play far more minutes but still made 15 carries in 53 minutes. Cannot avoid blame for scrum problems.
Dylan Hartley - 4
Threw away a crucial lineout on the five-metre. Discipline throughout pack was poor, especially at scrum time. Caught out for Stander try.
Kyle Sinckler - 6
Ran gamely into tackles and put his ample weight around as best he could. Out-scrummaged by Cian Healy.
Maro Itoje - 5
Second season syndrome well and truly in motion. Even sloppy at lineout, where 12 months ago he was perhaps best in world.
George Kruis - 4
Woeful at times when it came to catching or carrying the ball. When England needed speed, he provided the opposite.
Chris Robshaw - 7
An improved player at the breakdown. Much better when playing as a six, not an unnatural seven.
James Haskell - 6
Ineffective ball-carrier. Hard to believe he is the answer 18 months ahead of a World Cup.
Sam Simmonds - 6
Was always likely to feel lightweight pitched against CJ Stander. Failed to provided try-scoring threat.