England player ratings: Tom Willis's dynamic carrying catches eye

Telegraph

4 hours ago

France left it late to beat England at a sweltering Allianz Stadium with Romain Taofifenua's late converted try enough to secure the visitor's victory.
There were positives for England, with several good individual displays that will give Steve Borthwick food for thought ahead of the summer tour to Argentina and the USA.
Here, Telegraph Sport runs the rule over the performances from Borthwick's side.
15. Joe Carpenter
Tiptoed over the touchline to give up a line-out in the first half, yet was assured otherwise and deserved his opportunistic try. Test debut next? 7/10
14. Tom Roebuck
Imperious in the air, which England tap into a great deal, and a well-balanced runner capable of swerving past defenders. 7/10
13. Henry Slade
A senior figure in this squad, so would have been disappointed by the late fade. Moved to full-back for the final quarter. 6/10
12. Seb Atkinson
An assured game. Atkinson put his hand up in the gain-line battle and had his reward with a break to set up Carpenter. Beaten once by Attissogbe, which is no disgrace. 7/10
11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
Feyi-Waboso was feeling his way back into his first match in six months, having committed a couple of spills, before his comeback ended in a rash high tackle. 2/10
10. George Ford
A gorgeous 50:22 with his first touch was one of several classy moments, though will feel as though England relinquished control from 24-12 ahead. 6/10
9. Ben Spencer
Energetic between breakdowns with front foot ball, bouncing from side to side, and lasted 80 minutes. Will be frustrated that England let it slip. 6/10
1. Fin Baxter
Scrummaging against Rabah Slimani is always a work-out and Baxter acquitted himself well with an understated yet assured outing. 7/10
2. Jamie George
An industrious outing from the co-captain, who keeps a line-out ticking like no other. Leadership important in a chaotic game. 7/10
3. Joe Heyes
Muscled scrum penalties out of Baptiste Erdocio when England needed momentum and supported Pepper for a crowd-pleasing run. Has had a monster season. 8/10
4. Alex Coles
Penalised during France's early mauling efforts but alive on the short side for his try. Part of a pack that was overpowered at the end. 6/10
5. Nick Isiekwe
Made a crucial intervention when France attempted a shortened line-out and left before this hosts subsided. 6/10
6. Ted Hill
Grew into the game after a spearing carry in the first quarter, but never quite produced a game-breaking moment 6/10
7. Guy Pepper
Graft and craft in the contact area as another England openside caught the eye. A clean strip of Hugo Auradou was his highlight. 7/10
8. Tom Willis
Filled his outing with rumbling carries which dented France and picked up a short-range try in the first half before being brought off with Argentina in mind. 8/10
Replacements
16. Theo Dan (on for George, 67), 17. Bevan Rodd (on for Baxter, 56), 18. Trevor Davison (on for Heyes, 60), 19. Chandler Cunningham-South (on for Isiekwe, 70), 20. Jack Kenningham (on for Pepper, 60), 21. Alex Dombrandt (on for Willis, 56), 22. Raffi Quirke (on for Carpenter, 60), 23. Oscar Beard (on for Feyi-Waboso, 53)
Dombrandt made the scoresheet and Kenningham showed off his jackalling prowess, with Quirke introduced on the wing as an experiment. Unfortunately for Steve Borthwick, though, the replacements were overwhelmed as a collective. 5/10