Tom Jones gives his verdict on England’s players as they defeat Italy 37-0.

15 Antony Watson;

Worked hard in an attempt to get involved in a dire first half performance from England. Watson was eventually rewarded with a try, hitting a clever line on the 74 minute mark. 6.5

14 Ruaridh McConnochie;

Defensively sound. Didn’t get enough ball in space to really test the Italian defence. Solid debut. 6

13 Joe Marchant;

Marchant displayed an impressive array of attacking flair which put the Italian midfield under real pressure. His efforts were rewarded with an excellent solo try, ghosting past three defenders to score. Eddie Jones may suggest he should take a holiday in the Far East during the World Cup campaign. 7.5

12 Piers Francis

Francis is simply not good enough to play international rugby. A limited player. 5.5

11 Jonny May

Yet another electric performance from one of the in-form wingers in the world. Dominated the high ball battle in both halves and was unlucky not to collect a try for his efforts. 8/10

10 Owen Farrell

A first half performance to forget as it was littered with mistakes. However, he was consistent from the tee and displayed a flash of brilliance with a delayed pass to put Watson over the line. Hopefully England’s captain can find his world class form in Japan. 5.5

9 Ben Youngs

A good performance from Youngs who was able to control the game and displayed his international experience with an opportunist try. However, in the first half his kicking game was slightly erratic. Not my man of the match. 7

8 Billy Vunipola

A mixed performance from Big Billy. A player who automatically sucks in a number of defenders every time he gets the ball. However, like Farrell, his game was hampered by a number of errors. Fatigued? I think so. 6

7 Mark Wilson

A man of the match performance from Wilson who clearly felt very much at home in Newcastle. He was relentless in both attack and defense, the Italians had no answer to Wilson. Should he be a test starter at the world cup? Absolutely. 8.5

6 Tom Curry

Yet another strong defensive performance from the young Sale Shark. His dedication to cover the pitch mirrors that of Australia’s Michael Hooper. 7

5 Courtney Lawes

Up there with his best performances in an England shirt. Lawes caused Italy all kinds of problems at the lineout, putting a huge amount of pressure on the inconsistent Oliviero Fabiani. In a game with so many errors, like Wilson and May, Lawes stood out. 8

4 Joe Launchbury

A good albeit short performance from Launchbury who has established himself as an excellent player. He will play a big role in Japan. 7

3 Dan Cole

A strong defensive display but was replaced by Sinkler in the first half. 6

2 Jamie George

Being the understudy to Schalk Britz for a number of seasons at Saracens really contributed to the rise of George. The Britzesque flair he has in his locker puts him ahead of any other hooker in England. In a game of mediocre individual performances, George proved why he is England’s number one hooker. 7

1 Joe Marler

like Cole, Marler was replaced in the first half by Genge who put in a fantastic performance scoring his first international try. Marler was defensively dominant early on. 6

subs

16 Luke Cowan-Dickie; 6

17 Ellis Genge; 7

18 Kyle Sinkler; 6

19 Charlie Ewels; 7

20 Matt Kvesic; 7

21 Willy Heinz; 6

22 George Ford;7

23 Joe Cokanasiga; 5.5