England player ratings: Farrell shoulders jeers as he fires England to a third place finish

England defeated Argentina 26-23 to claim the bronze medal in this year’s Rugby World Cup. The match, which took place at the Stade de France was a tight-run affair that saw the England side use all their experience to close out a game that was held in the balance all the way through.

Here are our player ratings:

Marcus Smith: 7

Hit as hard as he got hit. Took a big knock after 20 minutes after challenging well in the air. Brave man considering his size.

Freddie Steward: 6.5

Solid but wasted on the wing. Will return to fullback in the Six Nations no doubt.

Joe Marchant: 6.5

Reliable and well deserving of Borthwick’s trust.

Manu Tuilagi: 7

Hit hard, a lot – classic Tuilagi.

Henry Arundell: 2

First touch he gave away a penalty after 48 minutes, poor lad. Second touch was a kick to nowhere. Could have been given a 10 rating if he got the ball, we’ll never know.

Owen Farrell: 8

Had to deal with incessant booing from the crowd. Controlled the game well, low fizzing kicking game troubled the Pumas.

Ben Youngs: 5

Will retire knowing he did it at the right time. A brilliant player back in his day but clearly past it now.

Ellis Genge:  6

Not being used as a battering ram as much as he used to be, but still a solid game – major improvement on last week.

Theo Dan: 7

Carried well. Couple of dodgy lineouts and vital missed tackle on Carreras which led to the try. Great chargedown try to make up for it. Could have 15 different ratings for this one player. Huge potential.

Will Stuart: 6

Nothing flashy, reliable as ever

Maro Itoje: 7

Back to his old self.

Ollie Chessum: 7

Proving to form a very impressive second row partnership with Itoje.

Tom Curry: 6.5

Stood firm as he ran out onto the field on his own to celebrate his 50th cap. A proud showing.

Sam Underhill: 8

Did everything asked of him and more. Performed like the Underhill of old. Will be interesting to see if his form will continue.

Ben Earl: 8

Storming runs throughout, well deserved of the trust given to him. Long term number 8 for England.

Replacements: 8

Brought back England’s control, particularly through Danny Care who many believe is still England’s best number 9 at 36 years old.