"Brutally tormented" - Five players who flopped in the third round of the Autumn Nations Series - Ruck
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“Brutally tormented” – Five players who flopped in the third round of the Autumn Nations Series

17 November 2024
Rugby Rucker

Here’s a look at five players who’ll want to leave their performances behind after the third round of the Autumn Nations Series.

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#1. Ellis Genge – England

Mail Online: “Would have been disappointed to miss tackle for South Africa’s first. England can’t concede soft tries like that and hope to be successful. Gave away too many penalties.” Rating: 3/10

Guardian: “Hasn’t had the best autumn all in all and came off second best. Carries hard though and always offers himself.” Rating: 5/10

Telegraph: Review pending

Summary: A rough outing for Genge, marked by a missed tackle that contributed to an early try and repeated penalty offenses. While he continued to carry hard, his struggles with discipline and overall impact were significant.

#2. Rieko Ioane – New Zealand

Rugby Pass: “Overran the first launch play a touch leading to a dropped ball from Savea, but had a big work rate in the first half with nine carries and nine more in the second. Had a big drop pass with three minutes remaining that nearly cost the game with France counter-attack coming up just short.” Rating: 4/10

Planet Rugby: “He’s trying exceptionally hard to make an impact for the All Blacks, but it just isn’t quite there at the moment. Ioane carried plenty of times but France shut him down effectively.” Rating: 5/10

Summary: Ioane was active throughout the match but failed to make a substantial impact. Costly handling errors and being consistently shut down by the French defense defined a frustrating performance.

#3. Finlay Bealham – Ireland

Balls.ie: “Left with doing a lot of defensive duties with 12 tackles but he just can’t keep giving away penalties he gives away at this level. A needless yellow card.” Rating: 5/10

Planet Rugby: “Some might feel he was lucky to be on the park after that croc roll and he did not feature much otherwise. At scrum-time he did not gain much dominance and was under pressure from Los Pumas that is not renowned for its scrummaging prowess.” Rating: 5/10

Irish Examiner: “There was a reckless croc roll by Bealham that saw him yellow carded in the 17th minute, an act of ill-discipline that Andy Farrell was at pains to rectify after the 13 penalty horror show against New Zealand. Discipline was again a significant issue for the whole team.” Rating: 5/10

Summary: Bealham’s performance was overshadowed by poor discipline, notably a reckless croc roll that led to a yellow card. Although he worked hard defensively, his scrummaging was underwhelming, adding to an overall tough game for the prop.

#4. Jack van Poortvliet – England

Mail Online: “Spilled the ball at his first breakdown after recall. He was regularly charged down by South Africa’s giant forwards as he struggled with impact of new law trials on banning blockers.” Rating: 3/10

Guardian: “Tormented by Etzebeth, charged down twice and always under pressure. Kicking was, on the whole, decent but one to forget.” Rating: 5/10

Telegraph: “Eben Etzebeth made him his bunny, charging him down twice in a hesitant early performance. Did grow into the game and the box kicks he did get away were excellent.” Rating: 5/10

Summary: Van Poortvliet had a tough game, starting with a fumble and struggling against the relentless pressure from South Africa’s forwards. Despite some decent kicks later on, he couldn’t overcome a shaky performance influenced by Etzebeth’s dominance.

#5. Ewan Johnson – Scotland

Scottish Rugby Blog: “Insanely tall, but when a line-out isn’t working and your main job is “go-go Gadget Arms; fetch line-out” and you concede a penalty in said set-piece, then you have to do fancy stuff elsewhere.” Rating: 5/10

Summary: Johnson’s height is an asset in theory, but his inability to dominate the line-out proved costly. With a conceded penalty in a key set-piece and minimal impact elsewhere, he failed to make the most of his physical advantages.

Editors picks:

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