England player ratings v New Zealand: George Furbank impresses but Ben Earl off the pace

England’s opening match of their two-Test tour of New Zealand ended in a one-point defeat, in what was a golden opportunity missed for Steve Borthwick’s team.

Telegraph Sport rates how the players performed in Dunedin, as the 21-year wait for a victory against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil continues.

England

15. George Furbank

Bolted up in defence to hit Ioane and picks his lines so well in attack, straightening when so many drift wide. Bulldozed by Reece and somehow held on. One of their best. 8/10

14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Loads to enjoy with his defensive work in particular, full of energy. Little isolated after one break but he can break games open and England need to capitalise on that. 8/10

13. Henry Slade 

First pass was sloppy but impressed with his work in England’s blitz defence, intercepting an Ioane pass and continuing to shut down the space New Zealand were hunting for. 7/10

12. Ollie Lawrence

Won a couple of good turnovers, one that led to three points, and really smart grubber earned England a lineout in attacking territory. Very good. 8/10

11. Tommy Freeman

Key as a kick chaser but defensive positioning under the spotlight for the first two All Blacks tries. Came to life with one big run before Feyi-Waboso’s try but it didn’t quite happen for him. 6/10

10. Marcus Smith

Missed two sitters off the tee which England had to take. Didn’t love the grubber when England were attacking well but two slick passes before Feyi-Waboso’s score. Bottom line, the missed points were critical. 6/10

9. Alex Mitchell 

Knew the brief; box-kick away in your own half. Telea slipped out of one of his tackles and when he did snipe, rarely, was quite effective, as before the Feyi-Waboso score. 7/10

1. Joe Marler

Early win at the scrum with a penalty but then absolutely smoked by Lomax. Forced off after 17 minutes to give his young club-mate Fin Baxter a debut. 5/10

2. Jamie George (c)

One bizarre line-out throw to Cunningham-South but was so prominent in defence, with 13 tackles by half-time and emptying the tank. 7/10

3. Will Stuart

Early scrums against De Groot looked worse than they actually were and eventually De Groot was punished. Last thing he wanted to see was Telea coming at him at pace. 7/10

4. Maro Itoje

Good early rip on Telea and then finished off a good platform to score. So good at ruining breakdowns and poaching turnovers, quality line-out steals. Excellent. 8/10

5. George Martin 

Can cause chaos with those counter-rucks, blasting people, with TJ Perenara coming off worse after one of them. His high work-rate is priceless. 8/10

6. Chandler Cunningham-South

Had an early line-out plucked out of his hands and seemed to be in the wrong place for another, but loads of good contributions too. Only 21 and clearly still learning. 7/10

7. Sam Underhill

Blasted by the All Blacks with a counter-ruck after England’s first decent scrum - which was a theme for the team - but his form has been superb, constantly chopping down runners. 7/10

8. Ben Earl

Nice offload combining with Mitchell but given the slip by Perofeta and that missed tackle led to Savea’s score. With a couple of soft mistakes, not his best. 5/10

Replacements

Theo Dan (J George 54), Fin Baxter (J Marler 17), Dan Cole (W Stuart 51), Alex Coles (S Underhill 62), Tom Curry (C Cunningham-South 51), Ben Spencer (A Mitchell 57), Fin Smith (M Smith 65), Ollie Sleightholme (I Feyi-Waboso 75)

Baxter thrown in early for his debut, pinged for a neck roll when England were attacking well but otherwise adapted well. Curry’s over-eagerness led to three points for the All Blacks and the scrum struggled. Coles’s no-arms tackle gave away three killer late points. Not a great impact overall.

New Zealand team

15 Stephen Perofeta 8
14 Sevu Reece 8
13 Rieko Ioane 7
12 Jordie Barrett 7
11 Mark Telea 8
10 Damian McKenzie 8
9 TJ Perenara 7
1 Ethan de Groot 6
2 Codie Taylor 7
3 Tyrel Lomax 8
4 Scott Barrett 7
5 Patrick Tuipulotu 6
6 Samipeni Finau 8
7 Dalton Papali’i 7
8 Ardie Savea 8

Replacements 7