England player ratings vs Australia: Marcus Smith majestic with Ollie Sleightholme electric off the bench

England suffered heartbreak for the second week in a row as Australia defeated them right at the death.

Steve Borthwick’s side had looked on course to claim a valuable win when Maro Itoje scored with two minutes to go and Marcus Smith nailed the conversion.

Australia, however, struck with the clock in the red as Australia wing Max Jorgensen went over in the corner.

After narrowly losing to New Zealand last week, this was another hammer blow for England who are still looking for their first win this autumn.

Standard Sport’s Simon Collings was at Twickenham and rates the England performances...

Backs

George Furbank 6

A quiet game for the full-back, who did not see much ball. Taken off with just over 20 minutes to go as Smith went to full-back.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 6

Not the stunning performance that he had last week against the All Blacks. The odd nice dart. Off injured around the 50-minute mark.

Ollie Lawrence 8

Much more involved than he was last week and had a big hand in England’s first try, latching onto Smith’s kick. A lively display.

Henry Slade 6

Moved to inside-centre after playing at No13 last week. A solid performance, overall, and a safe pair of hands.

Tommy Freeman 6

Tasked with chasing down plenty of kicks - and improved as the game went on. Much more involved than last week.

Marcus Smith 8 | Star player

Just like last week, he was England’s best players. Made some great breaks and played a delightful kick through for Sleightholme’s try. Majestic.

Ben Spencer 6

Caught out a few times at the base of the ruck. Kicking game was largely solid and marshalled the pack.

Forwards

Ellis Genge 7

Carried the ball really well, especially in the opening moments. It was his quick tap from a penalty that setup Cunningham-South’s second try.

Jamie George 7

Was like a man possessed in the early stages and was everywhere, making a few bright breaks. Off with 30 minutes to go.

Will Stuart 7

Made a couple of good carries early doors, like Genge did. Put in a huge shift in the scrum and lasted x minutes.

Maro Itoje 7

Had a crazy end to the game, scoring a late try for England - but then knocking on the return kick-off.

George Martin 6

Should have scored early on when trying to carry over the whitewash from a few yards out.

Chandler Cunningham-South 8

Scored two tries during a blistering start to the game, dropping the ‘Cold Palmer’ celebration after his first. Only 21 and looks a future star.

Tom Curry 6

Having a good game until he was forced off midway through the first-half after taking a knee to the head.

Ben Earl 7

Played the final pass for Cunningham-South’s first try after popping up out wide. Carried non-stop, as always.

Replacements

Alex Dombrandt (Curry 23’) 7

On for Curry, but packed down at No8. Threw a good pass to setup Sleightholme’s second try.

Ollie Sleightholme (Feyi-Waboso 51’) 8

Off the bench and scored two tries. Electric out wide and should push to start against South Africa next week.

Luke Cowan-Dickie (George 51’) 6

Immediately threw himself into the heart of the action. Carried well and made an impact.

Nick Isiekwe (Martin 60’) 6

Harry Randall (Spencer 62’) 7

Much better than last week. Injected some pace and his quick ball helped create Sleightholme’s second try.

George Ford (Furbank 62’) 5

Threw a loose pass behind Lawrence, which Australia pounced on to score a late try.

Fin Baxter (Genge 62’) 6

Not as destructive with the ball as Genge, but solid at scrum time.

Dan Cole (Stuart 69’) N/A