ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS: George Ford fails to back up Argentina showing as the majority of the team struggle… with Alex Mitchell among those to endure a night to forget

England made it two wins from two at the Rugby World Cup after beating Japan 34-12 in Nice on Sunday.

Steve Borthwick’s side have now defeated their two strongest Pool D opponents in Argentina and Japan, although they still have a long way to go if they want to be competitive at the tournament.

England kicked too often during the match, but eventually scored their first try after 104 minutes of rugby, with the match often messy when England tried to attack.

The team should top Group D but will face tougher opposition in the next phase and will need to be stronger if they want success.

Here are Mail Sport’s player ratings for the game, courtesy of Nik Simon.

Steve Borthwick’s side have won two of their two games but will need to be better if they want to succeed in France

ENGLAND

Feddie Steward – 5: Spilled the ball on England’s first entry into the red zone as the attack inside the 22 continued to falter. Not his authoritative self to try.

Jonny May – 4: Didn’t touch the ball in the first 40 minutes and conceded a penalty for a late goal that gifted Japan territory.

Joe Marchant – 5: Struggling to break the line and showing the attacking spirit he has for Harlequins. Anonymous until his last minute attempt.

Manu Tuilagi – 5: Hitting hard lines on line-out starter plays, but a breakdown in communication with Ford resulted in turnovers and lost ground.

Elliot Daly – 4.5: Dominant in his dogfights, but the strategy of putting Japan back in the coffin with grab kicks often resulted in ball possession.

George Ford – 5: Got huge cheers when his name was read, but the mood quickly changed. Charged and failed to execute the attack.

Alex Mitchell – 4: Kicked away a lot of possession and failed to inject the pace to break the Japanese defensive structure. Bad day at the office.

The English favorite George Ford played a bad game because he did not attack that day

Alex Mitchell had a poor game as he kicked away a lot of possession and failed to inject the pace England needed

Joe Marler – 6: Won a solid turnover on his own five-yard line and held his own in the scrum against a small but dynamic front row.

Jamie George – 5: Fumbled a lineout strike play when the ball hit him in the face. Difficulty imposing superior physicality against a much lighter pack.

Kyle Sinckler – 5: Required treatment at some point in his return from a pectoral injury. Difficult to dominate the scrum on a disturbed pitch.

Maro Itoje – 5: Lurked around failures like a praying mantis, but struggled to get turnovers to disrupt Japan’s flow. Huge drop in intensity.

Ollie Chessum – 6: Works with George Kruis on the line-out all week. Japan rushed to the lineout for opening try.

Ollie Chessum impressed for England and played a crucial role in the opening try of the evening

Courtney Lawes (captain) – 5: Collected a huge driving maul in the first half but didn’t turn the screw. Not one of his signature hits, just an accidental effort.

Ben Earl – 6: Switched to No. 8 in attacking scrums. One of England’s busiest airlines, but penalized for offside in defense.

Lewis Ludlam – 6: Justified his selection ahead of Billy Vunipola as he scored England’s first try of this World Cup after 104 minutes.

REPLACEMENTS

Will Stuart (for Sinckler 52); Billy Vunipola (for Ludlam 52); Ellis Genge (for Marler 59); Ben Youngs (for Mitchell 59); Marcus Smith (for Steward 69); Ollie Lawrence (for Tuilagi 69); Theo Dan (for George 74); George Martin (for Chessum 74).

Stand-in England skipper Courtney Lawes scored a bizarre try but, like many for England, was not up to speed

Japan were solid enough in defeat, with Rikiya Matsuda one of the players to impress

JAPAN

Masirewa 3, Matsushima 6, Osada 5, Nakamura 5, Naikabula 7, Matsuda 7, Nagare 7, Inagaki 5, Horie 5, Gu 5, Cornelsen 6, Fakatava 6, Leitch 5, Labuschagne 5, Himeno (captain) 6.

REPLACEMENTS

Lemeki (for Masirewa 7); Valu (for Gu 41), Millar (for Inagaki 50), Riley (for Naikabula 51), Dearns (for Fakatava 62); Saito (for Nagare 65); Shimokawa (for Labuschagne 74).

Referee: N Amashukeli (Georgia) – 6