England
Elliot Daly Made the break for Tuilagi’s try, leaving Mo’unga for dust. So much better as the last line of defence than last week and a trusty left boot. 8
Anthony Watson A stunning performance, looking so bright down the right. Another who excelled defensively. He has been one of England’s brightest performers throughout the tournament. 9
Manu Tuilagi Unstoppable from that close with early try and got through buckets of defence work thereafter. This is Tuilagi firing on all cylinders. 9
Owen Farrell (capt) A warrior. Played on one leg for most of the match and ended up as England’s joint-top tackler. Hit on Williams typified display. Smile during the haka showed his relish for the occasion. 9
Jonny May Flawless under the high ball but did not look himself after hamstring injury last week. Defensively excellent though. 7
George Ford Fully justified his recall. Kicked from hand superbly. Took over goal-kicking duties with a ballsy penalty just before half-time. 9
Ben Youngs Ponderous once or twice but has growing into the tournament, improving match by match, which bodes well for the final. 8
Mako Vunipola Continues to redefine what loosehead props are capable of. He had 16 carries and made an impact in the scrum. 8
Jamie George Shocking throw for Savea’s try but that aside another hugely impressive performance. Brings so much to the side. 8
Kyle Sinckler One of a number of England’s big ball-carriers who made some real dents. Hobbled off after another massive shift. 8
Maro Itoje Out of this world. Sacked mauls, disrupted lineouts, gave Smith no peace, hit everything and carried hard. Colossal. 10
Courtney Lawes Jones said that he would throw himself around until Kruis came on and he certainly did that, emptying the tank. 9
Tom Curry He is now a live contender for the player of the tournament. Only 21 and should end up with more than 100 caps. 9
Sam Underhill Astonishing. Any time New Zealand threatened there was Underill to rock the ball-carrier back from whence he came. 10
Billy Vunipola Much more purposeful with his carrying, especially early on and stuck at it throughout. His best performance of the tournament. 9
Replacements: Luke Cowan Dickie (for George 70) 7; Joe Marler (for M Vunipola 70) 6; Dan Cole (for Sinckler 50) Experience was welcome 6; George Kruis (for Lawes 55) Excelled 7; Mark Wilson (for Underhill 70) Huge turnover 7; Willi Heinz (for Youngs 63)7; Henry Slade (for May 45) Showed his class 7; Jonathan Joseph (for Tuilagi 74) n/a
New Zealand
Beauden Barrett Never gave up, as demonstrated with his desperate run at the end, but if he beat one defender, there was another waiting. 7
Sevu Reece Made Billy Vunipola look silly earlier on and denied Daly a try wonderfully but couldn’t break the shackles. 6
Jack Goodhue One of New Zealand’s more forceful runners early on but he faded in the face of such ferocious defence. 6
Anton Lienert-Brown He came into this match as one of the form players of the tournament but it eluded him. Culpable of handling errors. 5
George Bridge Wobbly start with a poor kick after being turned by Ford and did not get better, coming out second-best against Watson. 5
Richie Mo’unga England targeted him and got early joy with Tuilagi’s try. It will be fascinating to see whether he keeps his place in the rebuild. 6
Aaron Smith If England were going to win this match they were going to have to nullify his threat and they did that superbly. 5
Joe Moody Got through plenty of work in defence, producing 13 tackles but could make no impact with ball in hand, carrying once. 6
Codie Taylor New Zealand were supposed to have more joy at the lineout than they did and Coles looked more of a threat when he came on. 5
Nepo Laulala Was penalised at the scrum and dispossessed by Ford early on – and those were the two most notable moments. 5
Brodie Retallick Put Itoje off enough in the lineout that led to Savea’s try. But he has set extremely high standards and didn’t reach them. 6
Sam Whitelock He gave away two penalties – with one, for pushing Farrell in the head, causing Nigel Owens to reverse his initial decision. 5
Scott Barrett It was a big selection call and Steve Hansen admitted it did not pay off. Did not contribute enough at the lineout. 5
Ardie Savea He was gifted a try and it was just reward as he was the pick of New Zealand’s forwards. The breakdown battle was titanic. 7
Kieran Read (capt) He may yet play the bronze medal match but this was, in effect, the disappointing end of a glorious international career. 5
Replacements: Sam Cane (for S Barrett ht) Improved things 6; Dane Coles (for Taylor 50) Lively 7; Jordie Barrett (for Bridge 50) Walloped by Underhill 5; Sonny Bill Williams (for Goodhue 55) Tried his best 5; TJ Perenara (for Smith 55) 6; Angus Ta’avao (for Laulala 55) 6; Ofa Tu’ungafasi (for Moody 53) 5; Patrick Tuipulotu (for Whitelock 67) 5