“Miles off it” – Five Players Who Flopped in This Weekend’s Autumn Internationals

From missed tackles to quiet attacking displays, a few big names found themselves off the pace as their teams battled it out across the globe. Here’s a look at five players who struggled to make an impact this weekend.

Scotland vs Argentina are still to play on Sunday.

legraph 3, FloRugby 4, RUCK 5, STUFF 5, Planet Rugby 3

Barrett mixed a few sharp contributions—particularly in linking play for early tries—with a string of costly errors that defined his outing. Multiple reviews highlight missed touches, shaky high-ball work, and poor territorial kicking that repeatedly handed England momentum.

His defensive positioning and decision-making were questioned, and despite some positive kicks out of hand and a turnover, he was overshadowed by Ford and faded before being replaced early in the second half. A difficult, inconsistent performance.

Stuff: "Another unimpressive performance by the key driver, and was benched 15 minutes into second half with potential injury as he was completely overshadowed by Ford. A couple of bits of handiwork out of hand and off the boot, but had a bad high-ball drop, a poor pass to ground, missed touch from a penalty, then crashed through on the line for Underhill try. Kicked 1/2 off the tee."

RUCK: "Spilled an early spiral bomb but appeared to bounce back with some excellent out-of-hand kicking. Missed touch from a crucial penalty immediately after Ollie Lawrence’s try. Ripped the ball from Ben Earl to prevent England’s third try. Came off for McKenzie after 54 minutes."

Planet Rugby 4: " The experienced playmaker will not remember this game fondly as he battled for long periods and frankly had a mare in this encounter. One of his worst matches for the men in black as he could not get execute his basics and battled to stamp his influence on proceedings. Barrettwas eventually replaced by Damian McKenzie in the 55th minute."

FloRugby: "This will go down as one of Barrett’s most difficult Tests. His line kicking repeatedly put New Zealand under pressure, and his defensive positioning was exposed multiple times. Decision-making lacked the clarity expected at this level."

Telegraph: "All at sea for an early Ford spiral bomb and that set the tone. Missed touch, missed off the tee; missed the mark, generally."

Rugby Pass: "Had a hand in the opening two tries with sharp link play. However, two missed touches handed England momentum and he faded before the break, with a couple of mistimed tackles creeping in. Replaced by McKenzie after an inconsistent outing."

Telegraph 3, Rugby Pass 5, London Evening Standard 6, Mail Online 4, Planet Rugby 5

England’s line-out woes fell heavily on Jamie George, whose three misfires in the first half set the tone for a malfunctioning set piece. Although he held up well in the scrum, the hooker struggled to settle into the game and was withdrawn early in the second half.

With multiple outlets pointing to the line-out “implosion,” George’s display will go down as one of his more forgettable outings in an England shirt.

Mail Online: "Three first-half line-out throws couldn’t find their targets and it summed up a day that wasn’t one of his best. Substituted early in the second half."

LES: "England’s line-out struggled and they lost three of their five in the first half. Taken off early after the break."

Telegraph: "The line-out is a multi-man operation, but it is the hooker’s responsibility and thus George shoulders blame for its complete implosion."

Planet Rugby: " Limped off early into the second half. Oddly struggled in the lineout, and struggled to keep pace with the game. Not his finest outing."

Rugby Pass: "Three first-half lineout disasters was a poor return for the experienced hooker, who had more success in the middle of the solid front row at scrum-time, but not his finest performance for his country."

Mostert’s red card in the 12th minute dominated the narrative. Despite contributing early, his reckless high tackle left South Africa under pressure and overshadowed any positive impact.

Rugby 365: "Received a permanent red card for a high shot on Paolo Garbisi in the 12th minute. The officials deemed that there was no wrap while attempting the tackle."

FloRugby: "His red card shaped the match. The call looked harsh given the mitigation, but it still left South Africa under major pressure. Contributed well beforehand, but the sanction overshadowed his outing."

RUCK: "Some may feel James Doleman’s call was harsh, but it was ultimately a reckless and avoidable red card."

Rugby Pass: "For the second week in a row a South African lock was shown a red card for a high shoulder shot. Was there contact with Paolo Garbisi’s head? That will be debated in the weeks to come. There is a more pressing matter here.

"Springbok fans and coaches can complain about conspiracy theories and a lack of consistency, but this is clearly an issue that needs immediate redress. It’s just not good enough at this level and the players and the entire management team need to take responsibility."

Josh Adams delivered some solid moments — notably strong defensive work and aerial ability — but lacked attacking spark and was at fault for Japan’s first try.

His performance was ultimately overshadowed by a reckless, unnecessary clearout on the stroke of half-time that earned him a yellow card which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red. As a senior player, the lapse was seen as a costly and avoidable error that let his side down.

RUCK: "In an intriguing back three, Cardiff Rugby’s Adams struggled, unlike Rees-Zammit. His only notable contribution was strong defensive work.

However, he received a lower rating due to a careless and dangerous clearout in the closing moments of the first half, which resulted in a 20-minute red card, shortly after he had kicked the ball out of play."

Wales Online: "The Cardiff man was solid enough prior to his red card but lacks the x-factor in attack of his younger days. Adams' recklessness in giving away a needless penalty at the stroke of half-time which resulted in a 20-minute red card let his side down."

Planet Rugby: "Great in the air and looked threatening in attack. After receiving a yellow card at the end of the first half, he returned to find it upgraded to a 20-minute red, meaning an early bath for the star. "

Rugby Pass: "Got hung out for Japan’s first but the upgrade to a 20-minute red card was disastrous. A really poor moment from one of Wales’ senior players, who should know better."

Suaalii had a quiet night for the Wallabies, excelling in turnovers but contributing little in attack and completing few tackles. He was underutilized as an attacking weapon, though he showed promise defensively, maintained a presence under the high ball, and drew multiple defenders when carrying the ball.

Rugby Pass: "Rugby Australia’s Rookie of the Year won more turnovers than anyone else, but the centre wasn’t able to make a telling impact other than that. Suaalii was quiet in attack with seven carries, and the dual international finished 41st out of 43 players for tackles completed.

"There aren’t really any highlights or lowlights to speak of, for the most part, Suaalii just wasn’t able to get involved during a tough night for the Wallabies."

Nine: "Did he play the first half? Yes he did, but rarely seen. Did he play the second half? Yes, but rarely seen. Is the gameplan not suited for this lethal attacking weapon? The coaching team needs to work this out ASAP as Suaalii is being wasted."

The Roar: "Although Suaalii didn’t manage to impose himself on the Test like he would have wanted, the outside centre looked like he belonged.

"He generally took a couple to bring him down, he was a presence under the high ball and he batted one back like he did against England on Test debut. Defensively he also imposed himself more, making a strong tackle on Bundee Aki to force the midfielder out."