England vs Uruguay player ratings: Nick Easter and Jack Nowell bag hat-tricks as England finish with a flourish
Man for man marking from England's final Rugby World Cup match against Uruguay
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England finshed their disapointing World Cup campaign with a flourish as they ran in ten tries against Urugauy at the Etihad Stadium.
Jack Nowell crossed over for three, Anthony Watson scored two, and Henry Slade capped off an impressive performance with a well-taken try, while 37-year-old Nick Easter became the oldest player to score a Test-match hat trick.
Painful defeats at the hands of Wales and Australia at Twickenham ensured that England became the first host nation to crash out of a World Cup in the pool stages, but Stuart Lancaster's side gave the 50,778 fans something to shout about by putting a sizable score on the South American minnows in Manchester.
The bonus-point win meant that if England had drawn against Wales they would have qualified as runners up in Pool A, but with their fate already sealed, Lancaster gave his youngsters a chance to shine in the backline.
England went 3-0 down within two minutes but Uruguay rarely looked like scoring after taking the lead. England seized control after their early lapse in concentration and a dominant set piece provided them with the platform to score three first-half tries. Watson latched onto Nowell's chip ahead to score the first and Easter crashed for two after that.
The men in white should have scored more before the break but some poor handling and lackluster rucking meant they struggled to retain possesion in the final third.
However, after the break the amateurs began to tire and England ran riot, running in seven more unanswered scores. Slade charged down a box kick and dribbled the ball half the pitch to score before Nowell finished off three chances brilliantly and Easter crossed over for his third of the evening.
How did the players perform? Click on the gallery below to find out
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