england fell agonisingly short in their bid to win the 2015 rbs 6 nations despite a 55 35 victory over france at twickenham stuart lancaster's side finished runners up for the fourth straight year after falling six points shy of overhauling ireland on points difference here, sportsmail's sam peters rates the england players for the tournament:  mike brown: recovered from concussion against italy to produce some excellent rugby missed in dublin but looks back to his best 75/10  mike brown jumps to try and catch the ball up against france's gael fickou at twickenham  alex goode: only start against ireland was tough had a reasonable game but lacked brown’s snarling edge and defensive solidity 6  jonny may: dropped for ignoring overlap against italy may be some time before he gets another shot at international game 45  jonny may was dropped by stuart lancaster after ignoring an overlap against italy  jack nowell: replaced may in dublin and hardly put a foot wrong in three high octane displays lacks electric pace but has nous, strength and courage 8  anthony watson: excellent in opening win over wales and tidy for the rest of the tournament but still with something to prove 65  jonathan joseph: england’s outstanding attacking player proved big doesn’t have to be beautiful with exceptional running lines 9  jonathan joseph was england's outstanding attacking player throughout the six nations  luther burrell: high work rate and strong carrying but may struggle to retain place when barritt and tuilagi are fit top team player 6  george ford: proved doubters wrong with composed, intelligent displays which showcased his ability to time passes to perfection 85  george ford proved his doubters wrong with composed, intelligent displays at fly half  ben youngs: back to his best and firmly in place as first choice no 9 for world cup high class partnership with ford 8  joe marler: struggled against scotland but in general, set piece work was excellent must carry more 7  ben youngs was back to his best int he six nations and cemented his position as first choice scrum half  dylan hartley: nowhere near effective enough in the loose and line out throwing also below his own high standards 55  dan cole: exceptional all round contribution after starting against wales with little rugby following injury 8  dan cole (left) provided an exceptional all round contribution with little rugby after an injury  george kruis: harshly dropped from squad after loss in ireland but will have learned from his experience excellent prospect 65  dave attwood: unable to further his case after strong autumn not effective enough in tight and struggled to exert authority 55  courtney lawes: returned to fitness for last two games and reminded us of his world class attributes superb athlete 85  courtney lawes showed glimpses of his world class ability after returning to fitness for the last two games  geoff parling: back in the starting line up against france and produced a highly effective and mobile contribution 7  james haskell: superb display in cardiff but tapered off and sin bin against france was costly 65  billy vunipola: outstanding tournament for the ball carrying no 8 hardly put a foot wrong and work rate was incredible 9  billy vunipola hardly put a foot wrong for england at no 8 throughout the entire competition  chris robshaw: tireless and consistent leadership lacks pace for an openside but is dogged, determined and unflappable 7  subs: cipriani 65, wigglesworth 7, wood 65, easter 65, brookes 65, t youngs 65
england six nations jonathan joseph george ford ben youngs billy vunipola
england finished as six nations runners up for fourth year in a row . jonathan joseph stood out as the best attacking player . george ford proved his critics wrong with a series of composed displays . ben youngs was back to his best and firmly in hold of no 9 jersey . billy vunipola had an outstanding tournament at no 8 