All Blacks Player Ratings v Ireland
The All Blacks have been beaten and held tryless by Ireland 16-9 in Dublin. Here’s how they rated individually.
1. Karl Tuinukuafe – 5
Didn’t manage a carry but made eight tackles on the other side of the ball. Popped up in the scrum and was tested frequently by Tadhg Furlong.
2. Codie Taylor – 6
A quiet game from hooker. Made a half-break and was reliable when called upon at lineout time. Notched seven tackles without a miss.
3. Owen Franks – 7
Got through plenty of work in the first half, making a team-high 14 tackles and winning a turnover in the first 40.
4. Brodie Retallick – 5.5
Doesn’t happen often, but the usually untouchable Retallick was outshone by his opposite James Ryan. Contributed to the All Blacks’ high penalty count in the first half. Dropped another kickoff, knocked near midfield and dropped the ball cold after the siren to end the game. Highlight was a big lineout steal in the final ten minutes. Made nine tackles but conceded four turnovers.
5. Sam Whitelock – 7
Hit hard by penalties in the first half but was ever-present at the lineout and on defence. Made an impressive line-break that seemed to surprised him more than anyone else. Finished with a pack-high 14 tackles.
6. Liam Squire – 4.5
Unable to make much of an impact once again. Lost the ball in a tackle and was penalised for a high shot before heading off injured in the 31st minute. Highlight was his role in a try-saving effort on Ireland No. 8 CJ Stander.
7. Ardie Savea – 7
Another tireless effort from Ardie Savea. Work around the breakdown and in defence was excellent. Finished with 14 tackle and two won turnovers. Conceded a turnover after isolating himself and puzzled a few after breaking the line and putting a kick in with numbers outside.
8. Kieran Read – 6
Turned over and penalised close to the All Blacks line in the early going. Pinged again for offside later. Awful pass from the base of a scrum surrendered territory the All Blacks had just won. Charged down a Jacob Stockdale chip only to knock on and bomb a potential try. Made 14 tackles. Decision to take a 40m three pointer in late stages may be questioned.
9. Aaron Smith – 6
Nothing spectacular from ‘Nuggy’ in his record breaking 82nd test – now New Zealand’s most capped halfback. Crucial tackle on dangerous Ireland fullback Rob Kearney was his best moment.
10. Beauden Barrett – 6.5
Made more of an impact after shifting to fullback. Was accurate off the tee but ultimately unable to crack the Irish defence. Got caught trying to do too much in a desperate time when he had an offload picked off 10 metres from the Irish line.
11. Rieko Ioane – 6.5
Threatened when he got the ball, but opportunities were scarce. Finished with a team-high 69 metres with ball in hand, only converted one of his four tackle attempts. Another player that got caught trying to do too much, also had a post-break offload intercepted.
12. Ryan Crotty – 7
Shored up the midfield alongside Goodhue. The pair combined for 37 tackles without a miss. Was direct with ball in hand.
13. Jack Goodhue – 7
Made a game-high 19 tackles and did some tidy work over the ball. Will have breathed a sigh of relief after a Rob Kearney knock-on saved a try following a bobbled catch attempt.
14. Ben Smith – 6.5
Typically effective with ball in hand and under the high ball. Excellent work during an early chip and chase. Rushed up and was caught out in the lead up to Jacob Stockdale’s try.
15. Damian McKenzie – 6
Safe under the high ball. Had limited opportunities with ball in hand and couldn’t penetrate the Irish defence. Sparked a couple of breaks with some smart offloading and a thoughtful kick ahead.
Reserves:
Scott Barrett was called upon early and made the most of his extended run. Finished with eight carries, ten tackles and a turnover. Made more of an impact that Squire.
Reserve halfback TJ Perenara changed the pace of the All Blacks attack and helped orchestrate their comeback efforts, delivering quick ball and trying to make things happen. Kicks during late stages were questionable.
Anton Lienert-Brown made an immediate impact and threatened with ball in hand before fading in the final stages.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to comments