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
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments