All Blacks Player Ratings v Italy
The All Blacks have capped their 2018 season with an emphatic 10-try 66-3 victory over the Azzurri in Rome. Here’s how they rated individually:
1. Ofa Tuungafasi – 6.5
A little patchy with ball in hand but did some fine work in the scrum, forcing his opposite Simone Ferrari to concede a penalty and applying pressure every time the sides packed down.
2. Dane Coles – 8.5
Dane Coles was back to his attacking best against Italy. Made an immediate impact by sidestepping Italian wing Luca Sperandio and finding a pair of looping teammates to set up the opening try. Showed other impressive flashes as a carrier and was close to impeccable at lineout time.
3. Nepo Laulala – 6
Made eight tackles, second-most in the All Blacks pack. Helped prop up the scrum and was limited with ball in hand.
4. Patrick Tuipulotu – 7.5
Got through plenty of work in a busy 80-minute shift. Hands let him down a couple of times but otherwise an incredibly reliable metre maker. Finished with 53 metres, five defenders beaten and a try assist but also conceded three turnovers.
5. Scott Barrett – 6.5
A relatively quiet shift from a player that has made a big impact of late. Made six tackles and was handy in the lineout. Didn’t get much ball and was penalised early to surrender Italy’s sole three points.
6. Vaea Fifita – 9
Arguably the All Blacks’ most impactful forward. Devastating with ball in hand, athletic freak Fifita turned five carries into 60 metres, beating three defenders and making a line break. He also finished as the All Blacks’ top tackler, making 11 without a miss. An impressive performance and nice finish to the year for a player that has had a tough season.
7. Ardie Savea – 7
A typical pest at the breakdown. Counter rucking put pressure on the Italians and he managed to eventually snaffle a turnover. Less impact on attack in a short 47-minute shift.
8. Kieran Read – 8
Finished with eight tackles, missing on two occasions. Excellent in the lineout. Showed great skill and hands in lead up to two tries, notched one try assist to Ngani Laumape and put Patrick Tuipulotu through a hole to set up one of Damian McKenzie’s tries. Lowlight was getting manhandled by Italian flanker Jake Polledri.
9. TJ Perenara – 8
Great support running to pick up a try, had another taken away after a forward pass. Delivered lightning quick service all night and made his tackles.
10. Beauden Barrett – 9
Beauden Barrett was excellent in pulling the strings for the All Blacks against Italy. Scored a try after picking off an overthrown lineout near halfway and taking it to the house. Set up two more with a perfectly weighted grubber for Damian McKenzie and a cross-field kick for brother Jordie. Loses marks for a few errant passes. Accurate off the tee.
11. Waisake Naholo – 7
Didn’t see much ball come his way but made the most of his opportunities and went looking for work. Was largely untested defensively.
12. Ngani Laumape – 7.5
An impressive all-around performance from the power-packed midfielder. Scored a try after great hands from Kieran Read and put in a grubber to set up McKenzie’s third.
13. Anton Lienert Brown – 8
Reliable with ball in hand, often able to straighten play and make metres. Finished with 83 run metres and a clean break, and kept the ball alive constantly with a game-high five offloads. Made all five of his tackle attempts.
14. Jordie Barrett – 9
Might be in for a few more shifts on the wing after bagging four tries. Showed off an array of skills in doing so. Most impressive may have been claiming his brother’s cross-field kick on the stroke of halftime. Finished with a game-high 138 run metres – Italy notchd 161 as a team -with six defenders beaten and three line breaks. Also set up and try and offloaded three times.
15. Damian McKenzie – 9
McKenzie flourished and helped open up the game from fullback. Outrun only by Barrett with 136 metres, McKenzie scored three tries and made two line breaks with five defenders beaten. Simply made things happen for the All Blacks. A good note to end his campaign.
Key Reserves:
Brodie Retallick wasted no time in breaking the line after replacing Scott Barrett. Young loose forward Dalton Papalii came on and made an impact defensively, making five tackles and winning two turnovers.
Richie Mo’unga threatened the Italian line and showed flashes of some fine tactical kicking as well as setting up a try.
The highlight from the bench came from hooker Nathan Harris, who made a line break before grubbering ahead to Jordie Barrett who claimed his fourth try of the evening.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Just 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.
2 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.
4 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.
3 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 commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to commentsWhat is criminal is she acts like it's no problem her actions have have cause the Italian player to lose her playing career, lose salary, if she did this in day to day life she would be in jail, she is a complete thug!!!
4 Go to comments