All Blacks Player Ratings v Japan
An inexperienced All Blacks side have emerged unscathed after a 69-31 victory over Japan at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo. Here’s how they rated individually.
1. Ofa Tuungafasi – 7
Helped early scrum time domination, got through plenty of work on defence and showed off golden hands to collect some tough passes.
2. Dane Coles – 8
Bagged a try in his comeback appearance. Tidy at lineout time. Turnover and offload to spark an early Waisake Naholo break stood out.
3. Angus Ta’avao – 7
Solid work in the scrum and made his tackles.
4. Patrick Tuipulotu – 6.5
Shut down in the first half. Reliable at lineout time for the All Blacks and disruptive for the Japanese. Made five tackles without a miss.
5. Jackson Hemopo – 7.5
Strong both over the ball and with ball in hand. Made his tackles and won a pair of turnovers. One of the better forwards in the pack.
6. Vaea Fifita – 6
Easy to miss in the first half. Missed a pack-high four tackles but made eight and won a turnover.
7. Dalton Papalii – 7
Had a few early jitters in his first All Black start with a knock on and missed tackle to allow a Japanese try. Recovered well and wreaked havoc at the breakdown. Finished as the All Blacks’ top tackler with eight. A promising start to what should be a long international career.
8. Luke Whitelock – 6.5
Just like his brother, nothing spectacular but did all of the dirty work and everything that was asked of him in his second effort as captain.
9. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi – 6.5
Passes were far from crisp in the early going as he left his backline flat-footed often. Warmed into the game and made an impact, scoring an opportunists try in his first start and holding up the ball to put George Bridge away for his first in black.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 9
Mo’unga was a smooth operator in the No. 10 jersey for the All Blacks. Despite an early misfire looking for touch, his tactical kicking was near perfect – as were his efforts off the tee. Excellent when putting his teammates into space and outstanding both in defence and under the high ball. Mo’unga more than made his case for involvement against stronger opponents.
11. Waisake Naholo – 7
Slipped off a tackle early, got turned over but recovered to charge down a kick. Great vision to identify space and put kick ahead to set up Laumape’s second try. Missed five tackles. Scored a try and set another up. Led the game with 74 metres.
12. Ngani Laumape – 8.5
The man in the No. 12 jersey had his way with the Japanese defence. He made an impact early with a big cutout pass to put Dane Coles away. Valiant kick chasing and barn-storming runs saw the midfielder score three tries.
13. Matt Proctor – 7
Attacked the line early, made an early break after a Jordie Barrett cutout. Got through plenty of work and was rewarded for support running with a try on debut. Untested on defence. Very tidy debut.
14. Nehe Milner-Skudder – 5
Did well with early touches, though he appears to have lost a step. Signature draw and pass to put Waisake Naholo into space early. Limited opportunities and subbed at halftime.
15. Jordie Barrett – 4.5
A real mixed bag from the youngest Barrett in Tokyo. Had a nightmare start with a kick charged down for an early Japanese try. Did well to scoop a loose ball before throwing a brainless offload. Had another kick charged down before finally showing some flashes in the last 20 when Japan were already deflated. Launched a beautiful kick pass to George Bridge and nailed a sideline conversion in the final stanza.
Reserves:
16. Liam Coltman
Made five tackles without a miss.
17. Tim Perry
Made five tackles without a miss.
18. Tyrel Lomax
Won a penalty at the breakdown.
19. Dillon Hunt
Won a pair of turnovers almost instantly, a typical pest at the breakdown. Big turnover to set up George Bridge’s second try.
20. Gareth Evans
Set up Waisake Naholo’s try with his first touch after a strong run. Had the vision and backed himself to take a quick tap to find Laumape on the wing to complete his hat-trick.
21. Mitchell Drummond
Got the ball out faster than Tahuriorangi. Did a fine job in marshaling the side.
22. Brett Cameron
Has officially played more test rugby than Super Rugby. Made a break with his only touch and was a sure tackler when asked upon.
23. George Bridge
George Bridge had the Midas touch on debut. He scored two tries against the All Blacks last year while with the Barbarians and scored with his first touch in the black jersey. His second touch and a perfect grubber helped set up Matt Proctor’s try and a kick chase saw Bridge grab a double on debut.
Comments on RugbyPass
Don’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to comments