1
All Blacks player ratings vs France | Rugby World Cup 2023
In the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, it was the visitors New Zealand who struck first against hosts France, with Mark Telea touching down following a passage of strong attacking play from the All Blacks.
ADVERTISEMENT
The game remained close throughout the opening stanza with both sides trading penalties in the first half. The second half was a different story, however, with Les Bleus taking control of the match and eventually fighting their way to a confident 27-13 victory.
How did the All Blacks rate in defeat?
1. Ethan de Groot – 4/10
Had a tough evening up against the sizeable Uini Atonio, copping two penalties in the first half. Dropped the ball trucking it up when NZ were hot on attack when he really needed to deliver it wide. Off in 53rd minute.
2. Codie Taylor – 5
One stray throw aside, was tidy at lineout time. Probably needed to give De Groot more support at the scrum and threw one errant pass to the sideline when the All Blacks were within sniffing distance of the try line. Off in 57th minute.
3. Nepo Laulala – 5
Did what Nepo Laulala normally does. Delivered a couple of stingers on defence . His side of the scrum held up throughout. Off in 53rd minute.
4. Sam Whitelock – 6
Focused on the tight work, hitting breakdowns and levelling ball runners on defence. Off in 69th minute.
5. Scott Barrett – 9
Made up for his red card at Twickenham with an exceptional performance on both sides of the ball at the Stade de France – just wait for the highlights package. Led the All Blacks defence, charging out of the line to put pressure on the French attack, and was called upon to make some crucial cover tackles. He eventually finished the match as the All Blacks’ most prolific tackler. Grabbed one kick-off with a nice leap and made a couple of good runs with the ball in hand.
ADVERTISEMENT
6. Tupou Vaa’i – 4
Brought in as a last-minute replacement for Sam Cane and was curiously handed the relatively unfamiliar No 6 jersey. Couldn’t clear out Julien Marchand when the French hooker went searching for the ball immediately following the opening try, with France winning the breakdown penalty. Shelled the ball when carrying out from NZ’s 22, putting his team under pressure. Didn’t duck his head, however, and made a key tackle in France’s next set of possession to prevent what looked like a certain try. Off in 57th minute.
7. Dalton Papali’i – 5
Struggled to make any impact at the breakdown. Popped up a couple of times in open field but was pushed around by his seemingly larger opposition. Finished as NZ’s second-top tackler. A pointless shove in the back gifted France a five-metre lineout, which led to their first try of the game.
8. Ardie Savea – 6
Built into the game as it went but wasn’t able to generate the momentum he’s normally capable of. Had some strong moments at the breakdown, spearheading one turnover inside France’s 22. One perfectly weighted chip kick eventually led to NZ’s second try of the evening.
9. Aaron Smith – 6
Hassled the world’s best player well, throwing Antoine Dupont off his game early doors. Gave his players good delivery of the ball but once or twice picked the wrong runner. Off in 63rd minute.
ADVERTISEMENT
10. Richie Mo’unga – 7
Couldn’t find touch with his first penalty kick of the night and wasn’t finding as much distance as Beauden Barrett, but was in excellent form with the ball in hand. Made one exceptional cover tackle on Damian Penaud to prevent a try. Goal-kicking radar wasn’t on the money but still a strong performance at first receiver.
11. Mark Telea – 7
Dealt well with a bouncing, slippery ball to touch down for his side’s first try. Dangerous whenever he got his hands on the ball – and regularly went looking for work. Lost the pill on a couple of occasions when he outran his support. Off in 72nd minute.
12. Anton Lienert-Brown – 6
Dropped a lovely short ball off to his midfield partner to create the break that led to the first All Blacks try. Made a couple of hit-ups when required but otherwise was quiet throughout his remaining time on the field. Off in 63rd minute.
13. Rieko Ioane – 7
Played a crucial role in New Zealand’s first two tries. Showed off the importance of pace in the midfield with a searing early break that eventually resulted in the game’s opening score and then threw a nice miss pass after half time to give Mark Telea an easy run in for the second. Threatened to pierce the line whenever he got the ball but never quite slipped through, bar that first run. Made a couple of crucial tackles, including one covering hit on Gregory Alldritt when France looked lightly.
14. Will Jordan – 2
A bit of a shocker from the New Zealand wunderkind. Spent much of the game chasing high balls. Pinged for running under France fullback Thomas Ramos twice, with the second occurrence seeing him sent to the bin in the 58th minute.
15. Beauden Barrett – 6
His trademark kick-pass delivered the All Blacks their first try off the night. A wide cut-out ball drifted forward, handing France a scrum in a strong attacking position. Found some good distance with a couple of nice spiral clearances.
Rugby World Cup
Pool A
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
France
1
1
0
0
4
2
Italy
0
0
0
0
0
3
Namibia
0
0
0
0
0
4
Uruguay
0
0
0
0
0
5
New Zealand
1
0
1
0
0
Pool B
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Ireland
0
0
0
0
0
2
Romania
0
0
0
0
0
3
Scotland
0
0
0
0
0
4
South Africa
0
0
0
0
0
5
Tonga
0
0
0
0
0
Pool C
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Australia
0
0
0
0
0
2
Fiji
0
0
0
0
0
3
Georgia
0
0
0
0
0
4
Portugal
0
0
0
0
0
5
Wales
0
0
0
0
0
Pool D
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Argentina
0
0
0
0
0
2
Chile
0
0
0
0
0
3
England
0
0
0
0
0
4
Japan
0
0
0
0
0
5
Samoa
0
0
0
0
0
Reserves:
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
On in 57th minute. Hit his lineouts and tried to generate some go forward – though not to any massive effect. Copped a penalty for going off his feet at the breakdown.
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 4
On in 53rd minute. Penalised for collapsing a maul and offered little in open play.
18. Fletcher Newell – 6
On in 53rd minute. Busied himself on defence. Pinged for not rolling away.
19. Brodie Retallick – N/A
On in 69th minute. Joined the bench late due to the Sam Cane injury.
20. Luke Jacobson – 7
On in 57th minute. Made a couple of nice carries and threw some short useful short passes. Probably a better starting option than the man he replaced.
21. Finlay Christie – 5
On in 63rd minute. Wasn’t able to add any zip to the All Blacks’ attack – quite the opposite, really.
22. David Havili – 6
On in 63rd minute. Showed off his best asset with a nice kick-pass to Telea.
23. Leicester Fainga’anuku – N/A
On in 72nd minute.
Comments on RugbyPass
“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
37 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
5 Go to comments