All Blacks player ratings vs Ireland | 1st Test July 2022
For the first time since 2012, Ireland touched down in New Zealand to search for a first-ever victory away from home against the All Blacks.
Three wins from the previous five encounters ensured Ireland entered the match with as much confidence as they could ever hope for on a dry track at the All Blacks’ Eden Park fortress.
The visitors started the stronger side on the night, scoring the first try of the game but it didn’t take long for the All Blacks to respond through Jordie Barrett – and then pick up three more tries in the opening half. Ireland showed some starch in the second half, but they ultimately could wrangle back a rampant All Blacks side, with the game finishing 42-19 in New Zealand’s favour.
How did the winners rate on the night?
1. George Bower – 7.5
Part of a strong pack that generally had the better of their opposition – both at the scrum and the maul. Industrious on defence and a regular carrier of the ball. Penalised for not rolling away at the tackle in the 43rd minute, handing Ireland a five-metre lineout; they scored moments later.
2. Codie Taylor – 6
Generally accurate at lineout time and looked sharp with the ball in hand. Pinged for some offside defending to kick off the second half. Showed good awareness to grab a loose ball at the back of an Ireland lineout. Off in 55th minute.
3. Ofa Tuungafasi – 7
Had a ding-dong battle with Andrew Porter at scrum time but drew first and second blood in the penalty stakes. Smashed Tadgh Furlong in the 33rd minute, turning the ball over when Ireland were building some momentum on attack. Off in 55th minute.
4. Brodie Retallick – 6.5
Built into his work and never shied away from hitting breakdowns or ball-runners. Got his hands on an Irish lineout early in the third quarter to force a turnover as his final act of the game. Was the All Blacks’ busiest defender in his time on the park. Off in 63rd minute.
5. Sam Whitelock – 8
An excellent showing in the game that saw him become the second most-capped All Black of all time. Made one integral breakdown clear-out in the 19th minute to ensure the All Blacks maintained possession. Often showed some nice hands as one of the link forwards in the backline – including in the lead-up to NZ’s first try. Was absurdly penalised for diving on the ball when it was still emerging from the ruck at one point, despite it being clearly well out of the breakdown already. Grabbed a breakdown turnover in the 67th minute and put pressure on the Irish lineout.
6. Scott Barrett – 7
Much of the pre-game talk surrounded Barrett’s selection on the blindside flank but it was a non-event, with the regular lock looking at home in the No 6 jersey. A nice moment early in the game saw Jordie Barrett carry the ball into the tackle with brothers Scott and Beauden clearing out the Irish forwards at the subsequent breakdown. Made one great chop tackle on Robbie Henshaw when Ireland were looking likely early doors. Copped a couple of penalties but topped the tackle charts for New Zealand.
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7. Sam Cane – 6
Made a couple of errors in the opening 10 minutes, kicking the ball forward at a breakdown and knocking on in the open field. Was the crucial first man to the breakdown when Leicester Fainga’nuku broke down the left-hand flank and was usually on hand to secure ruck ball. Off in 67th minute.
8. Ardie Savea – 8
Dynamic. Followed up Aaron Smith’s sneaky break to score the All Blacks’ third try and then created and scored another with an outstanding run, stepping outside of Garry Ringrose and then bursting down the field for the five-pointer. Shifted to the blindside in the final quarter and also took over as captain once Cane departed. Didn’t shirk his defensive duties and reinforced his spot in the starting line-up.
9. Aaron Smith – 7.5
2 assists. An untidy first five minutes saw Smith knock the ball on at the base of one ruck and then cop a penalty at another for picking up a loose ball from an offside position. From that point on, however, Smith was all class. Threw a bullet pass for Jordie Barrett to grab NZ’s first try then a brilliant break, chip and chase from the ruck shortly before halftime created Savea’s try. Off in 60th minute.
10. Beauden Barrett – 7
Safe at first five, created a few chances for his teammates. Snuffed out a possible Ireland try with an excellently taken intercept while operating as the last defender then showed plenty of poise moments later to defuse another skirmish. Combined with Seve Reece in the 28th minute to bundle the ball-carrier into touch and shut down another Ireland attack. Put in an expertly weighted grubber kick to set up his team’s third score of the night. Some less than exceptional kicking – but that seems to be part of the All Blacks’ playbook.
11. Leicester Fainga’anuku – 6
Showed some good aerial skills in the formative stages of the match to win his team some possession. The first time he got both mitts on the ball, he was required to clear the ball from the All Blacks’ in-goal – and didn’t disappoint. Made a bollocking first run down the left wing to give NZ all the momentum and territory they needed for try numero uno. Certainly didn’t look out of place in test rugby without setting the world alight.
12. Quinn Tupaea – 7.5
Featured prominently in the first half but had less to do in the second. A good counter-ruck at the first breakdown almost earned his side some early possession and it was his effort in the 34th minute that did finally reap rewards at the breakdown for NZ. Showed nice hands to set up Fainga’anuku’s run en route to the All Blacks’ first try and then displayed perfect poise to pick up a Barrett grubber for the third. Will be generally very pleased with his display. Off in 60th minute.
13. Rieko Ioane – 6
Built slowly into the match. Had a few touches in the first half but had to be content with his teammates making the big plays. Prevented two almost certain tries towards the end of the third quarter with some brilliant instinctive defending. Off in 67th minute.
14. Sevu Reece – 8.5
Dangerous whenever he touched the ball. Somehow managed to temporarily hold out an early Ireland score with a wrap tackle on hooker Dan Sheehan. Cantered away for a brilliantly-taken try when the ball went to ground inside the All Blacks’ 22. Penalised for a knock forward but finished as the busiest tackler in the backline as well as clocking up the most run-metres.
15. Jordie Barrett – 6.5
Barrelled over the line for the All Blacks’ first try. Bit in on James Lowe, leaving Ringrose unmarked on the outer edges for Ireland’s second score, and was then pinged at the very next kick-off for getting stuck in the breakdown. Nailed all six of his conversion attempts.
Reserves:
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 7
On in 55th minute. Carried with vigour – as was expected – but also got through plenty of work on defence, notching 13 tackles. Lost the ball with one carry.
17. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 6
On in 60th minute. Scrum dominance remained when the All Blacks brought their reserve props into the mix. Handed an outrageous yellow card for not rolling away from the breakdown – despite being nowhere near it.
18. Angus Ta’avao – 6.5
On in 55th minute. Matched Tuungafasi’s early efforts at the scrum.
19. Pita Gus Sowakula – 7
On in 63rd minute. Knocked the ball on with his first touch but got over the line from the back of a dominant scrum to mark a memorable debut. Grabbed one lineout steal.
20. Dalton Papalii – N/A
On in 67th minute.
21. Finlay Christie – 6
On in 60th minute. Kept the flow of the game going.
22. Richie Mo’unga
On in 60th minute. Missed touch with his first penalty kick to the sidelines.
23. Braydon Ennor – N/A
On in 67th minute.
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“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.
38 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…
2 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 …
34 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 comments