All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series
While the All Blacks boasted too much firepower throughout their line-up for Italy to hold off the inevitable tide of tries, it took a second-string New Zealand side almost 30 minutes to score their first.
The game was characterised by endless handing errors and mistakes from the men in black – some the product of sensible tactics from the Azzurri and some impressive line speed, but the majority unforced.
Come the 80th minute, the All Blacks had built a 47-9 scoreline but the side didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory.
Here’s how the players rated:
1. George Bower – 6/10
Off in 52nd minute. Helped the All Blacks build ascendancy in the set-piece early, which carried on throughout the match. A fair showing in his first start since mid-August.
2. Dane Coles – 7
A reliable display in his starting return from injury. Scored two tries, one at the back of a dominant NZ maul, one a sneaky breakaway from a similar set-up. Industrious throughout and managed to get a few off-the-ball shoves in throughout the match. Off in 52nd minute.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 6.5
A dominant showing at scrumtime and a willing carrier early on in the piece. Off in 52nd minute.
4. Tupou Vaa’i – 4.5
2/2 lineouts. Tried very hard to get involved on attack and made the most carries of any player on the field (as well has a handful of passes) but didn’t treasure possession and either dropped the ball or threw it away on a handful of occasions.
5. Josh Lord – 5
Managed to get some good minutes under his belt and will be better for it. Copped a few penalties for holding on at the breakdown but that’s as much the fault of the men around him. One lineout steal at the end of the third quarter. Off in 61st minute.
6. Luke Jacobson – 4.5
Penalised for offside but then promptly stole the ensuing Italian lineout. A relatively quiet game from the utility loose forward who would have been hoping to force his way into the top side. Off in 52nd minute.
BOK NIGHTMARE: Something tells us they might get a hotel outside of Cardiff city centre next time round. #WALvRSA #autumnnationseries #springbokshttps://t.co/4tMdc8usb7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 6, 2021
7. Sam Cane – 6.5
Quickly found his groove, earning the All Blacks a penalty at the breakdown just a few minutes into the match. Did the same (twice) with just a couple of minutes remaining in the game. Was unsurprisingly the All Blacks’ top tackler.
8. Hoskins Sotutu – 6
Made a good lineout steal early and caused a few issues at the breakdown for the Azzurri. Came to life in the final half hour when Italy tired.
9. Brad Weber – N/A
Left the field after just nine minutes.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 7
Didn’t set the world alight at any stages but also didn’t fall into the same traps as his teammates. Comfortably the most composed and calm All Black on the field. Was the architect of a number of late tries, even if he didn’t throw the final pass.
11. George Bridge – 4
Another quiet game from Bridge, who was again employed more as a creator of line breaks than an incisive runner. Probably bottom of the ladder in the All Blacks’ wing pecking order.
12. Quinn Tupaea – 5.5
Overplayed his hand at times and didn’t seem to sync up too well with midfield partner Braydon Ennor. Looked good when he tucked the ball and ran at the Italian defence.
13. Braydon Ennor – 3
Made a couple of errors early on in quick succession, a forward pass and two knock-ons. Italy’s rush defence made it difficult for Ennor to find anywhere near as much space as he had against the Eagles. Off in 58th minute.
14. Sevu Reece – 5.5
Some dicey play under pressure inside the All Blacks 22 handed Italy a feed to the scrum in the first quarter. Dipped and dived throughout the game but it wasn’t until late in the piece that he was able to cut loose and score a try, injuring himself in the process. Off in 67th minute.
15. Damian McKenzie – 3
Couldn’t catch a ball to save himself early on. Was well contained by Minozzi from a high ball and conceded the penalty for holding on. A performance to forget, and one that won’t have upset the fullback pecking order.
If Quinn Tupaea is even a slim chance at starting the All Blacks' final two tests of their 2021 campaign, the young midfielder will need to put in a big performance against the Azzurri this weekend. #AllBlacks #ITAvNZL
?? @TomVinicombehttps://t.co/dF372lDKX6
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) November 6, 2021
Reserves:
16. Asafo Aumua – 6
On in 52nd minute. Replicated his senior teammate’s tries from earlier in the match, breaking away from the maul in the 70th minute to nab an easy score and then burrowed over from a lineout drive.
17. Ethan de Groot – 5.5
On in 52nd minute. Maintained the standards at the scrum and nabbed a turnover.
18. Ofa Tuungafasi – 6
On in 52nd minute. Solid all round. Made a nice carry and offload around the ruck in the 63rd minute to set Christie and Reece free for the latter’s try.
19. Sam Whitelock – 5
On in 61st minute. Didn’t get too involved – not that he needed to, after all the work had already been done.
20. Shannon Frizell – 4.5
On in 52nd minute. Nabbed a turnover but didn’t feature much elsewhere.
21. Finlay Christie – 8
On in 9th minute. Snaffled a sneaky try to get the All Blacks on the scoreboard, then managed to leap over Matteo Minozzi to claim a well-taken high ball. Ran a great line off Tuungafasi and threw the final pass for Reece’s try. Curiously, the best All Blacks under the high ball.
22. David Havili – 7.5
On in 58th minute. The backline looked much more functional upon his arrival and linked up nicely at various stages with Crusaders teammate Mo’unga.
23. Jordie Barrett – N/A
On in 67th minute.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 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
1 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 Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments