All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks | Rugby Championship
Who would have called it? A century of storied history culminating in the 100th test match between South Africa and New Zealand…….in Townsville.
A steamy 24 degrees greeted the combatants, one late change with Luke Jacobson succumbing to a stomach complaint, Ethan Blackadder slotting in to the 7 jersey, Ardie Savea moving to 8 and Hoskins Sotutu on the bench.
It was very much the tortoise vs the hare in terms of the pace of play, where the All Blacks tried to play with velocity but the Boks were in molasses crawling to line outs, taking injury knees to slow the tempo.
After a flurry of tries in the first five minutes it turned into trench warfare with tough defence forcing many errors. Jordie Barrett was the hero with a 45 metre penalty with minutes remaining that saw the All Blacks take it out 19-17.
Here’re the All Black’s ratings.
1. Joe Moody – 6
Seemed to have the wood on Malherbe in what looked like a ZZ Top convention on that side of the scrum. However the well coiffed ref Luke Pearce decided against him a couple of times. Only attributed with one tackle which is poor. Off at 57.
2. Codie Taylor – 6.5
He’s back in form with the ball in hand however suffered from some errant line out throwing. Started the test showing some prowess on the right flank, cleaning up a wayward pass from Beaudy and straightening brilliantly for the Jordan try. Off at 63.
3. Nepo Laulala – 7
Carried his heart out in midfield and some real muscle in the collision zone. Had the measure of Nyakane and coped with the fresh legs of Kitshoff until he was subbed at 57 minutes.
4. Brodie Retallick – 6
Had to bury his head more than usual and didn’t shirk in contact. Silly blocking penalty in the 11th minute to give the Boks three points. A good line out steal in the 21st minute but he will want to lift at lineout time next week, the All Blacks were nullified with 4 steals from the African tall timber and being dominated from line out mauls.
5. Scott Barrett – 6.5
Loves these games and relishes the physicality. Had a good gallop up the middle first half and ended up with 29 metres with 4 carries. Lost a crucial line out on attack in 39th minute which could have been costly. His highlight for me was three muscular runs at 58 minutes giving some real go forward in midfield. Off at 64.
6. Akira Ioane – 4.5
Very poor and not in the zone in the first half. His only contributions were 2 dropped balls at 30 and 39 and one paltry carry at 36. Probably got a rev up at halftime and looked to get his hands on the ball more. Big tackle on de Jager in the 56th minute and off at 69. Will be lucky to retain his spot next week.
7. Ethan Blackadder – 9
Thrown in to the starting lineup he made every post a winner right from his first carry and determined turnover in the 8th minute. Great source of line out ball at the front, top tackler in the match and leading mauls. There’s a real old school vibe in the irrepressible way he plays. Tupaea was feted with the match-winning turnover but look who made the aggressive tackle! Yes, Blackadder again.
8. Ardie Savea © – 6
Splendid charge in the 13th but needs to work on ball carrying at 8. Focussed on defence though with reasonable numbers.
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9. TJ Perenara – 5
An erratic performance coming off a run of good form. A couple of times just too hurried snatching at the ball and some below average passing, the worst the awful fling to Havili in the 64th minute, and subbed a minute later.
10. Beauden Barrett – 6
Looked frenetic early with some ugly passes and scuffed kicks. With the rush defence in his face and some slow service he found it difficult to distribute to his midfield.
11. George Bridge – 5
I urge you to watch the game video at 4’44” on the clock. Bridge went up and won an attacking kick off Vermeulen and the bulky number 8 “accidentally” landed his knee on Bridge’s head. That’s something that is not spoken about with the Springbok kicking plan, they often put the catcher through the thresher. A minute later he made a meal of a high ball from de Klerk to gift a five-pointer for Nkosi, continued dropping them in the 26th and 54th minute. Had some decent running meres; 55 of 9 carries. Off at 74.
12. David Havili – 6.5
Was looking good early with some good options, first up a nice kick into space and a looping pass outside to space. One deficiency he needs to work on at 12 is busting the tackle, and de Allende enjoyed smashing him.
13. Rieko Ioane – 5
Nice quick pass at 30 on attack but suffered from the misfiring backline. We didn’t see the much-vaunted ball carrying as the Springboks blocked passing lines expertly.
14. Will Jordan – 6
Can sniff a try chance and was Willy on the spot for the first try off the shoulder of Taylor for his 12th try in 9th tests. Top metres for the champions but looked rattled at times, in the 18th spilling the ball and a wayward pass in the 54th. Off at 57.
15. Jordie Barrett – 9.5
Apart from a muffed early kick he was outstanding with quick restarts, straight running and solid under the high balls and immaculate place kicking. He’s made for these wars both corporeally and mentally and for me has sealed the 15 jersey for big games.
The All Blacks have clinched the 2021 Rugby Championship title and reclaimed the Freedom Cup with a tense 19-17 victory over the Springboks in Townsville. #NZLvRSA100 #AllBlacks #Springboks #RugbyChampionship #TRC2021 https://t.co/uMoOfwXCw6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 25, 2021
Reserves:
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
On at 63. Same refrain as most Samisoni games; oozes toughness and strength but the line out throwing is a tough one.
17. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 5
On at 57. Looked a bit lost sometimes around the fringes. Was penalised scrum time at 71 minutes failing to deal with a rampant Koch.
18. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 4
On at 57. Struggled to make a good impact. Penalised for a decent first scrum where he was turned in by Kitshoff, collapsed a maul minutes later and was turned over at 74 while on attack.
19. Patrick Tuipulotu – 6
On at 64. Mixed it well in the zone, a huge tackle at 74 minutes.
20. Hoskins Sotutu – 5.5
On at 69. Good toe ahead at 73 that got NZ into an attacking position.
21. Brad Weber – 7
On at 64. Great run at 74 and played with urgency and pace. May very well get a shot next week and will be urged to get in the face of Faf.
22. Damian McKenzie – 5.5
On at 57 and showed why he can’t start against the South Africans, at least not in the backfield. Looked likely at times with his stepping in tight spaces though.
23. Quinn Tupaea – 5.5
On at 74 and had a mixed 6 minutes. He starkly missed a tackle on van Staden but a tasty turnover at 76 that ultimately won the game. Big play and maybe a good man to bring in for go forward in midfield.
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
6 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
6 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 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.
54 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.
6 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
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 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
54 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.
54 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.
18 Go to comments