All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks | Rugby World Cup 2023
Despite plenty of industry and effort, the All Blacks have fallen to a gut-wrenching 12-11 defeat at the hands of the Springboks in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
The big moment came just before the half-hour mark, when captain Sam Cane was sin-binned for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel. An off-field red card was soon issued for Cane, and the All Blacks had to front with just 14 men for the remainder of the match.
How did the All Blacks rate in defeat?
1. Ethan de Groot – 7/10
Had no issues contending with Frans Malherbe at the scrum and got stuck into plenty of rucks. Busy on the carry early in the game. Penalised once for obstructing the breakdown. A bit lackadaisical as a breakdown clearer when the All Blacks were setting up for a clearance inside their 22, with South Africa forcing a penalty. Off in 66th minute.
2. Codie Taylor – 7
Had a few issues with his lineout deliveries in the middle of the the first half but was otherwise on the money. Made one big hit on Damian Willemse, sending the South African fullback sliding into touch. Made some good metres in the wide channels. The All Blacks’ top tackler. Off in 66th minute.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 7
Off in 66th minute. Had to cover some big metres to fill a few gaps on defence. Held up his side of the scrum well and kept himself busy around the park.
4. Brodie Retallick – 9
Put in an absolutely monumental shift in his final game for New Zealand. A pillar of reliability in the lineouts, making plenty of takes for the All Blacks and grabbing three steals off Springboks ball. Off in 71st minute.
5. Scott Barrett – 7
Carried hard, defended resolutely and was the All Blacks’ busiest player at the lineout. Managed one steal off South African ball.
6. Shannon Frizell – 5
Sin-binned early for poor technique at the ruck. Made a strong run down the left-hand flank upon his return to the fray. Didn’t reach the highs of some of his recent performances. Off in 55th minute.
7. Sam Cane – 2
Combined well with Ardie Savea for one big hit on defence. Red-carded for a high tackle when the Springboks were under pressure inside their 22 towards the end of the first half. A gut-wrenching finish to the World Cup cycle for the All Blacks captain.
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8. Ardie Savea – 8
A big game from the stand-in captain – but not quite big enough. Made a strong carry to get the All Blacks back on the offensive from inside their 22 early in the match. Needed to show a bit more urgency when Jordie Barrett popped the ball over the top of the Springboks line, letting the ball bounce and letting the opportunity go amiss. Was unluckily penalised moments later for a what Wayne Barnes ruled an illegal steal attempt. Charged down one Handre Pollard drop goal attempt.
9. Aaron Smith – 7
Mixed up the flow of the game well for the All Blacks. Made a couple of crucial tackles – often against bigger men. Wasn’t the send-off he would have been hoping for, but he certainly didn’t let his teammates down. Off in 66th minute.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 7
Absolutely clobbered by Eben Etzebeth in the first minutes of the match. Had to contend with countless high balls throughout the opening exchanges and generally dealt with them well. Dropped the ball when the All Blacks were preparing to mount an attack. Looked to have set up an incredible try with a brilliant jinking run, only for the play to be called back for a knock-on. Off in 75th minute.
11. Mark Tele’a – 8
As always, looked dangerous whenever he had his hands on the ball. Didn’t get much room to move in the first half but still made some nice half-breaks. Stole the ball from Kurt Lee-Arendse’s grasp off a high kick. Skipped around some defenders out wide and freed up the ball for Beauden Barrett to grab a try. Finished with 13 carries – the most of any player on the pitch.
12. Jordie Barrett – 7
Carted up the ball when necessary, behind only Tele’a and Savea on the carry stats – and made some important takes under the high ball. Caught in two minds in the midfield on one occasion, knocking the ball on when the tackle eventually (and inevitably) came. As in the quarter-final, managed to hold up the ball to prevent what looked like a certain try. Couldn’t land a long-distance penalty with seven left to play which would have given his side the lead then threw a forward pass the next time he got his hands on the ball.
13. Rieko Ioane – 6
Kept fairly quiet by the Springboks defence but slowly grew in prominence as the game wore on. Didn’t quite have the gas to get around Cheslin Kolbe for what would have been the opening try of the match – but did a pretty good job to get close. Generally coped well with the Springboks’ man advantage when Jordie Barrett had to join the scrums.
14. Will Jordan – 3
Looked nervous at times and was indecisive with the ball. Had a couple of handling yips. Stripped by Kwagga Smith. Was asked to do a decent amount of defending out on the wing. Off in 71st minute.
15. Beauden Barrett – 6
Did some excellent work on defence in the first 40, mopping up some loose ball in the red zone. Kicked one ball dead from inside NZ’s half. Fluffed the first two high balls in the second spell and was too casual after a Springboks kick through, presenting the Springboks with two golden opportunities on attack. Scored New Zealand’s first try of the match – and the first South Africa have ever conceded in a World Cup final after picking up the ball of his boot laces out wide.
Reserves:
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
On in 66th minute. Needed to be on the park about 10 minutes earlier. Didn’t see too much ball in his time on the field but hit his targets at the lineout.
17. Tamaiti Williams – 7
On in 66th minute. Strong at the set-piece, justifying his selection in the squad for the final, and made a couple of good carries.
18. Nepo Laulala – 6
On in 66th minute. Did what he was asked at the scrum but it was never especially prosperous for the All Blacks when the ball found its way into his hands.
19. Sam Whitelock – 5
On in 55th minute. Hit plenty of breakdowns. Always a warrior on defence, and will go down as a legend in New Zealand – but it wasn’t a defender the All Blacks needed in the final 20.
20. Dalton Papali’i – N/A
On in 71st minute. Made one nice break.
21. Finlay Christie – 7
On in 66th minute. A slow first couple of minutes but looked good in the final 10, getting to the ball quickly and sending it on to his teammates without too much hesitation.
22. Damian McKenzie – N/A
On in 75th minute. Added some impressive spark in his five minutes on the field – perhaps should have entered the game earlier.
23. Anton Lienert-Brown – N/A
On in 71st minute. Waited too late to make a pass off an All Blacks attack, with Kolbe batting the ball out of the air. The All Blacks were given a penalty but a linebreak was beckoning. Knocked the ball on after a Savea fumble to end NZ’s chances.
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