All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks | The Rugby Championship
The All Blacks travelled to South Africa with one task on the agenda – righting the ship that had veered so seriously off-course in their two most recent matches with Ireland.
From the outset in Mbombela, however, the Springboks’ had the upper hand. Their first try came in just the eighth minute and they remained at least seven points clear of their opposition throughout the remainder of the game.
A late try to Shannon Frizell helped restore some respect to the scoreline for the All Blacks, which had ballooned out to 19-3 in the Springboks’ favour, but the home side managed to score with time effectively up on the clock, ultimately securing them a comfortable 26-10 victory.
How did the All Blacks rate in defeat?
1. George Bower – 4/10
Industrious on defence, topping the tackle chart for the All Blacks. Didn’t feature with ball in hand. Copped one penalty at scrumtime but otherwise appeared to have parity with his opposites. Off in 63rd minute.
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 7
The pick of the All Blacks. The All Blacks’ strongest carrier in the first half, typically taking two or three defenders to bring him to ground. Free-kicked at the first scrum but nailed all his lineouts in a high-pressure environment and generally justified his selection in the No 2 jersey. Off in 56th minute.
3. Angus Ta’avao – 3.5
Pinged at the first Springboks scrum and again late in the first half but got one back of his own right before the halftime break. Tried to get himself involved on attack with some short passes. Wasn’t quite the disaster some had predicted but didn’t exactly hold his own either. Off in 48th minute.
4. Sam Whitelock – 5.5
Tackled fiercely and was mighty at lineout time against some very good operators. No longer offers much with the ball in hand but the fact that New Zealand were able to retain their own ball at the lineout gave them some semblance of hope of putting up a fight when not a lot went their way.
5. Scott Barrett – 5
Won a good turnover when the Boks were attacking early in the second half. Otherwise carried strongly but like his teammates, struggled to assert himself against the more powerful Springboks forwards. Carried Off in 73rd minute.
6. Akira Ioane – 4.5
Made some good carries and hit rucks but his night will be remembered for that awful in-field pass that drifted well forward when the All Blacks were on the counter-attack. Off in 56th minute.
7. Sam Cane – 5
Made a great tackle on Malolm Marx to force a knock-on at halfway. Pinged once for going off his feet while attempting a steal. Generally struggled to offer much at breakdown time.
8. Ardie Savea – 6.5
Secured a defensive breakdown penalty when the Springboks were hot on attack inside the 22 and always looked to get the ball in his hands but couldn’t quite replicate his destructive feats from prior games. Threw a great short ball to Will Jordan to create a linebreak.
9. Aaron Smith – 5
Struggled to ignite his backline but had to deal with some turgid, sloppy ball. Off in 70th minute.
10. Beauden Barrett – 5.5
Regularly took on the line. Couldn’t take a high bomb early doors, with the Springboks pouncing on the error to score their first try of the match. Sparked a brilliant counter-attack from inside his own goal after managing to prevent a 50-22, with the All Blacks bringing the ball back to halfway. Taken off for an HIA in the final minutes after a terrible aerial challenge from Kurt-Lee Arendse.
11. Caleb Clarke – 5
Quiet in the first half but the ball came his way more in the second. Threw himself into half-gaps but was never quite able to break through the defence.
12. David Havili – 4
Couldn’t make any impact as a ball-carrier and struggled to create opportunities for the men outside him. Dropped one ball late when the All Blacks were starting to put some phases together, and South Africa almost managed to capitalise. Tackled stoutly but simply not the answer in the No 12 jersey.
13. Rieko Ioane – 4
Didn’t offer any incisiveness in the midfield but the ball rarely came his way. Off in 64th minute. Returned with time almost up in place of Beauden Barrett.
14. Will Jordan – 4
Kicked the ball out on the full with his first touch of the game – in the 42nd minute. Ran a great line off Savea – which seems to be becoming a specialty of the combo – to get the All Blacks out of trouble from deep inside their own half.
15. Jordie Barrett – 5.5
Made a great covering tackle on Makazole Mapimpi to prevent what looked a likely try in the first five minutes. Was taken out Sam Cane when he was going for a high ball and didn’t look right for the rest of his time on the field. Off in 53rd minute.
Reserves:
16. Dane Coles – 2
On in 56th minute. A horror run off the bench for the experienced head. Couldn’t find his target with his first lineout delivery and then knocked the ball on with his first carry. His third lineout throw also wasn’t straight. Stymied any attempts from the All Blacks at building momentum.
17. Ethan de Groot
On in 63rd minute.
18. Tyrel Lomax
On in 48th minute. Pinged immediately for illegal scrummaging but came right afterwards.
19. Tupou Vaa’i – N/A
On in 73rd minute.
20. Shannon Frizell – 4.5
On in 56th minute. Made one big tackle with his first act of the game and had a strong 10-second burst where he threw off a would-be tackle and then got up in support of Clarke’s run to grab a well-taken try. Moments later, dropped a ball and the Springboks kicked through to score the final blow of the game.
21. Finlay Christie – N/A
On in 70th minute.
22. Richie Mo’unga – 6.5
On in 53rd minute. Sniped a few gaps and looked full of vigour. One brilliant chasing tackle prevented a sure try. Nailed a sideline conversion to ensure the All Blacks didn’t fall to their worst-ever defeat at the hands of the Springboks.
23. Quinn Tupaea – 5
On in 64th minute. Entered the game in the centre role – the first time he’s played in the position for the All Blacks.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar 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.
9 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.
35 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.
2 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
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 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
35 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.
35 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.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to comments