All Blacks player ratings vs Stormers | Rugby's Greatest Rivalry 2026

A historic tour kicked off in the Western Cape with a rare showdown between a Stormers outfit looking to make the most of the occasion and an All Blacks side building towards four Tests with their famed rivals, the Springboks.

It was too tight to call until the 66th minute, when Rieko Ioane got the visitors’ noses in front, and the tries came in a hurry from there. Soon, 14-all became 38-21, and New Zealand paved over an unconvincing start to the match with a flurry of points.

Here’s how New Zealand rated.

1. George Bower – 5/10
The prop had some heavy collisions early, winning contact with some big Stormers bodies and ending his shift without a missed tackle to his name. Bower’s work at scrum time was unconvincing.

2. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
Taukei’aho had some decent carries without providing the power he’s capable of, and scored the opening try of the tour at the back of a rolling maul. Had a forward pass when his team was in striking distance in the second half, but threw well at lineout time.

3. Pasilio Tosi – 4
Tosi had a rough go of it at scrum time in Cape Town, penalised three times in the first half alone. The big prop lent his weight to collisions without dominating, completing all eight of his tackles.

4. Fabian Holland – 7.5
The All Blacks didn’t compete much defensively at lineout time during the July Tests, but Holland returned to the lineup and changed that trend in a hurry, almost coming down with the Stormers’ first ball before claiming two steals before the opening half was done. The latter of the two steals came with his side under pressure, backed into their own 22 in the 30th minute. In addition to his set-piece work, the big Dutchman was back like he never left when it came to his work rate around the park, and his physicality stood up well, clearly comfortably past his shoulder issue.

5. Patrick Tuipulotu – 6

The captain’s performance was more in line with what we saw from him after returning from injury late for the Blues in Super Rugby than what we saw from him against Ireland, unfortunately. He looked a little slow when play sped up and wasn’t able to inflict his physical presence on the game on either side of the ball.

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Avg. Points Scored

2.1

10

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Avg. Points Scored

4.2

9

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6. Simon Parker – 5
An ill-disciplined start to the tour for Parker, who missed selection in the July Tests and was eager to put his best foot forward in Cape Town. His yellow card in the 14th minute came after his second illegal attempt to stop the Stormers’ lineout maul in addition to his team’s continued penalties. The flanker made amends by scoring the all-important try just shy of halftime with the strength to finish through contact and stay infield, while his physicality fared well in phase play.

7. Anton Segner – 7.5
The rookie made two early statements in the game, lifting the player in the air in his first tackle and making another big hit a minute later. There were some clunky moments, like when he got in the way of Leroy Carter’s high ball contest and passed the ball to the sideline at the end of the first half, but Segner was quick to breakdowns, even after breaks, and showed a real knack for getting over the gainline with a big work rate on attack. Off after 58 minutes.

8. Peter Lakai – 8
A classy performance from the flanker, who got busy early and stayed busy throughout his 80 minutes. Lakai had a great line for his early break, with a dozen tackles to his name by night’s end. The 23-year-old was strong at breakdown time on both sides of the ball, coming up with a timely steal when his team were building momentum late, and tackled all day without any sign of fatigue. Stepped his way into another linebreak in the 71st minute that set up Leroy Carter’s try.

9. Cortez Ratima – 6
It was one of those games where the attacking intent from the All Blacks’ game-drivers wasn’t complemented by the ability to generate consistent momentum. There were plenty of quick-taps and moments where Ratima played as if the All Blacks were on the front foot, only for more stagnant attack that lacked direction. The halfback had his moments, providing a strong fend to break free soon after his team’s first try and some more darting snipes in the first half.

10. Beauden Barrett – 4
This wasn’t the performance Beauden Barrett needed, with the All Blacks’ big spree coming after the veteran left the field in the 68th minute. Barrett was very unconvincing under the high ball, awkwardly not even getting airborne for one contest in the 30th minute. There were some overly-optimistic chip kicks that didn’t pan out, and some more shaky moments inside his own 22 when looking to exit with the ball rather than kick. A short kick-off to begin the second half, a penalty for unnecessary contact with a player competing in the air, and a knock-on in the 60th minute all made matters worse. The positives are that he was 3/3 off the tee and created an early opportunity for himself that he almost finished.

11. Rieko Ioane – 6
Ioane got involved early with some nice touches, although he was shown the sideline with his third effort. Failed to bring Deon Fourie down in the ninth minute, allowing the veteran flanker to charge 15 metres. Lost an aerial battle that almost led to the Stormers’ first try and was unconvincing in that contest throughout. Moved to centre early in the second half and got his team rolling with an opportunistic pick-and-go in the 66th minute.

12. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7
Yellow-carded in the 12th minute, but otherwise a robust, hard-nosed performance from Lienert-Brown. His many carries were direct and frequently got over the gain line, with a searing break early in the second half the highlight. Defensively, the midfielder had an appetite for work, although his efforts around the breakdown weren’t as strong as some of his midfield counterparts with whom he is competing for minutes.

13. Billy Proctor – 7
Proctor was disruptive defensively from the outset, unlucky that his numerous early steals came while the Stormers were playing under advantage. His fumbled try-scoring opportunity in the 27th minute was one of three lost turnovers in the game, and he left the field after 45 minutes with an apparent shoulder injury.

14. Leroy Carter – 7

A typically robust effort from the former All Blacks Sevens flyer, who looked to make his presence felt whenever the ball was near. Carter won a great breakdown penalty in the 51st minute after the Stormers break, and finished a try superbly in the 71st minute.

15. Josh Moorby – 5

A very quiet game from the fullback until his late try, which was well-taken. Moorby tried to create overlaps on a couple of occasions but couldn’t execute clean offloads and was shown a late yellow card.

Reserves – 8

Siale Lauaki’s first scrum as an All Black didn’t go the way he would have liked, and he got rocked in the 60th minute, spilling the ball. Luckily, fellow reserve Sam Darry had the wheels to recover. Caleb Clarke, Josh Jacomb and Asafo Aumua all added real punch off the bench, lifting their team to a flattering scoreline.