All Blacks player ratings vs Wallabies | 2026 Bledisloe I

In the wake of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry came the latest attempt at storming rugby’s greatest fortress, and no rival is more familiar with the four corners of Eden Park’s hallowed turf than the Wallabies.

The old foes went toe to toe in the opening quarter before the All Blacks started to pull away on the scoreboard, eventually reaching 50 points while the visitors managed only 19. The breakdown efficiency and high ball work took huge strides from New Zealand’s last outing, with the stars shining for Dave Rennie.

Here’s how they rated.

1. Ethan de Groot – 8/10
One of the highest IQ moments from the Test was when the Wallabies were winding down the clock at the end of the first half, and the All Blacks wouldn’t let them set a ruck inside their own 22, with De Groot even faking a tackle that sent Rob Valetini crashing over the 22 line.

The big prop had just three carries but made the most of them, sending defenders backwards with the collisions. The scrum was largely a non-event as it barely budged all night.

2. Codie Taylor – 8
The stand-in captain has had one of his more inconsistent seasons in the black jersey to date, with uncharacteristic discipline issues in patches and the Kiwi set piece under huge pressure. However, with the captain’s armband on in Auckland, Taylor needed to be a standard-setter.

The hooker was the last to turn after standing at the front of a stirring haka and didn’t miss a tackle in his 55 minutes on the park. A 54th-minute try was superbly taken with dancing footwork, and his lineout throwing was where it was supposed to be, even if the Wallabies read a few plays.

3. Fletcher Newell – 7.5
A quiet showing from the tighthead, who chewed through a respectable number of tackles and kept the scrum steady. His efforts around the breakdown were strong when play was kept tight, and largely hit the mark in more dynamic scenarios.

4. Scott Barrett – 8.5
The last time we saw Barrett in an All Blacks jersey was last November, and he was captain. Returning after a sabbatical and subsequent back injury, the lock’s first touch was a knock-on, and his first lineout call was picked off.

Where you couldn’t fault the big lock, though, was when it came to moving bodies around the ruck. He had some textbook contributions to the All Blacks’ second try of the evening by keeping pace with the linebreaks and ensuring the recycles were on time. This all happened after his linebreak assist to Damian McKenzie. The work rate remained high in an impressive return to the Test arena.

5. Josh Lord – 7
Lord’s height rarely fails to deliver for the All Blacks at lineout time, although other areas of his game were a little shaky. He continues to look a touch outgunned in the physical exchanges and missed a breakdown assignment that allowed Jeremy Williams to win a breakdown penalty in the first half.

A lineout steal in the 57th minute brought his team some front-foot ball in the Australian 22, highlighting what has the potential to become a big strength for a New Zealand team that has had zero defensive lineout presence at times this season.

6. Tupou Vaa’i – 8
Vaa’i has mastered the art of being a nuisance around the breakdown, forcing the opposition to clean him out and still managing to have a stray limb flailing awkwardly into the halfback’s space near the ball. He was a steady presence in the tight work at Eden Park, making his tackles and moving bodies when required to do so. Some big carries in the second half got a rise out of the Eden Park faithful.

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7. Peter Lakai – 8.5
Lakai told RugbyPass last month in Cape Town that his biggest work-on this year has been his jackling, and starting in the black No.7 jersey for the first time without Ardie Savea in the mix, the All Blacks needed that new skill set to shine at Eden Park.

The rising star flanker’s work rate is never questionable, and he again delivered with his involvement in Auckland. His physicality stood up well to the Rob Valetini test, one of the sport’s sternest, and his gas saw him finish New Zealand’s first try of the night.

8. Wallace Sititi – 7.5
It’s been a shaky Test season to say the least for Sititi, but he appeared to settle back into his work on the back end of the Greatest Rivalry series and had the chance in Auckland to stake his claim on the No.8 jersey for the remainder of the year with Ardie Savea sidelined until Super Rugby. 

You could argue he shouldn’t have committed so hard to Rob Valetini in the defensive play that led to Harry Wilson’s try, but the big Wallaby is a threat that demands respect. Sititi led the game in carries with just shy of 20, and while there were a fair few where he was stopped in his tracks, he managed to be a post-tackle presence on a fair few as well.

9. Cam Roigard – 9
Saturday night promised a high-scoring showpiece, and for the All Blacks to set that pace, their star halfback would need to deliver. The back of the ruck didn’t provide Roigard with the cleanest of ball to work with, but the helter-skelter play worked in New Zealand’s favour largely thanks to Roigard’s decision-making.

He held the ball up nicely for Tupou Vaa’i’s try, and scored one of his own early in the second period. The Hurricanes star varied the attack superbly with some clever and well-executed kicks, and showed his intuition when picking moments to take a few steps and draw the defence. His accuracy on an unusually high number of kicks was a huge factor in New Zealand winning the ball back so often.

10. Damian McKenzie – 8
Damian McKenzie hasn’t missed selection for the All Blacks in 37 games straight, and with this latest selection, he slotted back into the No.10 role. A curious question that emerged from the selection was how the All Blacks would use their dynamo: would he follow Ruben Love’s more stationary distribution style, or be free to bring his McKenzie magic to the table? Luckily for All Blacks fans, there was a steady diet of the latter, and he brought plenty of pace to the attack.

11. Leroy Carter – 8
Carter, guilty of two costly missed tackles in his last All Blacks appearance, had a point to prove defensively in Auckland. Perhaps the most loose forward-like winger in the game, the former SVNS star made his presence felt in more than the usual winger areas, popping up across the field to lend his shoulder to the breakdown and cleaning well.

The second half started with a misread that led to an instant Australian breakaway, and Josh Lord outpacing him on the ensuing kick chase didn’t help on the optics side of things. Winning a breakdown penalty five minutes later made amends. From then, Carter decided he’d like to play centre and popped up outside Jordie Barrett on successive phases, contributing to a Will Jordan linebreak. Unfortunately, the winger picked up what looked to be a devastating injury when finishing his 65th-minute try.

12. Jordie Barrett – 9
Barrett began New Zealand’s 2026 Test season in the kind of form that had fans calling for a World Rugby Player of the Year nomination. Those voices faded as the Greatest Rivalry series progressed and the chinks in the All Blacks’ armour were found. Saturday’s Test presented Barrett with a chance to reignite that campaign against another of the world’s premier midfielders, Len Ikitau.

The towering No.12’s defence was felt early, with one tackle taking the Wallabies into touch and another stopping Tom Wright in his tracks. He then climbed above Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to win a contestable kick that set up the All Blacks’ opening try of the game. More superb defence followed, and his decision-making hit the mark as New Zealand’s attack purred under the bright lights of Eden Park.

Barrett finished the night with the most dominant tackles, and the most overall tackles for any Kiwi on the park. Cue the World Player of the Year campaigners.

13. Quinn Tupaea – 8
With an MCL strain in the rear-view, Tupaea lined up against one of the Wallabies’ newcomers in Isaac Henry at Eden Park. There are more and more signs that Tupaea is finding his feet defensively in the No.13 channel, picking his moments to shoot the gap and place himself in an awkward position for the attack. On the other side of the ball, Tupaea was as busy as ever, popping up around the ruck and making some hard carries to go with his first-phase hit-ups. His presence at breakdown time was loose forward-esque, ending the game with the most turnovers won.

14. Will Jordan – 8.5
With the lone exception of his Test debut, which lasted just five minutes due to a concussion, Will Jordan has never failed to score a try against the Wallabies in a match he has started with the No.14 on his back. That streak looked likely to continue in Auckland after a first half with no shortage of carries that either threatened to break the line or saw him break into open space. It took 79 minutes, but the flyer added to his historic try tally by the game’s end.

The most positive aspect of Jordan’s performance was his efforts under the high ball, with New Zealand taking a giant step forward in that area from their issues at the start of the year.

15. Beauden Barrett – 8
Some have called Barrett yesterday’s man, but Dave Rennie disagrees. Regardless, Barrett’s 12th Bledisloe Cup series demanded his form meet the moment, with a hot Wallabies team in town. The most impressive aspect of Barrett’s game was his breakdown work, with the fullback hitting a huge number of breakdowns and securing them well.

Touches were few and far between in the first half, and his restart after the Wallabies’ opening try went dead, but the second half started with some stellar work to retrieve the ball after a Wallabies break, and he proceeded to break two tackles to buy his team time. More classy touches and defensive heroics followed, and his more dynamic second half saw him finish the game with the most defenders beaten.

Reserves – 8
One of the big talking points to come out of Thursday’s team namings was the lack of experience on Australia’s bench, leaving New Zealand’s reserves with an expectation to deliver. They did just that, continuing the momentum the starters had established.