All Blacks player ratings vs Wallabies | Rugby Championship
Following a controversial finish in Melbourne, the All Blacks and Wallabies both entered their Eden Park rematch with a point to prove.
For the home team, the result last week may have ended in their favour, with the 39-37 win securing them the Bledisloe Cup for another year, but they also played poorly for significant spells in the match and ceded a 17-point lead at one stage of the contest.
On the hallowed turf of Eden Park, the All Blacks were looking to prove they’ve stepped up their game in recent times despite last week’s shakey victory and extend their 22-game winning streak over the Wallabies in Auckland – and that’s exactly what they did.
Will Jordan was the first to score for NZ, before Sam Whitelock, Codie Taylor and Samisoni Taukei’aho all added five-pointers of their own (to go with one team effort penalty try), and while the Wallabies score two in the final quarter, it was too little, too late.
Come the final whistle, the All Blacks had earned themselves a confident 40-14 victory in what was one of their best performances of the season.
How did the players rate in the win?
1. Ethan de Groot – 7
Strong at the set-piece and did some good work on defence, making nine tackles. Missed his first attempt of the game on Jed Holloway, giving the Wallabies some significant territory to work with. Helped earn his pack penalties at the first two scrums (although the Wallabies were down to seven forwards at the time) but then gave up one of his own for illegal entry at the breakdown. Was free-kicked at the lineout shortly before halftime and was probably lucky not to be punished for a late tackle just before he left the field. Off in 57th minute.
2. Codie Taylor – 6
A better showing from the veteran hooker. Had a couple of issues at the lineout but was generally reliable. Copped one penalty for not rolling away at the breakdown. Sparked a nice attack with a good run down the left-hand flank off some disrupted ball and was rewarded with a try off the back of a rolling maul. Off in 57th minute.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 7.5
Showed good hands inside the All Blacks 22 to offload the ball to the dangermen outside him and generally got himself more involved on attack with his carrying game. Earned one penalty in the second half and was solid at the set-piece. Off in 57th minute.
4. Brodie Retallick – 8
A key metre-eater, particularly in the formative stages of the fixture. Snagged a maul turnover when the Wallabies were looking to launch an attack and threw himself into every ruck, maul and lineout. Pinged for shepherding.
5. Sam Whitelock – 6
One of his ‘off’ games, but finished much stronger than he started. Offered next to nothing with ball in hand until he managed to fight his way over the line and somehow – almost impossibly – ground it for the All Blacks’ first try of the second half. Forced one breakdown turnover when the Wallabies were looking likely.
6. Akira Ioane – 6
Was rather anonymous in the first half, making a good number of tackles but struggling to get his running game going. Earned a breakdown penalty in the second half, with the All Blacks scoring from the ensuing maul. Off in 70th minute.
7. Dalton Papali’i – 7
Made a monstrous number of tackles, as is typical of a man wearing the No 7 jersey for the All Blacks, but didn’t stamp his mark on the position in the way he would have wanted.
8. Ardie Savea – 7.5
It was an unusually quiet night for Savea compared to his usual lofty standards, especially with the ball in hand. Stole the ball from an offside position and was rightly penalised.
9. Aaron Smith – 5
Generally did his job but didn’t stand out. Pinged once for not rolling away at the breakdown. Ran a nice support line off Will Jordan to keep a scoring chance alive. Off in 57th minute.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 6
Kept the scoreboard ticking over and guided his team around the park well but didn’t offer much of a running game. Did well to prevent Bernard Foley from racing away for an intercept try.
11. Caleb Clarke – 5
Collected a couple of high balls in traffic but otherwise struggled to get involved in the first half. Made one nice run in the second but it was generally a quiet outing.
12. Jordie Barrett – 8
Offered a big body in the All Blacks midfield and willingly carted up the ball. Shifted to fullback late in the piece but it was a confident first start in the No 12 jersey for the youngest Barrett and worth persisting with.
13. Rieko Ioane – 7
Sparked a couple of nice counter-attacks but probably cost his team a try when he failed to find his supporting runner.
14. Will Jordan – 8.5
Looked dangerous with his first couple of carries and then slipped around his defender to score a very well-taken try at the beginning of the second quarter. Made another dangerous run with a few minutes left in the first spell but the All Blacks couldn’t capitalise. Off in 68th minute.
15. Beauden Barrett – 7
Made a brilliant run in the outer channels early in the match which resulted in a five-metre attacking scrum and slotted into the line when the situation demanded it. Might have convinced the selectors that the dual playmaker experiment is worth revisiting. Saw less ball in the second half. Off in 70th minute.
Reserves:
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
On in 57th minute. 2/2 lineout. Grabbed what’s now becoming a customary try.
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 5
On in 57th minute. Carted the ball up on a few occasions and kept the scrum steady.
18. Nepo Laulala – 5
On in 57th minute. Won a penalty at the first scrum and made a handful of tackles.
19. Tupou Vaa’i – N/A
On in 66th minute.
20. Hoskins Sotutu – N/A
On in 70th minute. Pinged for some illegal breakdown work.
21. Finlay Christie – 5
On in 57th minute. Was a bit circumspect at times, eventually conceding a penalty after getting trapped at the back of a scrum.
22. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – N/A
On in 70th minute.
23. Sevu Reece – 7
On in 68th minute. Added a nice spark off the bench. Luckily avoided any punishment for a head clash. Stole the ball from under the Wallabies’ noses when they were hot on attack.
Comments on RugbyPass
Unsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
3 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
3 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
7 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
7 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
4 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
4 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
7 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
7 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
200 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
200 Go to comments