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Bledisloe II: New Zealand player ratings vs Australia
The All Blacks were looking for a better performance against the Wallabies after the 16-all draw last weekend in Wellington.
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It was a ding dong battle in the first stanza with the All Blacks completely focussed on the collision and breakdown as Australia still looked up for the task, getting their share of territory and possession.
It was the 3rd quarter where the match was decided, the All Blacks with three quick tries and conversely the Wallabies missing a couple of chances to score. Final score 27-7.
Here’re the All Black player ratings.
1. Joe Moody – 7
The prop started well in his defensive work with 6 tackles but sadly knocked out in the 30th minutes on a Hanigan hip.
2. Dane Coles – 7
We saw the typical Coles larrikin behaviour as he got under the skin of Tupou early on. He was off at 50 minutes but had a couple of good runs and was solid in his core role. Nothing between him and Cody Taylor but when he controls his aggression he’s an asset.
3. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 6
Some wobbly first scrums and a muted defensive job, something that has been his strength this year. Off at 50 and looked tired.
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4. Patrick Tuipulotu – 7
Big Paddy looked comfortable on his home ground with plenty of pressure on him as senior lock. Had a strong day with 10 carries in tight traffic, made a statement tackle on Matt Toomua in the 6th minute to set the tenor. Finally got to see some daylight when he set up his skipper for a try.
5. Tupou Vaa’i – 6.5
In truth he’s a year or two away from being a test match starter but he did well today. Off at 51.
6. Shannon Frizell – 7.5
Looked like he’d had someone on one sessions with Richie McCaw, snaffling turnovers in the 2nd and 6th minute to deprive the opposition of the continuity they had last week. For a big lump he’s become a very good aerial player, great line out target; top takes and a line out steal. Off at 64.
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7. Sam Cane – 9
Top tackler 2nd week in a row but great to see him running with the ball. He capped off a great player of the match game with a try in the 54th minute.
8. Ardie Savea – 8
Early on he denied Australia with first blood with a snappy turnover but was he offside? Some great runs averaging over 4 metres in his 8 carries, one of those for the try in the 47th, although lucky he brushed aside the Daugunu tackle with three men outside him. 12 imposing tackles and none missed.
9. Aaron Smith – 6.5
Sometimes Nugget can’t help himself, with a bizarre stop in play to talk to ref in the 15th minute but good burrowing try after 22 minutes. Good to see him choose to run at the right time. Off at 54.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 7
Linked well and used his footwork to good effect both to spark the attack but also get himself out of trouble. Great try-saving tackle on Koroibete.
11. Caleb Clarke – 8.5
This young fella is like a keg of dynamite, started both halves well and it was good to see him receive the ball early in the 2nd, twice in the set up to Jordie Barrett’s try. Run of the game was at the 46th-minute mark, underlining his cannonball class beating 7 tacklers. He certainly gets the crowd on their feet! Off at 67.
12. Jack Goodhue – 6.5
Solid again and formed a strong midfield pairing. Seems to have a problem on the right to left pass, a few times not hitting the mark when the ABs were on the front foot. Off at 60. Maybe time to look at an ALB/Rieko pairing?
13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7.5
Looked good and for me is the real link man. His defence is caustic, the 36 minute hit on Koroibete! Wow! The Aussie wing was still feeling it seconds later as he dropped an easy one and continued to drop the pill after getting his medicine from ALB!
14. Jordie Barrett – 6.5
Uses his strength and height well in the game but still doubts in some quarters he’s not fast enough for wing. When brother Beauden put in that peach of a kick into the in-goal in the 21st minute are there Kiwi wings who would have scored that?
15. Beauden Barrett – 9
What Achilles? Was a major difference from the All Black performance last week. Beat 5 tackles in the 16th minute to get the black tails up. Was Harry Wilson was on commission for softening off Beaudy? Didn’t phase the All Back star.
BENCH
16. Codie Taylor – 6.5
On at 50. Mix and match with Coles.
17. Alex Hodgman – 7.5
Great debut! On at the 31st minute and is a big physical presence. Well earned scrum penalties at 39 and 72 minutes and is like a forklift cleaning out.
18. Nepo Laulala – 6
On at 50. Penalised a couple of times at scrum. Maybe longer sprigs?
19. Scott Barrett – 7
On at 51 minutes. Didn’t see him until 68 minutes which is fine for a tight forward and a major reason why we held the Wallabies off.
20. Hoskins Sotutu – 6.5
On at 64. Bubbling under but not out of his depth.
21. TJ Perenara – 8
On at 54 and really made a difference with his strength and desire. Great tackle and turnover on Liam Wright first up and then seconds later up the left flank for some major metreage. Love the “on the ball” niggly tackling technique!
22. Peter Umaga-Jenson – 6.5
On for debut after an ALB 18th minute blood bin. Cleaned out well to set up Smith’s try, then off until 60 minutes for ten minutes before an HIA ended his day.
23. Damian MacKenzie – N/A
On at 67. Time for Jordan to get a shot?
Comments on RugbyPass
Results probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to comments