New Zealand player ratings vs England
It was the match many were billing as the ‘true final’ and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The All Blacks were bullied and bruised across the park in Yokohama – they simply had no answer for a fired-up England team that out-thought and out-played them en route to their deserved 19-7 victory.
It wasn’t all bad from New Zealand, however – there were a few shining lights among the rubble of defeat. Here are the RugbyPass player ratings:
1. Joe Moody – 7.5/10
Incredibly busy on defence, making 13 tackles. Assured in the scrums and didn’t take a backwards step. Can’t ask for much more from a prop, except maybe a bit of dynamism. Lasted 63 minutes.
2. Codie Taylor – 6.5
Spent plenty of time camped out on the wing. Hit the English carriers hard early and made a nuisance of himself in the breakdown. Lineouts functioned reasonably well. Off in 50th minute.
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3. Nepo Laulala – 4
Loose carry early coughed up possession. Penalised once in the scrum. Would Owen Franks have been a better bet? Off in 55th minute.
4. Brodie Retallick – 6
Big workload on the attack early on. Good break down the middle in the 27th minute but then tossed the ball away. Unfortunately, still well away from his best but didn’t shy away from contact.
5. Sam Whitelock – 5
Hit a few rucks but wasn’t called upon on attack and didn’t make his presence known on defence. The All Blacks needed their leaders to stand up and Whitelock didn’t. Off in 65th minute.
6. Scott Barrett – 6
Didn’t have the impact that Steve Hansen might have hoped for. Lineout didn’t benefit from his presence but slogged away on both attack and defence. The highlight was his impeccable effort to chase down Jonny May with great commitment and great pace. Off at half-time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4C8PuSAwSZ/
7. Ardie Savea – 9
Excellent work over the ruck in the danger zone in the 54th minute earned his side an attacking lineout – minutes later he dotted down for a try on the back of an England error. The All Blacks’ busiest defender, he helped his side to gain ascendancy at times in the collisions. Did everything he could in a losing effort.
8. Kieran Read – 7
Some deft hands down the sideline late in the second half. Bullied by the English tacklers but put in a hard day’s work at the office, making 14 tackles.
9. Aaron Smith – 6
Excellent defensive box kicks got his side out of trouble. Made one superb steal on defence in the 22. Put under pressure by England’s forwards and was eventually subbed for the more combative TJ Perenara in the 55th minute.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1188039118812528640?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
10. Richie Mo’unga – 5
Looked hesitant at times – England’s outside-in rush threw him off his game. Bad miss on Elliot Daly supplied England with the territory they needed to score their first try. Mixed up the All Blacks attack nicely, putting in some delicate grubbers. Didn’t thrive in open-field play like some of his team-mates.
11. George Bridge – 5.5
Dud clearance kick gifted England an attacking lineout early on. Threw himself into the England line with intent but couldn’t make much of a dent. Safe under the high ball. Off in 50th minute.
12. Anton Lienert-Brown – 8
Huge workload in the first quarter, making tackle after tackle – including two on dangerman Manu Tuilagi. Maintained his work on defence throughout the match, notching up 15 tackles. Took Ben Youngs’ dummy early in the second half but was given a lifeline when it was revealed that the English pack had bobbled the ball. One of New Zealand’s most dangerous runners.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1187997164875800576
13. Jack Goodhue – 8
One of New Zealand’s best. Clutch defensive play in the first five minutes – dipping and diving around three tacklers inside his own five metres – gave the All Blacks some breathing space. Reliable on defence and busy on the attack too but threw one wobbly pass. Off in 55th minute.
14. Sevu Reece – 7
Dancing feet but needed to get move involved. Nabbed an important intercept then offloaded the ball straight into England’s hands. Great dart on the back of a Sonny Bill Williams offload forced a defensive England lineout which Ardie Savea scored from. Tested with up-and-unders and only came up short once.
15. Beauden Barrett – 6.5
Threw an intercept to Tuilagi which could have been disastrous if Jordie Barrett hadn’t stepped in. Showed his trademark speed to keep an early All Blacks breakaway alive. Tried to spark something from the All Blacks in the dying minutes of the game but ultimately couldn’t do anything to resurrect his side from the loss.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1187932659298652160
Replacements
16. Dane Coles – 6.5
On in 50th minute. Busy around the fringes and stood out with ball in hand.
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 4
On in 63rd minute. Made zero impact.
18. Angus Ta’avao – 5
On in 55th minute. Put his hand up for a few carries but was shut out by the swarming English defence.
19. Patrick Tuipulotu – 4
On in 65th minute. See Tu’ungafasi.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4BYil4gUXU/
20. Sam Cane – 7
On at half-time. Nice loop with Williams created a great chance for the All Blacks. The defensive line stepped up with Cane on the field – he himself contributed a dozen tackles despite being on for just a half.
21. TJ Perenara – 6
On in 55th minute. Hustled and bustled and showed great hands on one break from Reece.
22. Sonny Bill Williams – 6.5
On in 55th minute. Threw a trademark offload as soon as entered the game – New Zealand scored from the gained territory moments later. Williams took plenty of motivation from that success and kept them coming throughout.
23. Jordie Barrett – 5
On in 50th minute. Silly offload attempt inside the All Blacks’ 22 cost his team three points and it could very well have been a try.
WATCH: Jim Hamilton previews the weekend’s second semi-final between South Africa and Wales in the latest episode of Don’t Mess With Jim
Comments on RugbyPass
SBW is fast becoming a laughing stock, his misplaced comments & lack of insight Is actually pretty sad.
5 Go to commentsJust well you guys are couch 🛋 potatoes selector's, picking a team of greenhorns to play England! “What are you people smoking?” The halfbacks will be Christie, Fakatava, Perenara Props; Newell, Bower, Lomax, Tunga'fasi, Hookers; Asosa Amua when fit, Taylor, Samisoni,
11 Go to commentsQuite frankly, all this is a bit pathetic. The first time Wales get the Wooden Spoon in 21 years and everyone is on the bandwagon for a ‘play-off’ game. Wales have no obligation to Georgia and no obligation to the rest of the Six Nations to play such a game. If they want Georgia in so badly then they need to include South Africa into a Northern Hemisphere competition with 2 leagues of 4 teams with the top 2 competing for the Championship. Sadly, this will end Triple Crowns and Grand Slams forever. Is this really what you want?
4 Go to commentsI think Finau to start Blackadder to come on. Poss Prokter instead of Ioane, haven't seen much from Reiko so far this year.
11 Go to commentsJoe will have had a good chat with Dave Rennie, a smart move to begin with while it’s doubtful Fast Eddie will be consulted? Plenty of Aus players hitting top form so they should go OK.
3 Go to commentsMmm. Not sure I like this article or see it as necessary.
5 Go to commentsBlackadder but no Finau! 😀 It’s Razor so you are probably right, plus Taylor at 2…
11 Go to commentsThe strongest possible AB side would actually include Aaron Smith, Bodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Shannon Frizzel.. don’t get me started on the rest of the injury hit brigade that got flung on the heap so left. Many a whole not getting filled as of yet.
11 Go to commentsI don’t think anyone knows what Schmidt will do, one thing is certain it ain’t gonna be all the picks we on the keyboard will think. My impression of him is that he will be looking at who can step up and what is the best combination. He will ignore individuals as he looks for guys who can build a powerful team and not just guys who can make a flashy run or ignore the winger as they want to score themselves.
3 Go to commentsSome dumb selections there. Not Porecki Not Donaldson Not Gordon Not Lonegran - both Not Nic White - Fines instead Not Liam Wright Not Paisami Definitely not Vunivalu Other than that not bad.
3 Go to commentsI've never been convinced that Patty T is a test match all black. Otherwise I probably agree it's the best side available to beat the poms. Caveat that Codie Taylor is yet to be seen and could very likely warrant selection by June. I hope that Razor brings the young loosies, half backs and locks into the training squad and develops/ selects the best
11 Go to commentsYou doing the same thing I disliked about the example of Samisoni Taukei'aho, Nick. He’s great the way he is, you’re trying to do what modern-day coaches frustrate me doing, turning everyone into the perfect athlete. Next thing you’ll be telling me you’ll bench him until he’s hit that arbitrary marker, and can’t overtake the current guy who’s doing all his workons. He’s a young Kieran Read, through and through, plays wide and has threat, mainly (and evident in your clips) through his two hand carry and speed. Just let him work on that, or whatever he wants, and determine his own future. Play God and you risk the players going sideways, like Read did, instead of being a Toutai Kefu. I mean I was in the same camp for a while, wanting our tight five to have the size, and carry ability, as the teams they were getting beat by. Now I’m starting to believe those teams just have better skilled and practiced individuals, bigger by upwards of 5kg sometimes, sure, but more influentially they have those intrinsic skills of trust and awareness. Basically our guys just didn’t know wtf they were doing. Don’t think I’m trying to prove a point here but hasn’t Caleb Clarke been in much better form this year, or does he just ‘look’ better now that he’s not always trying to use his size?
44 Go to commentsThe pack lacks a little in height for the line out and I wouldn’t be completely convinced by some of the combinations till we see it in action.
11 Go to commentsThe side is good but lacks experience. International playing bona fides udually trumps super rugby form for good reason. And incumbents are usually stuck with. Codie Taylor should start or come off the bench. B Barrett will start at fullback. Blackadder has not earned the position, Finau has. TJs experience and competitiveness earns him a starting role, Christie or Ratima off the bench
11 Go to commentsPretty good side. Scott Barrett should be the captain. Ethan Blackadder a great choice at blindside. He is going to go from strength to strength having made a couple of starts for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson rates him highly. Perenara could start a no 9.
11 Go to commentsI question and with respect. Was enough done over the last few years to bring through new blood knowing the Whitelocks and co couldn’t last forever. There should have been more done to future proof the team. New squad new coach, he and they weren’t set up well. IMO
6 Go to commentsJacobsen will definitely be in the 23
11 Go to commentsLots of discussion points, Ben, but two glaring follies IMO: 1. Blackadder at 6. Has done nothing so far this season to justify his selection. Did you see him going backwards in contact at the weekend? Simply has not got the physical presence at 6: we need a Scott Barrett or a Finau (or wildcard Ah Kuoi), beasts who are big enough to play lock, like Frizzell. If Barret played at 6, Paddy could be joined at lock by Vai’i or one of the young giants we need to promote, like Darry or Lord (if he ever gets on the field). Blackadder best left to join the queue for 7. 2. Not even a mention for Christie? Ratima gets caught at crucial times at the back of the ruck when he hesitates on the pass. The only way he starts would be if Christie and TJ are injured.
11 Go to commentsWhat a dagg in more ways than one
6 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to comments