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New Zealand player ratings vs Ireland
New Zealand have disposed of Ireland 46-14 to get their Rugby World Cup finals campaign off to a successful start.
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The All Blacks took the lead after just three minutes and from that point on, the Irish were on a hiding to nothing. Steve Hansen will just be happy to finish with a win in a fixture that could have been a lot closer than it ended up, were it not for some early opportunistic plays from the All Blacks.
Hansen rolled out his top team for the first time in the tournament and there were a number of standout performers. Who were the best All Blacks on the park?
1 Joe Moody – 8/10
Put his hand up for plenty of carries early in the game and was also exceptionally busy on defence, leading the tackle stats until his substitution. One minor hiccup at scrum time, but otherwise steady. Off in 49th minute.
2 Codie Taylor – 7
A fairly quiet night for the hooker, working more in a support role than taking the lead.
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3 Nepo Laulala – 5
Used more as a decoy than a ball runner. Sure, that requires some good fitness, but it was hardly a dynamic performance from the man who usurped Owen Franks. Scrum was fine. Off in 49th minute.
4 Brodie Retallick – 7
Gutsy effort from the man who’s still on the comeback from a bad injury, getting through almost three-quarters of the match. Carried well when required, working in tandem with captain Kieran Read. Off in 57th minute.
5 Sam Whitelock – 7.5
A busy, busy man. Got stuck into attackers, defenders and breakdowns, and was reliable in the lineouts.
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6 Ardie Savea – 7.5
Punishing runner off the back of the scrum and made a few dents in the open field too. Not necessarily a dominant performance, but Steve Hansen won’t be complaining. Made one evasive run in the final ten minutes to set up George Bridge for a try.
7 Sam Cane – 7
Put in some sizeable hits on defence. Rarely hit the ball up, instead got up in support of his more willing teammates. Topped the tackle charts before he left the field. Off at halftime.
8 Kieran Read – 8.5
His best game of the season to date (and possibly of the last few years). Led from the front, making hit-up after hit-up early on to set the tone. Never backed down from a challenge, on attack or defence.
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9 Aaron Smith – 8.5
Sharp at the base of the scrum, still probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his organisation and speed. Had the confidence to dart into the sea of green and scored an excellently taken try. Was in again just minutes later, taking advantage of some confusion amongst the Irish ranks to score a cheeky try in the corner. Off in 61st minute.
10 Richie Mo’unga – 7
Bad decision to kick when the All Blacks were hot on attack in the first quarter. Did superbly to stop Johnny Sexton’s penalty from making touch. Had a bad miss on touch of his own which ceded a scrum to Ireland on halfway. Showed good pace to stop an Irish try in the dying minutes of the match. Reliable off the tee.
11 George Bridge – 7
Tidy but lacked outright pace at times. Would Rieko Ioane have made more from the same opportunities? Attracts the ball on attack and Johnny Sexton will be having nightmares for months about Bridge preventing his penalty kicks from finding touch. Made one crucial cover tackle in the final quarter and was on hand to score a try in the final ten minutes.
12 Anton Lienert-Brown – 7.5
Wasn’t able to unlock the Irish defence but still fairly tidy on attack. Made a few important tackles on defence and was the busiest defender in the All Blacks backline.
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13 Jack Goodhue – 7
Quick hands unleashed Sevu Reece to help set up NZ’s second try. Safe as houses in the midfield and probably did enough to lock down his place for next week. Off in 53rd minute.
14 Sevu Reece – 7.5
Safe under the high ball and kept the Irish defence on their toes. Almost slipped through the Irish defences on a number of occasions, including when he crab-walked across the field. Off in 62nd minute.
15 Beauden Barrett – 8
Excellent clearance kick late in the first quarter that eventually gave New Zealand a scrum 35 metres out from Ireland’s line. The All Blacks scored moments after. Showed off his trademark pace 10 minutes later to dot down for an opportunistic try and chased high balls well. Looks a lot more comfortable working in tandem with Mo’unga now. Some nice long passes from the official player-of-the-match.
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Reserves
16 Dane Coles – 6
On in 70th minute. Great offload off the ground for Bridge’s try.
17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 5
On in 49th minute. Scrum was bullied a bit more once the All Blacks’ replacement props joined the match.
18 Angus Ta’avao – 5
On in 49th minute. Wasn’t as stable in the scrums as the man he replaced and didn’t get as involved as he has in prior matches.
19 Scott Barrett – 6
On after halftime. Spent almost a quarter of the match on the blindside flank then shifted into the more familiar locking role after Retallick left the field. Continued where both Cane and Retallick left off.
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20 Matt Todd – 6.5
On in 57th minute. Tackled furiously. Fell over the line for a try. Hit with a somewhat strange yellow card.
21 TJ Perenara – 6.5
On in 61st minute. Didn’t let the pace drop away and kept his troops well-marshalled.
22 Sonny Bill Williams – 7
On in 53rd minute. Quickly got his hands on the ball as soon as he entered the fray and looked hungry. An excellent impact sub, but the match was well sewn up before he took the field.
23 Jordie Barrett – 6
On in 62nd minute. Didn’t get too involved until the final two minutes of the game when he scored a well-taken try.
Jim Hamilton has a couple of thoughts on the quarterfinal showdown between Wales and France:
Comments on RugbyPass
The World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
1 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults 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?
2 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
19 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 comments