New Zealand player ratings versus South Africa
A last-gasp converted try to replacement half-back Herschel Jantjies earned the Springboks a deserved draw against the All Blacks.
It wasn’t an easy day at the office for the All Blacks – especially with a number of players making their first international appearance of the year.
How did the All Blacks rate? Find out below…
1. Joe Moody – 4/10
First match for the All Blacks since October – and it showed. Scrum looked sturdy with him on the field but his hands let him down on more than one occasion. Not especially busy on defence, making just four tackles. Looked to be short of gas near the end of his spell.
2. Codie Taylor – 7
Looked dynamic. Hit every tackle with aggression, which is especially impressive when you’re the All Blacks second top tackler with 12. Didn’t stand out as much as he normally does in the loose, but can’t fault his set piece work.
3. Owen Franks – 5
Strong in the tight stuff but lacking in any other facets of the game. Franks did his core duties well – but that’s about it. Made 7 tackles, which isn’t bad for a prop.
4. Brodie Retallick – 5
Put in one monster hit in the build-up to Jack Goodhue’s try. Also excellent in the lineouts. A very quiet game otherwise, making just 2 tackles (which is probably a record low for the big lock). Looks set to miss a significant amount of game time in the near future due to a dislocated shoulder and could be out for the season.
5. Sam Whitelock – 6
Industrious in his core duties. It wasn’t really a game for the tight five, though.
6. Shannon Frizell – 6
Tidy enough. Fairly busy on defence. Didn’t cement his spot in the squad, but looks the better option between him and Vaea Fifita right now.
No count back on boundaries in Wellington. It's a draw. Thanks for an epic Test @Springboks.#NZLvRSA #BACKBLACK ???? pic.twitter.com/iJKkskeELf
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 27, 2019
7. Matt Todd – 8
One of the All Blacks’ best. Always does his job and tonight was no exception. Made a game-high 18 tackles and dug his head into every breakdown he found.
8. Kieran Read – 6
Looks to be missing the spark of old. Maybe regular game time will fix that, however. He’s a safe player, he’ll always make his tackles, but All Blacks need a dynamo at the back of the scrum.
9. TJ Perenara – 6.5
Excellent over the ball – one of the best defensive halfbacks in the world. Still, the core job of a 9 is passing and Perenara can’t match Aaron Smith in that regard. Intensity and pace of the game picked up considerably with Smith’s injection.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 6
Early jitters with two kicks charged down, but late-game goal-kicking made up for it. Nervous first start against top-level opposition. Probably needs more time in the saddle. Is it too late to get him ready for the World Cup?
The blow by blow RugbyPass account of events in Wellington between New Zealand and South Africa.
https://t.co/QMdxdIQpS3— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 27, 2019
11. Rieko Ioane – 3
Worst performance in an All Blacks jersey to date. Was well contained by opposite Cheslin Kolbe and on the few times he found space his hands let him down. Needs as many games under his belt before the World Cup to get him back to top form.
12. Sonny Bill Williams – 7
Did what was asked of him. Made 8 tackles, the most of any All Blacks back. Was quiet on attack but threw a few nice passes – including the one that created Barrett’s linebreak which led to New Zealand’s try. Was a bit loose in the carry sometimes but a good performance given how much time he’s had away from the game.
13. Jack Goodhue – 6.5
Very tidy game. Showed good pace for his try and even won a penalty at the breakdown. Looks much more experienced than he actually is.
14. Ben Smith – 7
Covered well on defence and was smart with the ball hand – just not particularly dangerous. Has perhaps lost a little bit of pace – but could chalk that up to injury earlier in the year.
15. Beauden Barrett – 7
Fullback is very much his natural position. Looks excellent with the extra space and slotted into first receiver when necessary to take some heat off Mo’unga. Goal kicking once again let him down, however.
Reserves:
16. Dane Coles – 7
Looked sprightly in his time on the field. Added excellent impetus off the bench. Who knows who the selectors consider being their best hooker right now?
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 6
Busy around the park but scrum certainly dropped in intensity upon his injection. Still doesn’t quite look comfortable at this level.
18. Angus Ta’avao – 7
Nice impact, looked good in open play. Surely the fittest of the All Blacks’ props? Scrummaging may be a concern, however.
19. Vaea Fifita – 5
Wasn’t able to make much of an impact on the attack and didn’t really get stuck into defending. Covered lock but probably isn’t strong enough in the scrum to fit in there in a tight game.
20. Dalton Papalii – N/A
No time to make an impact. Doesn’t bode well for chances of avoiding the cull.
21. Aaron Smith – 7
Game kicked up a notch when he was introduced. Perhaps a few of the snappier teams may trouble Smith around the fringes, but he’s so very good at unlocking the All Blacks’ attack.
22. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7
Side-stepping always keeps the opposition guessing. Always looking to create. Could ALB be the key to unlocking some of the tighter defences in world rugby?
23. George Bridge – 5.5
Didn’t have a lot of time – or space – to make an impact, but did well with the hand he was dealt. Will be looking for a start against Australia in the coming weeks.
WATCH: The insightful RugbyPass documentary with Nemani Nadolo, the Fijian playing at Montpellier
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments