New Zealand players ratings v Canada
New Zealand travelled to the south of Japan with the expectation that they would crush Canada – a side that hasn’t come within 50 points of the All Blacks in their last four encounters dating back to 1995.
That expectation was more or less met, with New Zealand cruising to a 63-0 win.
Perhaps no All Blacks were going to catapult themselves ahead in the pecking order on the back of good performances against one of the weakest teams at the World Cup, but that didn’t seem to affect their desire to put on a good showing.
So, how did the players rate?
1 Atunaisa Moli – 8/10
Hit ruck after ruck; has mobility in spades. Played the full 80, with the All Blacks’ scrum being dominant the whole way through. Huge outing for the big man.
2 Liam Coltman – 5
Solid in the lineout, bar one early overthrow. Also solid in the scrums – but that’s all that can really be said of the third choice hooker. Off in 70th minute.
Continued below…
3 Angus Ta’avao – 7
Part of a very dominant scrum which earned more than a couple of penalties. Subbed in 27th minute but was one of the busiest defenders during his time on the field.
4 Scott Barrett – 6.5
Hands let him down – but not the only All Black who suffered in the humid conditions. Lost the ball over the line, costing the All Blacks an easy try. Almost lost a second too! Was called upon as the key ball-runner in the forwards and threw himself into his work and in better conditions would have likely put on a monstrous display.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3HLT1ZA6TT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
5 Patrick Tuipulotu – 6
Made good metres on the carry. Hands failed him on occasions, like his locking partner.
6 Shannon Frizell – 7
A couple of good bursts – including one that gave NZ the field position that almost earned TJ Perenara an opportunistic try in the left corner. Was always on hand to support ball carriers and profited from a Rieko Ioane linebreak for that very reason. Ate some easy metres. Off in 70th minute.
7 Matt Todd – 7
Superb angled run paved the way for New Zealand’s first try but was stood up by his fellow forwards on attack later in the game. Todd is a considerably more useful player when the opposition has the ball – which was rarely the case tonight. He still managed to make 11 tackles, however – more than any other All Black. Off in 70th minute.
8 Kieran Read – 7.5
Wasn’t spectacular by any means, but did everything that was asked of him. Tackled resolutely when called upon and trucked the ball up on attack. Hard to really fault but still feels like he’s lost some of the pizzazz from earlier in his career.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1179343960478760960
9 TJ Perenara – 6.5
Always looked for opportunities around the ruck. Came within inches of scoring an audacious try. Passing sometimes inaccurate, but maybe that’s the price you pay for speed. Off at halftime.
10 Richie Mo’unga – 8
Lovely cross-field kick to an unmarked Jordie Barrett for the All Blacks’ second try. Distributed well, but had a fairly easy night of it. Attacked the line with more urgency in the second half, immediately creating a try for Scott Barrett with a superb offload. The result was much the same 15 minutes later when he set up reserve halfback Brad Weber. Almost managed a third set-up but couldn’t quite get his hands free for Rieko Ioane. Nailed all eight of his shots on goal.
11 Rieko Ioane – 6
1 try (41st minute). First real touch didn’t come until the 15th minute. Looked dangerous with ball in hand but inevitably dropped the ball in contact or gave a difficult pass. Had the pace to finish a Sonny Bill Williams break immediately after halftime. Was able to half-break the line moments later then offload for Frizell to score a good try. Moved to the midfield for the final half-hour and looked more incisive with a bit of extra involvement.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Dw5Q8g6rb/
12 Sonny Bill Williams – 8.5
1 try (17th min), 2 assists. Useful carrier in the midfield – comfortably the busiest All Black on attack. Made a great break in the 6th minute then threw an unnecessarily complicated offload when a simple pass would have sufficed. Used his massive frame and long arms to score a well-taken try. Light-touch grubber bounced up perfectly for Beauden Barrett to nab a try. Great break early in the second half created Ioane’s try. Off in the 52nd minute.
13 Jack Goodhue – 4
Very quiet night – first game back since the thrashing at the hands of the Wallabies. Probably prospers more when the opposition put up more of a fight and are harder to break. Off at halftime.
14 Jordie Barrett – 6
Perfectly in position to take Richie Mounga’s cross-field kick – unmarked, but who would have bet against him taking the catch even with a man on top of him? Made a great chase on a counter-attack kick from Perenara in the 30th minute; missed the fullback but came back with a vengeance to nail DTH van der Merwe. Would have been good to see him at 10.
15 Beauden Barrett – 7
Started to run amok in the second spell after Canada fell off the pace. Dropped an early bomb and then somehow managed to lose the ball on a run to the line after the final gong. Showed off his trademark agility to burst through the line and set up Brad Weber’s try early in the second half.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1179265641477488641
16 Codie Taylor – N/A
On in 70th minute. No time to make an impact.
17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 5
On in 52nd minute. Scrums held up, but that’s about all that keen be said of the dyamic prop who should’ve offered more on both attack and defence. At least he hit the breakdowns.
18 Nepo Laulala – 5
On in 27th minute then was pulled in the 52nd. Scrum lost nothing once Laulala joined the fray.
19 Sam Whitelock – N/A
On in 70th minute. No time to make an impact.
20 Ardie Savea – N/A
On in 70th minute. Specs looked good. No time to make an impact.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1179277144440090624
21 Brad Weber – 6.5
On at halftime. Maintained the tempo that Perenara had set. Backed up Beauden Barrett and showed plenty of pace to scamper away from the Canadian chasers and dot down for his first international try. Had to run a bit further for his second, this time coming courtesy of his first five.
22 Ryan Crotty – 6
On at halftime. Safe as houses on both attack and defence. Doesn’t have anywhere near the same presence as Williams, however.
23 Ben Smith – 5
On in 52nd minute. Looked hungry but play didn’t flow his way.
Japan coach Jamie Joseph has given a fairly good indication of his future intentions:
Comments on RugbyPass
Bell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
13 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
13 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe 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. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? 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?
13 Go to comments