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Wallabies player ratings vs All Blacks | The Rugby Championship

Michael Hooper. (Photo by Andrew Cornaga/Photosport)

The All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup for yet another year after a rampant second half saw the hosts take the match 57-22 at Auckland’s Eden Park.

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The Wallabies, after the first match of the series, had given their supporters the dare-to-dream with many fans hoping the gap had narrowed between themselves and their trans-Tasman rivals. Especially going into the sheds down 21-15 at halftime with some momentum.

Yet it wasn’t to be.

What was patently on display this evening is the Wallabies have not learned from their mistakes, as they continue to make the same errors with their line out options and with the ball in hand that takes the pressure off the All Blacks and puts such pressure firmly back on themselves.

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What went wrong for the Wallabies in their record loss to the All Blacks?

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What went wrong for the Wallabies in their record loss to the All Blacks?

At times it was a display of stunning stupidity as repeated errors allowed the All Blacks into the game and also allowed them to take the game from Australia when the match was in the balance.

How did the Wallabies rate in the loss?

1. James Slipper – 6.5/10
Toiled hard in the engine room and was fearless coming off the line as usual. Did everything to give his side a platform to work off. Can hold his head high.

2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa – 5.5
A night to forget for him. Why the Wallabies chose to throw to the tail of a lineout in the wind, again after last week’s issues, is a mystery. When on attack and with a man up, it was not the right option and a player of his experience should have known that.

3. Allan Alaalatoa – 6
Like his fellow prop, he worked tirelessly to give his side a platform to work off and didn’t let his side down.

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4. Darcy Swain – 5.5
Wasn’t as influential as last week and got caught out in defence by an Aaron Smith snipe. Notch this one up to learning.

5. Matt Philip – 6.5
Worked hard in the tight and caused the All Blacks some issues at the lineout. Brought some much-needed controlled aggression and appears to have done enough to retain his place in the starting XV.

6. Lachlan Swinton – 6.5
Was aggressive and enthusiastic as expected and did his job as a ball runner one to two passes wide of the ruck. His performance tonight was controlled and he didn’t let his side down with silly penalties as some had feared.

7. Michael Hooper – 7.5
Another superb performance by the Wallabies skipper. Despite being on the losing side, he was the best back-rower on the park. Just needs to keep turning up and driving this young Wallabies side around the park.

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8. Rob Valetini – 7
A really strong performance by Valetini and although he may not have the ball skills of Harry Wilson, he is fearsome into the contact and caused the All Blacks issues every time he carried. One of Australia’s best tonight.

9. Tate McDermott – 8
A brilliant performance and was a threat to the All Blacks all night, be it at the base of the scrum, recycling the ball, and also as a support player. He will be marked up even closer moving forward as he made a statement tonight about the player he is going to be for Australia.

10. Noah Lolesio – 4.5
Obviously talented but his option taking and understanding of game management is lacking. After the intercept try of last week, he should not have even thought of throwing a cut out pass this week. But he did! He appears to be rushing to a result, as opposed to trusting a process of breaking a team down when the opportunity was there. His exit kick to Richie Mo’unga was dreadful. A Premier Grade Club player wouldn’t have made that error and it’s an option a Wallabies No 10 in a Bledisloe simply should not have made.

11. Marika Koroibete – 6.5
Really looked to impose himself on the game which was encouraging and required. Would have liked to have seen him get some ball in space more often.

12. Matt To’omua – 5
A really poor performance from such an experienced player. Why would he have thrown that cut-out pass, especially after the intercept try to open the scoring had shown the All Blacks wingers position themselves up the park in such scenarios. The space was behind – it was always behind – but he failed to exploit that and it cost the Wallabies dearly.

13. Hunter Paisami – 5
Not his best performance. When running down the left edge, carried the ball in the right hand so close to the line indicated he may not have the requisite skillset or wasn’t mentally alert on this occasion as to how to maintain a momentum play as all he did was essentially turn over possession. Has better rugby in him.

14. Andrew Kellaway – 7
Scored two tries for his side that will be memorable for him in an otherwise forgettable night. Has done enough to retain selection.

15. Tom Banks – 6
Had some good touches of the ball and showed again the ‘X Factor’ in attack he can bring, but wasn’t a real presence in defence. Not that should all be blamed on him as collectively it was an abysmal defensive effort in the second half.

Reserves:

16. Jordan Uelese – 5
Didn’t bring the impact desired and was part of a scrum going backwards.

17. Scott Sio – 5
Has been a wonderful servant to Australian rugby but didn’t really bring much impact.

18. Taniela Tupou – 6
Had some quality touches with the ball but part of a bench that got outworked and out enthused.

19. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – 5.5
Looked to impose himself but the game was gone.

20. Harry Wilson – 6.5
Looked dangerous and attracted numerous defenders when in possession.

21. Nic White – 6
Had some nice touches and looked to keep his side busy and up-tempo as required by a finishing 9.

22. Len Ikitau – N/A
Didn’t see enough

23. Reece Hodge – N/A
Didn’t see enough.

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J
JW 24 minutes ago
Crusaders vs Force takes: Let's talk about Sevu Reece, forgotten All Black returns

I think Reece has bulked up too much and now doesn’t have the pace to perform to his previously high standards. He’s making himself less of a winger but I’m not really sure he’s filling another role succinctly either. I think criticism at the AB level has seen him try to redevelop his game, I’m really not sure he can be continued to be used at the highest level. Definitely becoming the wing version Richie Mo’unga is possible (if not already attained) at Super Rugby level however. I loved watching him play when he first broke through.

The Force are undeniably much improved this season, but it’s going to take some reps to prove to themselves that they really can hang with the big dogs.

Yeah they’re still well off in the quality personal front.

It was the 21-year-old’s first appearance of the season, and he certainly made the most of it, with 13 carries accounting for 50 running metres – each of them passing by in a blur as Springer made his may to the try line time and time again.

Will Jordan was playmaking superbly to assist the youngster’s points tally, but it was all individual brilliance in the 53rd minute when Springer tiptoed down the sideline before collecting his own chip kick and outpacing the final two defenders to score under the posts.

After pre-season I said that I wanted Springer to cement the starting jersey, and that (well I’ve not no idea exactly which sides they play) another new wing recruit, Kunawave, would replace Reece as the Fijian Flyer in the team by season end. Reece might be making that tough, but unfortunately it looks like there wasn’t a full squad spot for the young fella and he has since made his AB7s debut instead. Watch this space though as he and Saifoloi look to have the X factor👍


That Jordan pass to Springer aside it was otherwise a very lackluster game for him as he looks to be struggling with processing his option taking in this new style he’s trying. Still have to think a man of that talent and ingenuity is going to make it click sooner or later though!

t’s a congested position, and after Ennor shot down talk of him being swept up by a Top 14 outfit this week, it looks as if the Crusaders have some selection headaches to solve in the coming weeks.

That’s great news. I can’t remember if it was because he actually made his return in pre-season or not but for some reason I was liking how Ennor looked like he might be providing the right options for Saders and even ABs when back. Very pleased to see him fit straight in though there was plenty of space on offer but he almost looked as if he was more dangerous with no space. Could be the long looked for option at 13?

10 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Chiefs vs Blues takes: Blues need Spider-Man, McKenzie is All Blacks’ form 10

Chiefs were in the driver’s seat for most of Saturday night’s fixture in the Tron

I don’t know about that. The majority of stats all favour the Blues.

Referee Ben O’Keeffe did show the rising star a yellow card during the second half after a series of infringements from the Blues, but that shouldn’t take away too much from the main point here. Taele looks at home with the Blues in Super Rugby Pacific.

There were a few errors that crept into his performance in that second half, but yes, I was surprised after watching him a few times how comfortable he looked in his role as a 2nd5, and even how well he performed it. It is a shame for Lam to be injured but I picked up a distinct difference in how the backline functioned by having Taele at twelve instead. I might not have given him another go this week but now it will be very interesting to see what Vern does and without knowing what else is going on (Pero might be fit enough to start and psuh Plummer to 12) I think he might start again (Heem has been very very good in the role in recent years, is he fit).

Shaun Stevenson fails to make an All Blacks-worthy statement

He’s leaving Hamish (don’t know how you missed that), it’s impossible to make a statement for AB selection, and that also be well out of his mind.


Watching him in Japan he looked to be struggling as much of his team. Which is often how I think his contributions have depended, how well he fits in with the team. He’s a very unique player and I don’t think the Chiefs have anywhere near the right momentum and structure to unlock Shaun’s strengths. In saying that I thought he played well and that pass showed he’s in a great headspace, you might also be overplaying Corey’s contribution, which from the weekend would be of greatest value if he was Lams midfield replacement imo. I’d like Forbes to return this weekend and don’t think Corey did enough to take that opportunity away from him.

6 Go to comments
J
Jahmirwayle 1 hour ago
Mixed Wales update on availability of Josh Adams, Gareth Anscombe

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6 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Super Rugby Pacific has turned the ship around in the right direction

“We want jeopardy in our competition, right? We want ladder movement. We don’t want teams to stay in the same ladder position that they were in last year.

You need promotion relegation then. You cannot always rely on 4 teams being the right number for Australia, it could mean that they are too strong in future. Or that Fijian Drua doesn’t always has the players to knock of the best.

“We want unexpected results. We want every fan to be sitting here on a Friday at lunchtime going ‘I’m a chance this weekend’.’’ 

Oh, so you want a made up fantasy league like the NFL, rather than a quantifiable competition like NPC, and to a lesser degree, then NRL. Meaningless rather than meaningful, you don’t want the best of NSW taking on the best of Queensland, or the Blues region versus the Chiefs region.


There is still huge room for improvement in the way rugby is played and officiated, it is an incredibly young professional sport. Some of these introduced concepts are tricks taken from others and have done a lot to engage and increase Super Rugby’s appeal, but there has been a hint of whether the game is selling it’s soul to get back on the table.

For me, Super Rugby’s best years were around the turn of the millennium, when the Crusaders and Brumbies held sway. The speed with which possession was recycled at the breakdown and the minutes the ball was in play remains my benchmark for flowing rugby. 

Have you used you’re own license for viewing “feels rather than facts” here Hamish?


I agree, the rugby isn’t as good as it has been at times in the recent past, but it is more engaging. Which I think is due to a whole factor of fortunate and one off reasons, along with targeted ones.

4 Go to comments
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