Bledisloe II: Australia player ratings vs New Zealand
Dave Rennie’s Wallabies were handsomely defeated 27-7 this afternoon at Eden Park, Auckland by a disciplined All Black outfit who revelled in the mistake-riddled Wallaby performance.
The Wallabies showed glimpses of brilliance in otherwise what was a forgettable, performance. Too many handling errors, missed tackles and poor option taking ensured that both sides will travel to Australia with the New Zealanders taking a 1-0 lead in the best of 4 Bledisloe series.
The Wallabies will return to Australia knowing that the selections and tactics made for this test match will not suffice if the Australians are any realistic chance of winning in Sydney and Brisbane. The men in gold looked to play wide, but were well wide of the pass mark.
How did the defeated Wallabies rate this afternoon?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGeNjQlgc21/
15. Tom Banks – 5/10 – Had his moments defusing high balls and jinking around in space but what the Wallabies required was a hard-running full back who was willing to hit the line at pace and into to contact if required. It appeared Banks was waiting for the time and space to launch a raid as he does at provincial level, yet those opportunities don’t always arise at test level. His position in the side must be questioned.
14. Filipo Daugunu – 6.5 / 10 – Average day in defence but still showed what an attacking threat he can be with the limited opportunity he had in space. The Wallabies need to fashion an attack that allows him more space and front foot ball.
13. Hunter Paisami – 6/10 – Pushed passes, dropped ball coupled with some astute attacking lines and support play. Adapted admirably when Matt Toomua was forced from the field with injury but too often was simply on is own when taking on the line.
12. Matt To’omua – 7/10 – A far better performance this week being staunch in defence and a real threat in attack having a hand in Australia’s only try. The Wallabies lost their attacking shape when he left the field.
11. Marika Koroibete 3/10 – Dreadful. Despite scoring a try the usually dependable winger was dreadful. A club winger would have scored his try given the work done for him. He stifled the Wallabies attack through poor handling and an inability to get low and score when another try looked certain. I doubt he will ever play such a poor-a-test. Should apologise to the dressing room. Dreadful.
10. James O’Connor – 5.5/10 – Average performance and was singularly responsible for turning the pressure back onto the Wallabies at a critical moment of the game. His mid field kick, that remained chase-less, down the gullet of danger man Caleb Clarke who then went on to carve the Wallabies with an All Black try s short time thereafter was unforgivable for a player of his calibre and experience. Must be smarter.
9. Nic White – 6.5/10 – Was contained by the All Blacks yet he still caused them enough issues to confirm he remains the Wallabies best choice in the 9 jersey.
8. Harry Wilson – 6.5/10 – Was solid without being spectacular. He must learn not to push passes that are not on and look at times to be the pass option himself. The Wallabies were poorer for his absence when he left the field in the second half.
7. Michael Hooper 7/10 – Australia’s best player. Again, in the thick of it, securing the ball or linking up as a support player. The big question is how as a leader could he not get the message through to his team to cut out the silly errors? Needs to take ownership there.
6. Ned Hanigan – 5.5/10 – Astonishing performance by the recalled Waratah back rower. Astonished a player can be so good and so poor in the same match! Topping the Wallabies tackle count, yet also topping the Wallabies penalty count. Astonishing! Didn’t cause the All Blacks any great concern at the lineout but had his moments yet for whatever good he did, it was balanced out by his errors. Not the answer at 6.
? Hanigan you beauuuty! Rika with the finish ?
? @foxtel and @10BoldAU
#NZLvAUS #BledisloeCup #YourTeam #OurJourney?? Tickets on sale now for 3rd Bledisloe at @anzstadium in Sydney on Saturday 31 October via Ticketek. pic.twitter.com/GsTrD0ZKY3
— Wallabies (@wallabies) October 18, 2020
5. Matt Philip – 6/10 – Honest Matt. Bloke doesn’t know how not to have a go. Worth persisting with. Makes his tackles, knows his job and does it.
4.Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – 5.5/10 – Wasn’t disgraced out there but was outmuscled in the key moments. Like his counterparts was often to singular in attack.
3. Taniela Tupou – 5.5/10 – Nearly scored an early try and went looking for work but had an absolute ‘Brain-Fart’ when the Wallabies had turnover ball, numbers outside and space to work with, the big fella put in a kick fitting of a 3rd grade prop who was looking for a rest. Simply poor option taking. Must eradicate such rubbish from his game.
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa – 6/10 – Should retain his position as the lineout appeared better that last week and came perilously close to scoring a try in the second half but was done for a double-movement.
1. James Slipper. 6.5/10 – The Wallabies scrum is so much stronger his presence. Had a high involvement around the park despite missing 3 in defence, he was one of the better forwards out there for the Wallabies.
- Jordan Uelese – 5/10 – Was dominated at scrum time and didn’t really bring the impact the Wallabies were seeking from their finishers.
- Scott Sio 5/10 – 5/10 – Little to no impact. Not good enough today.
- Allan Alaalatoa – 6.5/10 – Was dependable in defence but set piece had its issues and his handling was questionable at times.
- Rob Simmons – 4/10 – May have played his last test. His performance was bereft of impact.
- Liam Wright 5/10 – Guilty of poor ball security but won a try saving turnover near the death. How the Wallabies use him in the future will be interesting as he is not a gain line runner yet a wonderful player over the ball and out wide.
- Jake Gordon – 5.5/10 – the Wallabies attack appeared slower and disjointed when he was on. Perhaps not his fault, but not much impact today.
- Jordan Petaia 5.5/10 – Had his moments when he came on for Matt Toomua but was guilty of poor ball security at times. Glad to see he got through the match uninjured.
- Reece Hodge. 5/10 – Was there and too his credit hit the gain line at pace with limited attacking opportunity. Could he be the Wallaby 15 moving forward?
Comments on RugbyPass
The 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
18 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 comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments