North vs South: South player ratings vs North
Inter-island rivalry was cranked up again for only the third time in 33 years with the North South match up in Wellington.
The South picked a Crusaders flavoured starting XV and it paid dividends as they played with cohesion and stayed in the game even with limited possession early on.
North hit the front halfway through the second half but the South had the last say to win 38-35. Here’re the South team’s ratings.
1. Joe Moody – 6.5
Good covering tackle on Beauden Barrett as he was haring though. Solid scrum time but gave away a couple of penalties. Off at 50.
2. Codie Taylor – 7
Unjustly robbed of a try with an obstruction call at maul time on 23 minutes. Set up Jordie Barrett’s try with a clever pass. Off at 50.
3. Nepo Laulala – 7
Good halfback reflexes to pinch the first try. Solid scrummaging against the dangerous Big Karl and good hands late in the first half. Off at 50
4. Samuel Whitelock – 7
Flung Dunshea in the air most of the first half. Good turnover in the 74 after a sustained North attack to show he’s still got the energy.
New Zealand and the rest of the rugby world wanted an exciting game of rugby, and the North and South Islands delivered it.https://t.co/oTGi3Q40DX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2020
5. Mitchell Dunshea – 7.5
Took his chance well in international company. Good fake on 2 handed line out take to gain penalty. Good snuff out of Ioane attack at 20. Spent a lot of time in open play hitching up his shorts, someone must have sabotaged his elastic. Off 67
6. Shannon Frizell – 7
Always a handful with ball in hand. Hits hard as Tuungafasi found out after 44.
7. Tom Christie – 7.5
Looked really at home on defence and some nice work with the ball. Great turnovers after 42 and 56 on Reece and Barrett. Off at 60.
8. Tom Sanders – 8
Must have been close to Man of the Match with strong measures of carries and tackles. Great rampage off the scrum at 25 minutes and then 5 minutes later a nice bid for the line in an attack that led to Jordie Barrett’s try.
9. Brad Weber – 7
Played well above the form he’d shown so far this season and put in a good bid to retain the third AB 9 spot. Off at 63.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 6
Didn’t quite look 100% especially after his HIA test in the 28th minute. Linked well but we didn’t see the dazzle dazzle with ball in hand.
Much of the hype surrounding the #NorthvSouth match stemmed from the exciting brand of rugby many were expecting of New Zealand's best players, and Damian McKenzie's try perfectly embodied that.https://t.co/6Nch6bGPM9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2020
11. George Bridge – 7
Some good bursts on the left flank, even a line out take to his credit. Always dangerous and you’d think he’ll be the first wing picked in the All Black squad.
12. Jack Goodhue – 7
Looked a little tentative early on but was right up there with Sanders for carries and tackles. Good glue.
13. Braydon Ennor – N/A
Off at 13 with nasty knee problem.
14. Will Jordan – 8
Has the freakish ability to turn chances into metres gained and points. Great cover tackle on Reece at the end of the first half. In the second half he really started to shine; good pounce on the bobbling ball to get a 5 pointer in the 59th. And then the last try…..oh what brilliant skill!
15. Jordie Barrett – 7.5
Used his booming boot well in the swirling wind. Great co-ordination with Mo’unga for the grubber and chase and then brute power to get over for a try in the corner. Also smashed Savea with a menacing cover tackle at 53 minutes and always at the forefront running the ball up.
Replacements:
16. Liam Coltman – 6
On at 50 and lineout pill became a real issue on his introduction. To his credit he managed to get the last few right.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEuSynqgaY5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
17. George Bower – 6
On at 50 and performed his role well
18. Tyrel Lomax – 7
On at 50 and looked like his dad and former Kiwis star John bursting on to a ball in midfield for his try.
19. Manaaki Selby-Rickit – 7.5
On at 67. This guy looks like a real athlete and if he can fill out he has a rosy future. Some good line out ball and awesome romping in open play.
20. Dillon Hunt – 7
On at 60 and played with a fiery intensity.
21. Finlay Christie – 7
On at 63 and tackled his heart out with his usual energy. Top tackles in less than a half on the field.
22. Josh Ioane – 7
Came on after 28 minutes with Mo’unga’s HIA and played the rest of the first half. Returned at 71 and rolled out a perfect cross kick for Jordan to win the game.
23. Leicester Faingaanuku – 6.5
On at 13 minutes in the 13 position and certainly didn’t let his team down. A couple of good strong runs and looked reasonably assured in defence against some talented opponents.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful 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 comments