1
All Blacks player ratings vs England | Autumn Nations Series
By
Ben Smith
at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
The All Blacks pulled off a late comeback to snatch a 24-22 win at Allianz Stadium Twickenham after two missed George Ford kicks.
ADVERTISEMENT
The visitors started strongly with two first half tries getting out to a 14-6 lead but Marcus Smith’s boot kept England in the game at 14-12 at half-time.
A big intercept from Smith, finished by Feyi-Waboso, put England up 22-14 before a final quarter push by the All Blacks took the game.
Here’s how they rated.
1. Tamaiti Williams – 4
The big man was penalised for collapsing a few scrums in but he was punishing in defence, using his big body. Obstructing his halfback a little bit led to Marcus Smith’s key intercept.
2. Codie Taylor – N/A
Took a knock early on a defensive set five minutes off and went off for an HIA, did not return.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 5
ADVERTISEMENT
A smart pilfer at the ruck early in the first half. England got the upper hand at scrum time and issues persisted the entire game. Caught out at the ruck by Itoje on a break in the first half. Lomax was penalised for overextension late in the first half which Smith converted. Had a big sack on England’s maul at 54 mins.
4. Scott Barrett – 7
The captain was everywhere in defence making last ditch efforts multiple times. Got through a ton of tackles. Penalised early competing at the breakdown which gave England first three points. Charged down Spencer a couple times with England coming out of their own half.
5. Tupou Vaa’i – 3
One of the All Blacks best this year finally had on off day. An ankle tap on Maro Itoje helped save a bad situation in the first half. Took a massive shot from Cunningham-South and spilt the ball, the All Blacks conceded a penalty from the scrum. Dropped the pass with an open line ahead on what was probably a forward pass from Sititi, but nonetheless a possible try scoring moment. Pinged right on half-time for side maul entry. Off at 41.
ADVERTISEMENT
6. Wallace Sititi – 9
First showing at Twickenham was sensational, as he has been all season. Set up the first try with an offload round the corner to Tele’a. Charged down a Marcus Smith drop goal attempt. Had three line breaks and four offloads, adding a strip steal in the second half.
7. Sam Cane – 6
Solid defence early from Cane. Penalised for an off the ball tackle on Cunningham-South which cost three points. Produced a big time ruck turnover after an England kick regather on the edge of the 22.
8. Ardie Savea – 6
Always strong in contact. His first carry was strong off the first launch and set the tone. Had a classic left foot chip on a dime but Lienert-Brown couldn’t bring in the ball under pressure.
9. Cortez Ratima – 5
A learning experience for Ratima in this Test. A key box kick sailed out on the full looking to exit after the first try, but he corrected his aim. Linked up on a fast break opportunity but his attempted grubber didn’t get the desired result. Threw the intercept pass with an obstructed view by Tamiati Williams to Marcus Smith which England took the lead with. Produced a big breakdown turnover but overall not his best showing. Off at 59.
10. Beauden Barrett – 6.5
Barrett led the bombing raid at Twickenham with a high ball strategy off the boot. He was charged early on a cross-field kick opportunity. His next cross-field kick coming out of the 22 was a half chance but the ball spilled backward from Clarke. A chip into open space found a favourable bounce for Barrett to recover and put in another nudge. His influence wore on as he piloted New Zealand’s attack. A clever switch play opened up England for a try to Will Jordan. Game management faded a bit in the second half and he finished the game on the bench.
11. Caleb Clarke – 5
Competed hard in the air on the left side. Earned a reprieve when his long kick went out on the full under penalty advantage. Produced a big assist for Beauden Barrett in the second half but his own tackle attempt earlier in the passage on defence cost the All Blacks. Judged to be a deliberate knock-on, the try was overturned and England got a penalty.
12. Jordie Barrett – 5
A line break late in the first half was a highlight. Put a decent shot on England captain Jamie George which forced a key turnover. Off at 64.
13. Rieko Ioane -4
Wasn’t Ioane’s best showing despite the effort. A hard carry on the scrum looked good before being stripped while looking for the offload. Had time out of the game in the first half for an HIA but returned.
14. Mark Tele’a – 8
A nice contested aerial grab early. Put the goose on Ellis Genge one-on-one down the five metre channel and won the speed mismatch easily to score the first try. Went off at 60 but came back at 66 and came up clutch. Repeated the effort in the second half late with a stunner to snatch the lead back taking George Ford down the wing.
15. Will Jordan – 6.5
Safe take under the high ball early and his kick returns won easy metres. Burst through the line on a switch play running underneath Barrett to score untouched with Genge once again the target. Pushed in offload running out of his 22 that was on, just didn’t execute. However, found the mark with an offload and assist for Telea’s second.
Reserves
16. Asafo Aumua – 6 – A big test for Asafo coming on early in the first half just five minutes in. His throwing was hit and miss and really costly at times. Got pinged for taking Marcus Smith out off the ball. Physically he was up for it. Carried strongly with ball in hand with 12 carries. Pushed an offload to Roigard for a key turnover. 17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 7 – On at 63. Replacement props made a big difference, winning back-to-back scrum penalties for the All Blacks, the first two of the game. Another huge stand in front the goal posts on the last play helped save the game.
18. Pasilio Tosi – 7 – On at 63. Scrum turned around with Tosi on and helped surge the All Blacks back into the lead.
19. Patrick Tuipulotu – 7.5 On at 41. Made his presence felt in defence with a couple of big shots early. Had a lineout steal but unfortunately spilled it. Had a catch off the post on George Ford’s miss that unfortunately he knocked on. Was one of the All Blacks best.
20. Samipeni Finau – N/A
21. Cam Roigard – 6 – On at 59. Brought accuracy and zip to the game. Played a steady hand.
22. Anton Lienert-Brown – 0 – Two penalties for tackles, one off the ball with two minutes remaining cost a yellow card and potentially the game. Ford’s long range penalty hit the post.
23. Damian McKenzie – 7 – On at 60. Slotted his penalty and a sideline conversion which proved pivotal. A match-winning cameo with the boot.
Louis Rees-Zammit joins Jim Hamilton for the latest episode of Walk the Talk to discuss his move to the NFL. Watch now on RugbyPass TV
Tamaiti Williams is looking very vulnerable at loose head.
Since he can play tight head too (I believe) should he not be tried there?
Compare these to the England ratings and you'd think the ABs lost by 30. Every English player was apparently fantastic and nearly every All Black was rubbish? Jeez, wait till the All Blacks actually play well then, if you can't beat a bunch 4s and 5s out of 10 then there's no hope. But, this is Ben Smith we are talking about, he produces some of the worst rugby takes in media.
Different journo doing the England ratings. (I apply the word journo to Ben Smith in the loosest possible sense)
Do Ben Smith's initials also stand for BS? Hard to figure out how we managed to win that game if we all played so badly? Will Jordan 6.5? Really? AB's made plenty of mistakes some of which were due to great England pressure. Amua's throwing was faultless in the 1st half before being all over the place in the 2nd and he was great round the field so 6 is fair. But if it wasn't for an intercept England would have been try less. We scored 4 one was disallowed. So no, England should not have won that match. Borthwick should know by now you're unlikely to beat the AB's in 3
Bit tough on many of the ABs. They scored quite a few tries and left some out there. England- have little try scoring ability and relied on intercept and penalties. But am sure the media and Stuart Barnes will say how unlucky they were 😂
Not sure how Aumua got a 6. His line out throwing was diabolical. Sure he was great around the pitch but throwing is a core duty of a hooker. I lost count of how many overthrows he made
Based on this rating one would think the All Blacks lost by 7.
Reiko's read on ENG's try was terrible. He ran off the winger instead of shadowing him & leaving the ball carrier to Jordan who actually ran him down. His role was to cover-defend the supports. Useless, basic error, poor D. 2/10.
D-Mac's cameo was epic. 10/10 for me.
ALB needs a boot. For an experienced leader, his effort was -01/10.
All tighties should always get a minimum rating of 6.0. It's disrespectful to rate less, given the immense degree of difficulty.
Dmac is an excellent impact player.
I think the All Black forwards take the ball standing still far too much although I realize that is by design to set up the back door play to backs but I would still like to see the forwards take the pass running onto the ball flat from depth the first 3 or so phases.
In regards to the backs, I am of the opinion that neither Jordie nor Ioane are good enough midfielders to ever be world class- Jordie is too skinny and lacks power for 12 and Rieko just does not have the ball skills required.
And ALB has been a penalty magnet in every test he comes on as a reserve.
Well.
Borthwick should be
sacked.
The whole wind went out of england when Smith went off.
What idiot takes off the best player on the pitch to bring his favourite on who then misses a penalty and drop goal and gives a hospital pass to the floor , ha , a joke , when under pressure .
I , and the whole country must be furious .
When will Borethwick realise ford is all hot air .
Yet another dreadful management error.
When the players give their all to have a thicko in charge of the team sticking rigidly to his plan of taking players off despite being on fire , it's must be heartbreaking .
Can see your point, Smith played well but he still couldn't orchestrate a try apart from a week taken but opportunistic intercept.