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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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As the season progresses it must become clear to Razor that his loose forward mix is not right. Soon he will need to get balance right. Move Wallace to 8. Pick best open side jackal from NZ. Find the best blind side- as close as you can to say PSdt. I would consider Vaai. Then get Darry in with Scott. Front row you guys are fine. Play Ardie from the bench like Rassie does Kwagga. His impact would be huge as players tire. It is not a demotion but best for team.
Reiko I feel is lost. The passing and movement game does not suit him and maybe he needs to shift to wing again. At least Razor plays Jordan at fullback now. For the first time the size and weight of bench made impact at forward and would keep Patrick on bench.
Is this the guy that doesn’t give any Barrett a score below 5?
Jordie Barrett has been tried at fullback, wing, even at 10 briefly, and now has had a few years at 12. Yet he has not been able to succeed in any of those positions. He is very poor these days, and is holding the All Blacks back. But the media never criticise the Barretts. The ABs won't progress until Jordie is dropped altogether. It's becoming the elephant in the room that few wish to talk about. But Jordie's shortcomings are there for all to see.
10000% I’m glad I didn’t have to say it this week
If Asafu Aumua is rated a 6 then I understand why AB supporters (and Ben Smith) still mistakenly believe they are the best rugby team in the world. He missed more than 50% of his lineout throws - two of which cost strong attacking opportunities and lineouts are the best attacking platforms. He missed more than one tackle and conceded two penalties, one being very stupid on Marcus Smith. He cannot fulfil a hookers basic key function - hit your lineouts !
Next week we have Asofa Aumua and George Bell on the bench who is even worse at lineout time.
I think they should parachute Eklund in from the ABs XV.
Hilarious. Mark Tele'a - tons of metres gained and tackles broken, scores 2 brilliant tries, one a match winner against England at Twickenham in front of 80,000 rabid poms: 8 out of 10. What do you have to do to get 10?? Turn water into wine, THEN score tries?? I'd hate to be one of your kids. "99 percent??? Not good enough!!" 😆
That McKenzie kick is worth the whole game - nobody else at the ABs could have converted that
So player rating are always good for a giggle, but these ones are hilarious.
Rugby Pass England first XV player ratings, 115. [Liam Heagney, possibly are Irishman being nice to the English. Or trying to lull them into a false sense of achievement]
Rugby Pass All Blacks first XV player ratings [Including Aumua from reserves as Taylor was not rated] 86.
Yet the All Blacks won, scored 3 tries to 1, were playing away and the vast majority of their players hadn't played in 6 weeks, which cancels out the supposed advantage of England playing their first game of the year.
Maybe just have one person do both next time.
😁
I guess you were warned by this one having the 'opinion' tag and the other 'analysis'? 🤣
Vaii was good as Barrett whilst he was on, silly rating. Paddy did more in second half than Barrett in the entire match
When are Rugby Pass going to read these comments and find someone who has some competence to do these ratings. Ben Smith is regarded as a joke by anyone who has any knowledge of rugby.
The main problem with the ABs is the captaincy - Barrett is mia and has no influence with refs.
Speaking of refs - Gardner is a disgrace and the only positive thing I have to say about him is - he wont be reffing the Wallabies. Egotistical, inconsistent and myopic - simply woeful.
Dmac saved the game for the ABs and BB made so many mistakes but the people who have been calling for Dmac's scalp won't say it. He is definitely the one to take this team forward. I hope he starts getting some respect for the magic he creates.
and throwing loose passes too!!😄
Noone's calling for DMac's scalp, just that he plays from the bench, like today. He was phenomenal imo.
Tamaiti Williams is looking very vulnerable at loose head.
Since he can play tight head too (I believe) should he not be tried there?
Tamaiti is getting schooled alright. Better now than at a World Cup.
Tosi will lockdown a tighthead spot.
Played ok at losehead against SA, maybe Taylor was a big miss in the scrum.
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.
Agree. Can’t believe the comparison.
yeah nor eference to 3 tries to one scored by England in ratings . Looks as if we were losers not winners
Yep its a big joke. England averaged 3 points a player more than NZ yet lost. To have Ratima at 5 was insane. He was very good barring that intercept and he got a great turnover to make up for that too.
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
More like does the name Ben Smith stand for the acronym BS?!
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
Aumua threw 6 lineouts perfectly fine and then got the wobbles in the 2nd half with 3 misses. They weren't crooked throws, and looked like a miscommunication or misunderstanding between him and the jumpers and lifters. However, he was lethal with ball-in-hand unlike his opposites. Plus Twickenham is an intimidating cauldron with 82k people baying for blood, so some compassion and empathy wouldn't go astray.
He made one overthrow, and played the entire game. Layoff, clearly u don't know how hard it is.
he's done the same every match, needs to be pulled until he can learn the skills.
Based on this rating one would think the All Blacks lost by 7.
True you'd think we'd lost not scored three tries to a solitary one!
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.
Yeah I thought this at the time too but if you watch again, it’s quite a tough call
I thought that too but then they showed the in goal camera and I'm not sure Jordan would have had a chance. I told myself theres no point critiquing that sort of crap anyway
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 .
Marcus Smith better than Wallace Sititi? You've got rocks in your head mate.
Can see your point, Smith played well but he still couldn't orchestrate a try apart from a week taken but opportunistic intercept.