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All Blacks player ratings vs Ireland | 3rd Test July 2022

Akira Ioane. (Photo by Elias Rodriguez/Photosport)

After suffering a first-ever home defeat at the hands of Ireland last weekend, the All Blacks were looking to bounce back at Sky Stadium in the series decider on Saturday night.

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Ireland struck first and had their fans roaring in the stadium, and then piled on plenty more points in the first half to take a 22-3 lead into halftime. While the All Blacks had the better of the second spell, scoring three tries to Ireland’s one, it wasn’t enough to fight back from such a sizeable disadvantage, and Ireland claimed another historic win.

Who were the All Blacks’ strongest performers in the defeat?

1. George Bower – 4/10
Put in a couple of big tackles in the first half but was otherwise anonymous. Scrum was secure but for a prop whose biggest strength is ostensibly his work around the park, it was an underwhelming performance. Off in 72nd minute.

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2. Codie Taylor – 3.5
Was better around the park than last week but still looks a shadow of his former self. The All Blacks also seriously struggled at lineout time, with Ireland sniffling four of Taylor’s 12 deliveries. That doesn’t all come down to the hooker, of course, but with nothing else going superbly, it didn’t help. Off in 62nd minute.

3. Nepo Laulala – 3
Not a good return to action. Missed an early tackle on Caelan Dorris which gave Ireland some early momentum but he made up for it with a turnover at the ruck moments later. Infringed in the 30th minute at the maul but it didn’t matter too much because Ireland scored before the advantage came to anything. Threw an offload forward right in front of the All Blacks’ posts, handing Ireland prime attacking ball which they converted into a seven-pointer. At least the scrums were steady. Off at halftime but returned in the 45th minute as a temporary replacement for Ofa Tuungafasi. Smashed James Lowe with one big tackle.

4. Brodie Retallick – 5.5
Struggled to assert himself in the first 40 but one of a number of All Blacks forwards whose carrying game came to life in the second half, especially in the period immediately following halftime. Coughed up the ball when the All Blacks were building some momentum early in the match. Off in 51st minute after foul play from Andrew Porter.

5. Sam Whitelock – 6.5
His return to the side didn’t coincide with a great uptake in lineout success for the All Blacks – but he did secure all five of the ball delivered his way. Got his running game going in the second 40, which is a relatively rare sight for the elder statesman. Grabbed a key turnover at the end of the first quarter to shut down an Ireland foray.

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6. Akira Ioane – 7
Was caught upright on one or two carries, which dulled his impact. When he was able to get momentum behind him, however, he was difficult to stop. Scored a brilliant try from 20 metres out which a combination of power and agility and generally made some massive runs in the second spell. Shelled the ball to yield any final opportunity of points but the game was already lost at that point.

7. Sam Cane – 5
Tackled Josh van der Flier without the ball in the opening exchanges, handing Ireland a close-range lineout from which they grabbed an easy maul try. Secured a well-earned breakdown penalty after 40 minutes to hand his men one last attacking opportunity in the first half but was pinged for attempting the same in the 55th minute. Topped the tackle chart for the home side. Off in 64th minute.

 

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8. Ardie Savea – 8
Dynamic as always. Strong in the carry and typically required at least a couple of Irish defenders to bring him to ground. Scored the All Blacks’ first try of the match with some great work from close-range (but not that close). Grabbed an admittedly questionable breakdown steal the next time Ireland went on the attack but was pinged for getting his timing slightly wrong later in the half. Knocked the ball on at the base of the ruck when the All Blacks were building their first real set of phases earlier in the game.

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9. Aaron Smith – 5
Passing was slick but the All Blacks just didn’t have any momentum to work with. Pinged once for rushing up before the ball was out of the breakdown. Off in 62nd minute.

10. Beauden Barrett – 4.5
The backline didn’t flourish at all throughout the series and that was especially true in Wellington. Barrett had plenty of touches but couldn’t orchestrate much with the ball in hand – although did challenge the line throughout. Similarly to last week, managed to snare an intercept when the Irish were hot on attack. Pinged for a silly ruck clearout, going miles beyond the breakdown, which Johnny Sexton converted into points.

11. Sevu Reece – 3
One of his quietest games in a black jersey. Tried to dance around a few defenders but had few chances to make any sort of an impact. Off in 62nd minute.

12. David Havili – 4.5
Kicked an excellent 50:22 from deep inside New Zealand’s half but, like the rest of his backline, otherwise failed to mark any sort of a mark on the game.

13. Rieko Ioane – 5
Hit the line with pace when given the ball – but it happened so rarely. Had the ball stripped following one strong run, then was a bit overzealous off the ground and never got onside at the next breakdown. Off in 70th minute.

14. Will Jordan – 6.5
His boot was his main weapon in the first half but finally had some space to run in the second when Savea’s inside ball sent Jordan away – and he raced almost 80 metres to score. That exceptional try aside, was kept quiet.

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15. Jordie Barrett – 5
Some good work under the high ball early doors retained possession for the All Blacks – and Barrett was given the opportunity to kick a penalty goal seconds later, but couldn’t find his target. Quiet with the ball in hand but it was his sliding catch in the 60th minute that gave the All Blacks the possession they needed for Jordan’s try.

Reserves:

16. Dane Coles – N/A
On in 62nd minute. Hit his lineout targets.

17. Karl Tu’inukuafe – N/A
On in 72nd minute.

18. Ofa Tuungafasi – N/A
On at halftime. Lasted just five minutes before he copped a shoulder to the head from Bundee Aki which went unnoticed by referee Wayne Barnes.

19. Tupou Vaa’i – 5
On in 51st minute. Made a couple of nice runs and hit plenty of rucks once he joined the game.

20. Dalton Papalii – N/A
On in 64th minute. Couldn’t assert himself at the breakdown.

21. Folau Fakatava – 4.5
On in 62nd minute. Looked frantic – a tough introduction to test rugby, two losses on the bounce and only entering the game while the All Blacks were already behind on the scoreboard.

22. Richie Mo’unga – 5
On in 62nd minute. Wasn’t able to orchestrate anything with the forward losing the momentum they’d gained earlier in the half.

23. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – N/A
On in 70th minute.

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Comments

2 Comments
D
Dunnos 842 days ago

We were just outplayed by a better team. Simple as that. Ireland’s forwards were dynamic, hungry and relentless.

D
David 842 days ago

All Blacks lacked a cohesive gameplan. Ireland ignored the AB's and played their own game. The AB backline didn't stand deep enough to combat the rush defence, yet didn't advance quickly enough to shut down Ireland. Aimless kicking and being sucked in to 'force back' was not smart either. There is some serious conversations coming up. At the highest level I would think that 3 points in front of the posts is money in the bank. Ireland knew it, New Zealand did not. Poor captaincy decisions!

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Oh no, not him again? 1 hour ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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