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All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks | Rugby Championship

Eben Etzebeth tries to bring down Ardie Savea. (Photo by Patrick Hamilton/AFP via Getty Images)

With the All Blacks already wrapping up the Rugby Championship and Freedom Cup trophies in a nail-biting match a week prior, the major talking point for this Round 6 match-up with the Springboks was whether the men from South Africa go one step further and beat the All Blacks.

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Well, the Springboks very much achieved that and showed a few more dimensions, giving the ball some air and adding to an incredibly entertaining clash.

The turning point of the match came at 38 minutes when the Boks replaced all three of their front-rowers. All of a sudden, there was no way forward for NZ and the green machine went on a 14-point run, it was a horror third quarter for the men in black. A few traded penalties and a dropped goal later, and the Springboks snatched a narrow 31-29 victory.

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Ian Foster and Ardie Savea react to the All Blacks’ defeat to the Springboks,

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Ian Foster and Ardie Savea react to the All Blacks’ defeat to the Springboks,

Here’s how the All Blacks rated:

1. Joe Moody – 5.5/10
Didn’t get the rub of the ref’s decisions last week but did well at scrum time in this clash, especially before Vincent Koch came on after 38 minutes. Strong tackle count, but made a bad knock-on in the 25th minute. Off at 57.

2. Codie Taylor – 5.5
Complete blooper dropping the ball that led to the Damian de Allende try in the sixth minute. Tackled his heart out, top tackler with Ardie even though he went off at 57 minutes.

3. Nepo Laulala – 5.5
Solid performance but big Ofa is starting to get into his stride. Off at 57.

4. Brodie Retallick – 5
Conceded three penalties, which has been an issue with him throughout this competition. Good defence but not a presence at the lineout and inert with ball in hand. He made zero metres with six carries and it was illustrated in the 45th minute where he was very static in midfield for unconvincing runs and then smashed at the 55th minute in ruck. Questions now will have to be asked about whether he’s the best bet for the World Cup in 2023 with Tupou Vaa’i taking leaps and bounds.

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5. Scott Barrett – 5
Also a penalty-conceder, for with blocking at the 11th minute and poor tackle technique in the 40th. On the positive side, nabbed a turnover at the lineout, giving Brad Weber a try at the 33rd minute. Off at halftime with his shoulder issue. Sam Whitelock Whitelock was missed in the last two games and Foster will be welcoming him back with open arms.

6. Akira Ioane – 5.5
Not at the last-chance saloon but more a second opportunity shop chance for the loosie; there was a mix of good and bad. Seems to have gone back to more of a high body position both on attack and defence. Early on he got his hands on the ball and distributed well, made a strong tackle taking on three Boks that led to an Ardie Savea turnover and then stripped Duane Vermuelen at 15 minutes. Missed a crucial tackle on Bongi Mbonambi and was strayed offside at the 24th minute to concede a penalty.

7. Ardie Savea – 8.5
Prominent and dominant and a shining light for his team. A selection of great turnovers, awesome work at the back of a folding scrum. Carried the ball very strongly, finally showing some real leg drive again and received a good reward with the try.

8. Luke Jacobson – 7
Came off a belly bug but still had the stomach for a fight. Alongside Savea, he was one forward who matched the South Africans for physicality and intensity. Taking him off at 50 minutes was an interesting move; his team missed his expertise at the front of the lineout and good defensive reads.

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9. Brad Weber – 7.5
Proved his selection was a smart one with some good speed and snappiness. Great energy and brave on defence, gave Beauden Barrett far more time to dictate things in the first half-hour. Made a  good charge down in the 17th minute getting by quickly off the line. Quicksilver reactions off the turnover at the lineout to score a try at 33 minutes, off at 57.

10. Beauden Barrett – 6.5
An improved performance – which he needed with Richie Mo’unga lurking. A very good kick to Seve Reece for his try, showed nice footwork that led to Savea’s try and a put in a lovely quick punt in the 31st minute after penalty. On defence, held up Mbonambi to deny him a try but there was some erratic passing and kicking as well. Off at 65.

11. Rieko Ioane – 7
Had the 11 jersey on his back but did his best work in the midfield. Made a great break from the centre position at the 25th minute, sucking in two defenders and setting Anton Lienert-Brown free, and also displayed sublime support play and power that led to the 28th minute try from Savea. 56 metres from six carries shows his value.

12. David Havili – 5
Still has a lot to work on with getting over the advantage line, which is bread and butter for a second five-eighth. Also was part of a poor read that led to Mapimpi’s try but did manage nine tackles. Off at 67.

13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7
Had a strange role where we saw him pop up on the left wing a lot, he ran for 56 metres from six carries. He was penalised for a high tackle in the 3rd minute but it’s good to have him back, he brings a load of combativeness and leadership talent.

14. Sevu Reece – 7
The feisty Fijian showed you don’t have to be tall to be effective in the air. Plucked the chip from Beauden Barrett to score the AB’s first try and made some more brave takes from high balls, including a catch that earned him a rib-shaker from Siya Kolisi.

15. Jordie Barrett – 9
The tower of power at the back for the second week in a row but also showed his capabilities on attack. His pressure led to the two Willie le Roux whoopsies, and nabbed a slew of takes from his team’s kick-offs. A highlight with the ball in hand in the 32nd minute where he sizzled through a gap, running hard and then made a searing pass to Lienert-Brown on the wing. Topped the metres for his team and is in a great vein of form with the boot as well, and did his utmost to keep the All Blacks in the game.

Reserves:

16. Asafo Aumua – 3
On at 57, some reasonable go forward but important lineout losses at 65 and 68 minutes.

17. George Bower – 6
On at 57, looked full of energy and helped turn the team effort around after a poor third quarter.

18. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 6
On at 57 and took a stride forward in his work at the tackle and secure ball carrying.

19. Patrick Tuipulotu – 5.5
On at halftime. Doesn’t offer a genuinely strong lineout option against experts like the Boks but didn’t take a backward step in the collision zone.

20. – Ethan Blackadder – 6.5
On at 50. Wasn’t as outstanding as last week but managed 9 tackles in 23 minutes.

21. TJ Perenara – 3
On at 57. Awful pass that ironically led to the NZ penalty that got them ahead in the last minutes. The slowing in clearance speed from the base was palpable.

22. Richie Mo’unga – 4.5
On at 65. Tried to get up to speed and chanced his arm with ball in hand. Ran into a wall with his first carry and then was turned over in the second.

23. Damian McKenzie – 5.5
On at 67 and got the dancing feet going.

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J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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