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All Blacks player ratings vs Wales | Autumn Nations Series

Aaron Smith. (Photo by Ian Cook - CameraSport via Getty Images)

The All Blacks travelled to Cardiff looking to kick off the European leg of their end-of-year tour on a positive note.

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Wales entered the game with history against them – and soon the scoreboard was too, with Codie Taylor scoring from the base of the ruck to give the All Blacks an early lead. A second try from Taylor coupled with a handful of points from the boot of Richie Mo’unga saw NZ build a 17-point buffer, only for Wales to strike back late in the first half. Still, the visitors entered the break with a handy 22-13 advantage.

While both sides traded scores early in the second spell, the All Blacks eventually took control of the match, eventually securing a 55-23 win.

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How did the All Blacks rate in the victory?

1. Ethan de Groot – 6/10
Safe as houses at the set-piece and didn’t shy away from hitting contact – with or without the ball. Dropped a simple pass. Got involved in a little bit of niggle. Off in 55th minute.

2. Codie Taylor – 8.5
Perhaps his best game in black since the last Rugby World Cup. Led the way defensively, hitting double figures before halftime and bowing out with 14 to his name. Grabbed the first two tries of the match – both from the base of the breakdown. Caught out once defending in close quarters, leaving a gap for Nick Tompkins to rush through. Nailed all nine off his lineout deliveries. Off in 58th minute.

3. Tyrel Lomax – 7
An always willing carrier of the ball. Won a penalty for his side at the set-piece but, like many of his teammates, was also pinged at the breakdown. Off in 58th minute.

4. Sam Whitelock – 7
Controlled the lineouts and barrelled into every ruck and maul. Forced a turnover with a nice hit on Ken Owens. Copped one harsh penalty at the breakdown and one for getting himself offside at the lineout.

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5. Scott Barrett – 7
Put his head down and went about his business without getting involved in anything too glorious. Off in 69th minute.

6. Shannon Frizell – 5
Wasn’t able to assert himself with the ball in hand but was busy on defence. Dropped one kick-off, giving Wales possession inside the All Blacks’ red zone. Still doesn’t convince as the All Blacks’ first-choice blindside flanker. Off in 62nd minute.

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7. Dalton Papali’i – 8
Sparked New Zealand’s first try with a great break in the midfield, bumping off two defenders and racing 20 metres up the field into the opposition 22. Always looked to contest opposition ball on the ground but didn’t have as much luck as he would have liked – though still managed to slow down the opposition ball. Topped the tackle chart for NZ with 16 to his name. A strong performance in place of the captain.

8. Ardie Savea – 9
His usual destructive self. Shut down Wales’ first and second attacking forays with some great work at the breakdown but was pinged on his third attempt. Carried strongly throughout and set up NZ’s fifth try of the afternoon with his trademark audacious dummy before scoring one of his own to cease any sort of Wales fightback.

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9. Aaron Smith – 8.5
Distributed quickly and efficiently. Was a menace at scrum time, causing plenty of issues for his opposite. Scored an excellent individual try, sniping off the back of a maul. Ran a great support line off Savea to grab his double. Off in 67th minute.

10. Richie Mo’unga – 7
Kicked well throughout but primarily played a distributive role. Put in a well-placed cross-kick to Jordie Barrett to create a try. Couldn’t bring in a Tomos Williams kick over the defence, with Wales scoring from the ensuing chaos. Made up for it by chasing down Gareth Anscombe when it looked like the converted Kiwi was destined to score. Off in 69th minute.

11. Caleb Clarke – 4
Fluffed a simple catch early in the first half, handing Wales an attacking opportunity right outside the NZ 22. Defended well but didn’t get any opportunities with the ball in hand until time was almost up.

12. Jordie Barrett – 8
His momentum-generating carries were key to the All Blacks getting go-forward. Penalised for not rolling away when Wales were hot on attack. Showed off his vertical jump ability with a great reception from a Mo’unga cross-field kick to score the All Blacks’ third try of the afternoon and then touched down with five to play for NZ’s last.

13. Rieko Ioane – 4
Almost anonymous for the first three-quarters of the match before shifting to the right wing where he had a couple of good touches, including one nice break.

14. Sevu Reece – 3
Pinged once for not rolling away at the breakdown and didn’t like his three-quarters partners, rarely got his hands on the pill. Off in 58th minute.

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15. Beauden Barrett – 6
Beautifully Tidied up a Wales kick through inside his 22 but was hauled out of the field by Taulupe Faletau. Shifted into No 10 towards the back-end of the match and added some zip from first-receiver, throwing the final pass for his brother’s second try.

Reserves:

16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 7
On in 58th minute. Touched down for the All Blacks’ final score of the night and made one barnstorming run down the middle. Formed a nice one-two punch with Taylor.

17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 5
On in 55th minute. Put his hand up to carry.

18. Fletcher Newell – 6
On in 58th minute. Won a penalty at his first scrum and featured a couple of times in the open field.

19. Tupou Vaa’i – N/A
On in 69th minute.

20. Akira Ioane – 6
On in 62nd minute. Added some nice vim and vigour without setting the world alight.

21. Brad Weber – 6
On in 67th minute. Noticeably a little bit tentative at the base of the ruck relative to the man he replaced but looked good when he stretched his legs.

22. David Havili – N/A
On in 69th minute.

23. Anton Lienert-Brown – 4
On in 58th minute. Didn’t get any opportunities to make an impact.

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2 Comments
m
mike 729 days ago

Akira Ioane is not in the same class as Shannon Frizell. How you could rate him ahead of Frizell for their respective contributions in this match is difficult to understand and significantly at odds with other analysts

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours 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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