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All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster | Autumn Nations Series

Du'Plessis Kirifi of the All Blacks XV with the Pinergy Cup. Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images

The All Blacks XV survived 75 minutes of toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow rugby with Munster to produce a devastating final five minutes at Thomond Park for a 38-24 win.

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Just two points separated the teams with five minutes remaining, but impact from a bench laden with young capped and future All Black stars proved the difference in a tight match.

Here’s how the All Blacks XV rated in the Pinergy Cup contest.

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1. George Bower – 7

The prop struggled to keep his side of the scrum up but his superior power meant it was Munster who were penalised for the collapses. 11 tackles on the night.

2. Brodie McAlister – 6

The most penalised player in the contest, McAlister was also out-tackled by his replacement despite playing three times longer. Just the one wayward lineout throw was the exception from an otherwise strong set-piece performance.

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3. George Dyer – 7

Dyer’s side of the scrum was the more stable of the two and the prop made his presence felt on defence.

4. Isaia Walker-Leawere – 8

Despite his all too familiar ill-discipline earning himself a yellow card and his opponents a penalty try, Walker-Leawere was ultimately a positive influence on the game for his side.

Bruising defence saw him make the most dominant tackles in the contest with four. Challenged well in the lineout, including forcing the knock-on that led to the game-securing Kini Naholo try.

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5. Fabian Holland – 8.5

A Man of the Match performance from the 22-year-old. Holland was a robust contributor across his 65 minutes, with 12 tackles and 10 carries along with his strong set-piece work.

6. Oliver Haig – 7.5

A big body who used his skill set well in both the attacking and defensive lineout. 11 tackles without a miss.

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi – 9

The Kirifi hype train rolls on thanks to another outstanding performance from the captain. Kirifi led from the front and made the plays when his team needed them most.

The 27-year-old’s energy is never lacking and his leadership was composed when needed. 18 tackles – three dominant – led the game in addition to his constant threat around the breakdown.

8. Devan Flanders – 8

A physical showing from the No. 8, who was effective in getting his side on the front foot while contributing 13 tackles.

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9. Finlay Christie – 8

A fast game required a fast halfback and Christie delivered for his side, facilitating the rapid attack. The All Blacks XV were comfortably at their most dangerous when getting lightning-quick ball at the breakdown and the halfback was never caught lacking, contributing to scoring opportunities well.

10. Harry Plummer – 8

Plummer’s decision-making on attack was mostly very positive, with a couple of wayward kicks the exception. A late intercept was the cherry on top fr the New Zealand win.

11. Kini Naholo – 8

Some physical defence was the winger’s main contribution to the match but he made the most of his few carries.

12. Quinn Tupaea – 9

A strong showing from the midfielder on both sides of the ball, with the former All Black contributing double-digit carries and tackles. Tupaea also operated like a loose forward around the breakdown.

13. AJ Lam 8.5

Perhaps New Zealand’s most versatile back – both in the All Blacks XV context and beyond – Lam provided what has become his signature bruising defence since his shift to the midfield for the Blues in their championship-winning campaign this season.

The 26-year-old made the most of his handful of carries, beating four defenders for 35 metres of gains.

14. Chay Fihaki – 7

Fihaki was a rock defensively down the right flank, and while it was largely a quiet showing from the outside back on attack, his try saw him in the right place at the right time. He lost the ball on his first carry. Replaced shortly after halftime.

15. Shaun Stevenson – 7

While we didn’t see the full breadth of Stevenson’s excellence in the match, there were still plenty of moments where he ensured his side made the most of their opportunities, influential in a couple of his team’s tries.

Replacements

16. Bradley Slater – 8

Slater provided huge work-rate during his 22 minutes on the park, making 12 tackles.

17. Xavier Numia – 7

A solid performance that lacked Numia’s X-factor.

18. Marcel Renata – 7

An unsung hero from the Blues’ 2024 title run, Renata contributed well around the park with his pick-and-go game and mobility seeing him make the most of his 30 minutes. Penalised at scrum time.

19. Naitoa Ah Kuoi – 7

An unexpectedly short and quiet cameo from the lock.

20. Corey Kellow – 8.5

A work-horse performance off the bench from the young Crusader.

21. Noah Hotham – 9

The young halfback’s first few touches were wobbly but his confidence saw him find his feet quickly for what was in the end a game-breaking impact performance from the 21-year-old. The Kiwi attack looked more dangerous with Hotham threatening around the ruck.

22. Josh Jacomb – 6

The young playmaker was quiet in his 10 minutes, coming on at fullback for Shaun Stevenson.

23. Ruben Love – 8

Electric. The 23-year-old was superb and while his work under the high ball wasn’t perfect, he looked a constant threat and would have had Munster wary of kicking down his channel.

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

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Comments

5 Comments
J
JWH 18 days ago

Kirifi needs to be in that ABs training squad, and Holland might be in there next year pending an excellent SRP season.


Kirifi is just so class, I hope he carries it over test rugby if he gets the oppurtunity. Him, Savea, and Sititi with Finau or blackadder or Papalii off the bench would be pure class. So many good Kiwi 7s right now.

S
SC 17 days ago

Kirifi is not even the best 7 on the Hurricanes team as Lakai started most Super Rugby matches ahead of Kirifi.

A
Andrew Nichols 18 days ago

Little Kirifi wont be...Giant FH is a certainty.

U
Utiku Old Boy 18 days ago

Agree with most of these. NZ rugby has very good depth of talent - despite the premature mourning of demise. Lots of good displays and credit to the coaching team for getting them ready in a short window. Some of these guys would seamlessly transfer to the next level - and SHOULD.

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JW 1 hour 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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