All Blacks Player Ratings v France

The All Blacks capped their series against France with a 49-14 victory at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Here’s how they fared individually.

1. Joe Moody – 6.5
Letting Gael Fickou bust through him was the only black mark on a tidy test for the loosehead. Ten made tackles with just two misses, one more glaring than the other.

2. Codie Taylor – 7
Effective over the ball and at lineout time, save for one overthrow. Racked up two turnovers and had a few handy carries.

3. Owen Franks – 7
Sound defensively with identical defensive statistics to Moody. Scrummaged well.

4. Sam Whitelock – 7.5
Also whiffed on Fickou. Great at lineout time, led from the front and made all the right calls as captain. 

5. Scott Barrett – 10
Scott Barrett was simply immense. I’ve never given a ten before, and if I could give an eleven I would. Filling in for Brodie Retallick, Barrett was all over the park. Led the match in tackles with 17, had a handful of strong carries and showed excellent hands to offload in the tackle. Caused problems for the French lineout all night long. Had the most influence across the ground.

6. Shannon Frizell – 6.5
Kept himself busy. Had a try rubbed out, made twelve tackles, shows plenty of promise moving forward. He can definitely be happy with his first effort in the black jersey.

7. Ardie Savea – NR
Unfortunately had rare start ended early. Performed well when he was on the park. Matt Todd was excellent as a replacement, filling up the stat sheet and wreaking havoc at the breakdown.

8. Luke Whitelock – 7
Capped a good series with another solid effort. Nothing outstanding. Converted on all ten of his tackle attempts.

9. Aaron Smith – 6.5
Definitely an improved performance after last week. Kept busy, delivered quick ball.

10. Damian McKenzie – 8.5
Scored a pair of tries, one more dubious than the other. Picked his moments to run, had an excellent night off the tee. Think he has done enough to stay ahead of Richie Mo’unga in the pecking order.

11. Rieko Ioane – 9.5
Outstanding as per usual. The type of performance we have come to expect from the incredible 21-year-old. Once again dangerous with every touch, joins elite company after bagging a hat-trick.

12. Sonny Bill Williams – 7.5
Managed close to an hour, which is more than anyone expected after he was ‘ruled out’ before the series began. Ended up being a nice cameo for the dynamic Williams. Excellent taking on the line and finding his teammates.

13. Jack Goodhue – 6.5
Another handy debut. Let in Welsey Fofana’s try but looked comfortable on both ends throughout.

14. Waisake Naholo – 7
Made good on his opportunities. Made great metres with every touch. Had a tough night defensively and fell off a few tackles. Racked up 98 run metres but missed half of his eight tackle attempts.

15. Ben Smith – 8
Capped an excellent series with another try. Always in the right place at the right time. Gets himself involved on attack and is solid in defense. Overall an excellent performance from the All Black back three.

 Reserves:
As above, Matt Todd had instant impact early after coming in for Ardie Savea. Jackson Hempo was solid on debut, got the call earlier than he would have expected after Frizell left for blood. Made the most of his opportunity and seemed to pop up everywhere. Jordie Barrett slotted in nicely for Sonny Bill around the hour mark. Richie Mo’unga played sparingly but had a great touch finder as his first act in the black jersey.

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