Sports

All Blacks player ratings: Damian McKenzie ‘looks like a Test fly-half’ as ‘powerhouse’ forward stars to outmuscle Ireland

Following a superb 23-13 victory over Ireland in their international clash at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, here are the player ratings for the All Blacks.

15 Will Jordan: Struggled to truly break free from the Ireland defence but some of his high ball work was magnificent. One bad decision aside, Jordan was very assured and was rewarded with yet another try. 7

14 Mark Tele’a: Was busy as ever but not nearly as effective this time around and there were just a few too many errors. 5

13 Rieko Ioane: Good defensively but, again, that All Blacks attack just isn’t firing as we’ve come to expect. 6

12 Jordie Barrett: Was correctly yellow carded for poor technique in the tackle and they were punished, but he was otherwise pretty effective on both sides of the ball. 6

11 Caleb Clarke: Like Tele’a, the wing was busy but, in contrast to his back three partner, Clarke made fewer mistakes. Good aerially and always made ground in contact. 7

Much better from McKenzie

10 Damian McKenzie: A fine way to answer your critics. While not perfect and with the odd poor decision, particularly on one occasion when he kicked despite Ireland being short in defence, he looked like a Test fly-half. His second-half display was particularly good. 8

9 Cortez Ratima: After a good start to his Test career, the scrum-half has found out just how hard the top level can be. Ratima really struggled in Dublin and was constantly caught at the base. 3

8 Ardie Savea: This is a slightly different Savea, although no less effective. With Sititi so effective in the carry, we haven’t seen as many barnstorming runs. However, he has been doing some excellent work in defence, as shown by his late turnover. 7

7 Sam Cane: Always puts his head where it hurts. Makes his tackles in defence but he also did some excellent cleanout work to limit Ireland’s effectiveness at the breakdown. 7

6 Wallace Sititi: Not quite as eye-catching as last week but still magnificent. So strong and incredibly athletic, while combining that with incredible work ethic. 8

5 Tupou Vaa’i: Slightly better than against England as they put pressure on the Irish lineout but a couple of penalties blotted his copybook. 5

Setting the tone

4 Scott Barrett (c): Brutal in contact as the All Blacks never allowed the hosts to dominate. Barrett’s physical effort typified New Zealand’s performance. 7

3 Tyrel Lomax: The All Blacks’ scrum had Ireland’s front-row creaking but they couldn’t quite get dominance as the hosts just about held firm. 6

2 Asafo Aumua: Lineout much better this week while Aumua’s work around the field was just as good. Hugely impressive from the powerhouse, who has put himself in the frame to be the starting hooker long-term. 8

1 Tamaiti Williams: Another good shift from Williams, who was better in the set-piece this week and put himself about in the loose. 6

Replacements: Once again, the bench had the desired effect. The props put Ireland under pressure in the scrum, Patrick Tuipulotu was physical and Cam Roigard was a massive step above Ratima at scrum-half. 8

Related Posts

Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, and the other Dodgers collected a postseason bonus that broke all previous records

An MLB analyst explains what this bonus means for the bulk of the roster for winning the World Series. This Tuesday, MLB announced the value of full shares…

Rafa Nadal se expresa como nunca antes ante su esposa, Xisca, y su hijo al anunciar su cese en el tenis

Su hermana Maribel, su tío Toni y, por supuesto, su madre y su padre, al que considera una “fuente de inspiración”, también se han convertido en protagonistas de…

When Ohtani hit his first home run that was considered to be “official,” he also threw a no-hitter

After signing a record contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani and his 54 home runs for the season were on full display as he went on…

อดิศักดิ์-ชาญณรงค์ อดป้องกันแชมป์ มิตซูบิชิ อีเล็คทริคฯ 2024

กลายเป็นสองนักเตะจากศึกฟุตบอล เมืองไทยลีก (T2) ที่ไม่ได้โอกาสในการไปป้องกันแชมป์ เอเอฟเอฟ มิตซูบิชิ อีเล็คทริค คัพ 2024 สำหรับ “อดิศักดิ์ ไกรษร” ศูนย์หน้าฟอร์มฮอตจาก “เกษตรศาสตร์ เอฟซี” ที่ซัดไปแล้ว 10 ประตู จากการลงสนาม 13 เกมให้กับทีม รวมทั้ง “กัปตันหนึ่ง” ชาญณรงค์ พรมศรีแก้ว แนวรุกตัวเก่งของ ชลบุรี เอฟซี…

Wallabies’ talent-spotting flaw exposed, All Black rookie stands tallest in Autumn Series teams of the week

In the end, we are as it is told in the books. World Rugby’s rankings come in for stick but over the long run, by the close of…

แผนงาน ทีมชาติไทย ชุดใหญ่ ก่อนลุยศึกมิตซูบิชิ อีเล็คทริค คัพ

เปิดแผนงานการเตรียมทีมของ “ทีมชาติไทย ชุดใหญ่” ในรายการเอเอฟเอฟ มิตซูบิชิ อีเล็คทริค คัพ 2024 ที่จะเริ่มฟาดแข้งในระหว่างวันที่ 8 ธันวาคม 2567 – 5 มกราคม 2568 โดยเกมแรก ทัพ “ช้างศึก” จะออกไปเยือน “ติมอร์ เลสเต” ในวันที่ 8 ธ.ค.นี้ ที่ประเทศเวียดนาม… แผนงานของ ทีมชาติไทย…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *