Player ratings: Wobbly finish
Australia managed to end their Rugby Championship campaign on a winning note, but the 25-19 triumph in Rosario will not go down as a classic.
With the exception of one great backline move in the second half, which resulted in a crucial try for Digby Ioane, it was a game littered with errors, poor execution and shocking options.
The standards in general in this game were well below par and showed how much better New Zealand are than the rest
Jan de Koning rates the Australian player!
15 Mike Harris:
Great goal-kicking, missed just one and contributed greatly to his team's win. He struggled with ball control at times, but his out of hand kicking was great.
7/10
14 Nick Cummins:
Very quiet debut and struggled with the ball in the air.
5/10
13 Ben Tapuai:
Had a couple of decent runs, but struggled with ball control and butchered a three-on-one. His field kicks were not too bad.
5/10
12 Pat McCabe:
Well marked and struggled to get over the advantage line. Made his tackles.
5/10
11 Digby Ioane:
He missed an early high ball, then lost the ball in the tackle a couple of times. However, scored a brilliant and crucial try in the second half. Always looked for work.
6/10
10 Kurtley Beale:
Looked full of running and tried to spark the Wallaby attack. Provided some humorous entertainment when he missed the ball altogether while attempting a grubber and missed two long-range goal-kicks.
6/10
9 Nick Phipps:
Mostly a link and missed a couple of tackles. His passing wasn't very accurate either.
4/10
8 Radike Samo:
Struggled with ball control. Made his tackles and had a couple of decent runs, but drifted out of the game at times.
5/10
7 Michael Hooper:
Penalised at the breakdown and missed a tackle, but had a big break early in the second half. In total he had the most run metres of all the Wallabies.
7/10
6 Sitaleki Timani:
Lots of strong carries, doing the hard yards. However, he also missed a tackle.
6/10
5 Nathan Sharpe:
Always making good ground with ball in hand, very busy and made his tackles. Also took his line-outs.
6/10
4 Kane Douglas:
Was quiet and missed a tackle in his 12 minutes on the field. Not enough time to be rated.
3 Ben Alexander:
Was penalised at scrum time and added nothing much else. There was one long 45-metre kick downfield.
4/10
2 Tatafu Polota Nau:
Penalised for collapsing the maul, then several more penalties at the breakdown – lucky not to be carded in the first half and put the ball down in the tackle as well.
3/10
1 James Slipper:
Won an early turnover, but then penalised at the scrum – replaced at half-time.
5/10
Replacements:
16 Saia Fainga'a:
Not used.
17 Benn Robinson (on for James Slipper, 40th min):
Put in great tackle on Gonzalo Camacho, but then conceded a penalty by not rolling away. However, he brought stability to the Wallaby scrum.
6/10
18 Dave Dennis (on for Radike Samo, 63rd min):
Made a few tackles, but no real impact.
5/10
19 Scott Higginbotham (on for Kane Douglas, 12th min):
There was a crucial turnover late in the second half, produced several strong carries and made several tackles – slipped just one.
6/10
20 Liam Gill (on for Sitaleki Timani, 69th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
21 Brett Sheehan (on for Nick Phipps, 74th min):
Yellow-carded within a minute of coming into the field. Could have cost his team dearly. Not enough time to be rated.
22 Dominic Shipperley:
Not used.
