Ratings: Classy All Blacks run riot

The All Blacks for full value in their opening match of the season and repaid the faith put in them by new head coach Steve Hansen.

When you carry the tag of world champions there will always be questions asked of you, and New Zealand answered all of them brilliantly today.

While Ireland contested well at the breakdown, the All Blacks remained calm and waited for any small opening to press home their advantage.

Timmy Hancox rates the All Black players:

15 Israel Dagg:

Put in some deft touches including a sneaky grubber on the counter-attack. Dagg was outstanding and kept the defenders guessing, creating second Savea try by drawing defenders in brilliantly.

9/10

14 Zac Guildford:

Didn't get many opportunities out wide with all the best attacking ball going the other direction to Savea.

5/10

13 Conrad Smith:

Was the architect of the opening try and a constant menace on defence, making tackles and turning the ball over. A top notch all round performance capped off by a try near the end.

9/10

12 Sonny Bill Williams:

Produced a mixture of good and bad, with one great off-load, but he lost the ball in contact often and struggled to get over the gain line with the Irish midfield watching him closely.

6/10

11 Julian Savea:

Some said he wasn't ready to play at this level – he had a message for them! The first Kiwi to score a hat-trick against Ireland with three superb tries. He added a defensive element to his performance as well with a big tackle on Rob Kearney in first half.

10/10

10 Dan Carter:

He has supreme confidence in his kicking with a long-range penalty and only one shot at goal missed. The general controlled the game and looked impressive whenever he touched the ball.

8/10

9 Aaron Smith:

Outstanding work from the scrumhalf on debut, with a quick clean pass giving lots of time for the backs to play, while he chose his moments to go himself well and looks the real deal.

9/10

8 Kieran Read:

Had a great break off a kick-off that almost resulted in a try and moved about the park well without really standing out.

7/10

7 Richie McCaw (captain):

The skipper was every as you'd expect from him, but is still not up to his own loft standards with a few errors creeping in. However, he added great value and is still a class act.

7/10

6 Victor Vito:

His match was cut short after a gash on his head at the start of the second half, but the big man brought a physical approach to the game and carried the ball up well.

7/10

5 Sam Whitelock:

Very good work in line-outs winning all his own ball, while he hit the rucks hard and made inroads with ball in hand. There was a blemish when the Irish scrumhalf was able to bundle him into touch while searching for a try from close range.

7/10

4 Brodie Retallick:

Looked a little nervous and didn't make the big impression he might have hoped for. He carried well and made few errors, but was anonymous at times.

6/10

3 Owen Franks:

Was strong in the scrums and hurt Cian Healy with his power in the set-pieces.

7/10

2 Andrew Hore:

Didn't get the ball to carry as often as he might have liked, but he never missed his line-out jumpers and did all the basics well.

6/10

1 Tony Woodcock:

Scrummed well and was mobile around the park hitting rucks and getting his big frame in the way of the Irish effectively.

8/10

Replacements:

16 Hikawera Elliot: (On for Andrew Hore – 61st minute)

Did a good job after joining the fray, with all the basics up to scratch.

6/10

17 Ben Franks: (On for Owen Franks – 61st minute)

Won a tighthead as he come on and buckled the Irish scrum at every set-piece before uncontested scrums.

7/10

18 Ali Williams: (On for Brodie Retallick – 52nd minute)

Was fairly anonymous other than during the Haka.

5/10

19 Adam Thomson: (On for Victor Vito – 46th minute)

Made an impact after coming on and helped the All Blacks to compete well on the floor, while he also scored a good try.

7/10

20 Piri Weepu: (On for Aaron Smith – 56th minute)

Did a good job of keeping the ball alive and passed well without doing anything spectacular.

5/10

21 Aaron Cruden: (On for Julian Savea – 64th minute)

Looked very good in the closing stages and played a great hand to give a try to Conrad Smith.

7/10

22 Ben Smith: (On for Zac Guildford – 52nd minute)

Wasn't give very much to do out on the wing, but got involved where he could.

6/10