Player Ratings: New Zealand
OPINION: The All Blacks suffered a 30-38 defeat to Argentina in Wellington in the opening game of the 2024 Rugby Championship.
After leading the entire way, but with Argentina close in pursuit, a bad final quarter saw Los Pumas take the lead through hooker Agustin Creevy.
The All Blacks bench really failed to fire with the set-piece coming apart in the final quarter.
Here’s how the All Blacks rated:
1. Ethan de Groot – 6
A scrum-less first half was a surprise, but De Groot got through a ton of tackles finishing with 12. Off at 58.
2. Codie Taylor – 6
A solid line-out tonight with 14/14 with Taylor on the park. Added five tackles. Conceded two penalties.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 5
No scrums for Lomax. Defended well but was penalised once for an ineffective clean-out.
4. Tupou Vaa’i – 7
Added punch in defence with some hard hitting with his 15 tackles. Was a reliable line-out option.
5. Sam Darry – 8
Impressive performance on his maiden start. Nailed the line-out with safe hands as the lead jumper. Bagged a try to boot. Added eight carries.
6. Ethan Blackadder – 5
A mixed bag for Blackadder at No.6. Pinged for not rolling in the first half. Had trouble clearing out Matera and co. Penalised for a high shot in the second half leading to three points for Argentina. High workrate with 19 tackles but three penalties were costly.
7. Dalton Papali’i – 7
Strong showing from Papali’i. Won a big turnover in the first half.
8. Ardie Savea – 7
A big night with ball in hand with 13 carries from Savea with 10 tackles. Came up with a big turnover late that gave the All Blacks a chance down by five but line-out troubles left it squandered.
9. TJ Perenara – 6.5
A couple of kicks charged down and the exits at times didn’t make much metres. But he played a steady hand and produced a key assist for Mark Tele’a in the second half.
10. Damian McKenzie – 7
Once again the life of the All Blacks attack. One try assist in the first half and sparked the other with a chip and regather. Had a game-changing pass that forced a five-metre scrum for Argentina. From there, the Pumas hit the lead.
11. Mark Tele’a – 6
Was kept under wraps by the Pumas. Pressured heavily on kick-offs, Tele’a failed to get the tackle busts he usually does but still finished with six. Scored a nice try in the second half.
12. Jordie Barrett – 6
Toiled hard all night but didn’t have a game-changing performance.
13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7
Produced a good performance in his first start since Uruguay. Had two line breaks, one a try, in the first half. Got caught out on defence on Cinti’s try. Added a turnover won and seven tackles.
14. Sevu Reece – 5
Seven carries with two line breaks. A nice injection but off early at 49.
15. Beauden Barrett – 6
Had some big plays in the first half including a stellar assist for Sam Darry. Tried to influence the game but didn’t get much space in the second half.
Replacements:
16. Asafo Aumua – 2 – Really struggled at line-out time with his throwing which really cost the All Blacks.
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 4 – A nice cameo with six tackles.
18. Fletcher Newell – 3 – Had a costly scrum penalty in an attacking zone.
19. Josh Lord – 5 – One of the best off the bench but still couldn’t stabilise the line-out.
20. Wallace Sititi – N/A – Tried to impact the game but ended up conceding a penalty at the end for the last three points.
21. Cortez Ratima – 5 – Added tempo and looked good running the attack.
22. Rieko Ioane – N/A – A couple of touches for Ioane but not enough time to influence the game.
23. Will Jordan – 4 – Had one line break called back from a forward pass. Jordan was partly guilty for front-running a little bit.
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