Player Ratings: Pure Class
OPINION: The All Blacks locked away the Bledisloe Cup for another year with a 40-12 victory at Eden Park.
Rugbypass rates the New Zealand players
15 Jordie Barrett – 8
A steady performance at the back. Carved off plenty of metres – a team high 149. Robbed of a try after Bernard Foley got him by the bootlaces. Untested defensively.
14 Ben Smith – 8.5
Untouchable under the high-ball, proved a constant threat when carrying. Great shift on the wing.
13 Jack Goodhue – 7
Fell off a few tackles and didn’t make too much impact with ball in hand. Still looks like the future of the All Blacks midfield.
12 Ngani Laumape – 7.5
Finished strong with a handful of signature carries. Midfield linchpin in defence, making all nine of his tackle attempts.
11 Waisake Naholo – 8
Not as impactful as last weekend but still a solid shift. Had a try erased after a forward pass. Kept himself busy with plenty of off-the-ball work. Chalked up over 100 run metres.
10 Beauden Barrett – 9.5
Picked up four tries, had a fifth rubbed out. Solid performance with the boot as well. Simply cut Wallaby defence to shreds.
9 Aaron Smith – 7
Had a hand in four tries, including a great pass to put Beauden Barrett into space for his first. Crucial miss on Bernard Foley near midfield led to Reece Hodge try.
8 Kieran Read – 8.5
The captain led from the front with 21 tackles and two turnovers won. Tireless performance.
7 Sam Cane – 6.5
Shorter shift than he would have hoped. Beaten across the line by Will Genia in the first half. Made 11 tackles.
6 Liam Squire – 7.5
Helped neutralise David Pocock, solid defensively and picked up a try.
5 Sam Whitelock – 7.5
Immense defensively. Didn’t get many opportunities with ball in hand.
4 Brodie Retallick – 8.5
Huge impact on defense as per usual, picked up a try assist with a perfectly timed short ball to Liam Squire just after halftime. Once again disruptive in the lineout.
3 Owen Franks – 6.5
Made all 11 of his tackle attempts, all-around tidy appearance in his 100th Test. Penalised twice.
2 Codie Taylor – 7
Great support running, excellent lineout work.
1 Joe Moody – 7
Had a little trouble at scrum time but bagged a try and made his tackles.
