Player Ratings: Rattled
OPINION: The All Blacks have gone down to the Springboks 36-34 in Wellington after conceding a record number of points at home and bombing a chance to steal the match late.
Sam Warlow rated the New Zealand players
1. Karl Tu’inukuafe – 7
Again featured with ball in hand. Tidy scrum work. Can be happy with another solid performance in the black jersey.
2. Codie Taylor – 7.5
Showed off quick hands to set up early Ben Smith break. Handy at lineout time and scored a try to boot. Made his tackles.
3. Owen Franks – 6.5
Typical solid performance in the front row. Nothing stood out for better or worse.
4. Sam Whitelock – 6
Great work as a lineout target and had a couple of handy carries. Made his tackles also.
5. Scott Barrett – 5
A real mixed bag. Mishandled a pair of kickoffs and knocked on in contact close to the line. Redeemed himself by winning back another kickoff but ultimately failed to make a positive impact.
6. Liam Squire – 5.5
Penalised early and looked like he didn’t want to be there after copping a stinger from a charging Frans Malherbe. Despite this, his seven tackles led the team.
7. Sam Cane – 6
Solid if unspectacular. Knocked on early inside the Springbok 22 but had a few nice moments around the breakdown.
8. Kieran Read – 7
Led from the front winning a pair of turnovers and making an impact with ball in hand.
9. Aaron Smith – 5.5
Started well with a key tackle on Aphiwe Dyantyi and great support line to score a try. Fizzled out after a couple of bad judgement calls and uncharacteristically slow delivery. Faf de Klerk had his number on more than one occasion.
10. Beauden Barrett – 4.5
Showed great hands early to put brother Jordie in for an early try. After that, tactical kicking was woeful and errant goalkicking may have cost the game. Definitely one to forget for Beaudy.
11. Rieko Ioane – 7
Scored a pair of tries including one effort a contortionist would be proud of. Opportunities were limited.
12. Ryan Crotty – 6
Fairly pedestrian performance in his comeback. Finished as the top tackling back but was shut down on the other end.
13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 5.5
Tested the line early and ran great supporting lines. Quick hands put Ioane away for a try but a bad read and intercept to Cheslin Kolbe cost the All Blacks seven points.
14. Ben Smith – 7.5
One of the All Blacks’ best backs as per usual. Finished with 74 metres from eight carries and beat six defenders. Made a few key line breaks including a wrapping run to put away Aaron Smith.
15. Jordie Barrett – 6
Another Barrett mixed bag. Showed flashes of attacking potency early and ran an excellent line to score the first try of the match but a poorly judged quick throw-in cost a Willie Le Roux try under the posts.
By Sam Warlow, Rugbypass
