Australia beat Argentina 23-19 in round four of the Rugby Championship. Now it's time for Planet Rugby to rate the players at Skill Park on Saturday.
15 Berrick Barnes: Hit the post twice early on, which put Australia under pressure, but then found his range and had a decent game in open play. 6.5/10
14 Dom Shipperley: Suffered a grim finger injury in the first half, but didn't let it affect him in the second. 5/10
13 Adam Ashley-Cooper: Had one good run, but was otherwise wrapped up by Marcelo Bosch. 6/10
12 Pat McCabe: Picked up a deserved yellow card, but when he was on the field McCabe was one of the few genuinely bright spots for Australia. 7/10
11 Digby Ioane: Kept himself busy throughout the game by coming off his wing to get involved, and deserved his try when it came in the second half. A class above everyone else on the field. 8/10
10 Quade Cooper: What a nightmare. Got charged down for the first Argentinian try, and every second pass seemed to go skipping along the ground. An assist for McCabe was the only saving grace. 2/10
9 Nick Phipps: There was one Phipps moment which rather summed up the poor quality of the match as a whole - he took a quick tap from a free kick, then booted it straight into touch, while an Puma tried to keep it in play. Had some good moments as well, such as his line break that led to Ioane's try. 5/10
8 Radike Samo: Was strong with ball in hand, and faultless in defence, but still didn't have it all his own way as Argentina dragged their hosts into a scrap. Won't be happy with spilling the ball when over the line.6/10
7 Michael Hooper: Made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown, which was generally enough to force an Argentinian error. 6.5/10
6 Dave Dennis: Was a regular ball carrier but never made much headway. Strong at the line-out. 6/10
5 Nathan Sharpe: A brace performance from an enormous player who is clearly not feeling 21 anymore. Very nearly scored in the first half, regularly got over the gain-line and his composure permeated the rest of the team when Australia were 13 points down. 7.5/10
4 Kane Douglas: Rarely noticed him, but was solid enough when he was involved in a decent debut. 6/10
3 Ben Alexander: Had a busy game, but conceded a couple of penalties that were lapped up by the Argentinians. 6/10
2 Tatafu Polota Nau: Strong in the scrum, and got through a lot of tackling. Line-out throwing was largely consistent, with just one wayward throw blown up. 6.5/10
1 Benn Robinson: Withdrawn just 30 minutes into the game. 5/10
Replacements:
17 James Slipper: An early substitution for Robinson, he had a decent game. There was just one scrum when Argentina caused problems and earned a penalty. 6/10
18 Scott Higginbotham: Provided Australia with the sort of impact they required when he came on to overturn a 13-point deficit. 7/10
19 Liam Gill: Didn't play long enough to earn a rating.
21 Anthony Fainga'a: Didn't play long enough to earn a rating.
22 Kurtley Beale: Only had 13 minutes, but did well to slot a penalty from a tough position late on. 6/10
Comments
Trinats2 says...
ruckingkiwi:
"Good source" it that at the end of a bottle !
I have it from the horses mouth, "nothing better than beating NZ" and can't wait to do it again (although that was before he was ruled out of the Brisbane game, so will have to wait until next year now).
Posted 14:32 18th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
I feel sorry for Quade, although he enjoys Australia and is grateful for his career and life there, I have it from a good source that he wishes he could play for the All Blacks, share in his NZ heritage and NZs successes... yet all he now feels is an outcast among his own people.. which brings a tear to my eye to be honest. (not my Japs eye though Trinats, only you feel that way).
Anyway for that reason I think QC deserves a sympathy point, so 3/10. Cheers PR!
Posted 07:50 18th September 2012
Trinats2 says...
"every second pass seemed to go skipping along the ground"
Not the game I watched !!! can you point out each one ?
Did you just watch "wehateCoopertube" from NZ ??? Maybe all the spit on the screen blurred your view. A pass went to ground because there was no one running into the hole that was created by Cooper by drawing defenders (maybe due to, yet again, new combinations). Or his knock on, where he took a ball from Phipps (only 100 or so minutes of test rugby) back over his head, instead in front of his body !!
Also put pass to Sharpe (nearly scored) TPN and Douglas into the gaps for yards. and the grubber kick of shipplerley that was taken into touch by Argentina just outside their 5 meter line, only to lose the line out.
Not a great game by his standards, but solid, still only a hand full of games played since Oct last year.
Or is it that a 2/10 for Cooper is like a 7/10 for anyone else !!!
Posted 13:13 17th September 2012
dropkick says...
Hands up who is enjoying OZ agony at the moment? As a kiwi who lived in OZ for three years and enjoyed everything except trudging back rom Homebush after an All Black loss to a chorus of abuse from the same delicate Aussie fans (and that was just my mates) who felt so unloved at the recent World Cup in NZ I have but one comment to make - Robbie Deans you are genius... keep going and you'll have OZ rugby back in the 70s.
Posted 04:01 17th September 2012
Chicka says...
I agree on Cooper ... before his knee went he was at least explosive ... now he has not a single redeeming feature to his game. Dingo should take him back to New Zealand as he exits the country for hopefully the last time ...
Posted 16:01 16th September 2012
startledwombat says...
Barnes is better at the back where his kick and tackle game means he isn't relied on to distribute.
Fair call on Cooper, or maybe give him another 0.5 for passing flat rather than deep. He can't yet handle defences that pincer in on him, and when he panics he kicks. Blew a 5-on-2 overlap by kicking.
Posted 12:32 16th September 2012
kiwilad says...
Georgieporgie, Did Nathan sleep with your mother, sister or boyfriend???
Posted 10:42 16th September 2012
georgesmith says...
Gosh... How can Q. Cooper get 2. Incorrect assessment I think.
Posted 09:46 16th September 2012
KiwiLad says...
Quade Cooper got 2??? Was that out of 100?
Posted 09:08 16th September 2012
latehit says...
Georgesmith - Boring rant again - get a life. So dull this belittling of any player far less Sharpie - slag off Cooper if you want as it is deserved. Please find another site to off load your insecurities. GeorgeSmith 1 out of ten just because we care...
Posted 04:27 16th September 2012
porridge_time says...
Quade Cooper is regularly being exposed as a luxury that Australia cannot afford. Once the Pumas learn how to hang on to a lead against the tops teams they will be extremely difficult to beat.
Can actually see them beating Australia in three weeks time in Argentina.
Posted 03:57 16th September 2012
uglea says...
Hi Georgesmith. Did Sharpie cut your grass once?
Not sure why you heckle him the way you do.
Posted 00:21 16th September 2012
koalabyte says...
McCabe a deserved yellow? The only Puma on his feet was the scrum half. Why shouldn't McCabe be allowed to to take him out? No ruck formed, as there has to be an opposition player on his feet.
Posted 22:42 15th September 2012
georgesmith says...
Now that N. Sharpe has become great (but still a mediocre player) by being captain of a winning team, will he consider retirement. What else is there for the Wallabies? They can't win the Rugby Championship and will at best finish either second or third. It is in the team's best interest that people like N.Sharpe give way to younger players like R. Simmons, who would have played much better than K. Dougles, who failed to impress.
Posted 22:03 15th September 2012
georgesmith says...
How can PR give N.Sharpe 7.5. This is unjustifiable. First penalty, first points to Pumas came from a foul by over-rated clown in blue N.Sharpe. He hardly produced any leadership qualities and if not for Diggers, Wallabies deserved to lose. Five minutes before halftime, that lazy player in blue head gear did not have legs to even run 10m to score a try. I'm sure versatile players R. Simmons would have nailed it and so would have better locks like S. Timani, J. Horwill, A. Williams, .B .Retallick and L.Romano. N.Sharpe lacks fitness and agility to play Test rugby.
Posted 21:59 15th September 2012
piriaka says...
Cooper is simply not up to it! He has got to go.
Posted 17:39 15th September 2012
melkdave says...
Well i feel B.Barnes had hisbest game in yellow ,since the 2nd test against Wales,perhaps FB is a better posistion for him rather than FH or IC for the wallabies?? worth a 7 imo
Also it does seem the wallby scrum has finally improved ,held their own against a realy renowned pack.nation,lets hope so anyway
A bit hash on QC i feel ,yes not his best game alot of mistakes ,but his trying his tricks again .worth a 4 imo.
Posted 14:23 15th September 2012