New Zealand beat South Africa 21-11 in round four of the Rugby Championship. Now it's time for Planet Rugby to rate the players at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday.
15 Israel Dagg: Another performance providing confirmation - as if it were needed - that Dagg is the finest full-back in the world at the moment. Brilliant under pressure at the back, but equally savvy when it comes to being in the right place to receive the ball in the opposition 22. 8.5/10
14 Cory Jane: Had one moment when he skipped round a couple of defenders and was solid in the air, but would have had an extremely quiet game if it weren't for South Africa kicking the ball to him. 6/10
13 Conrad Smith: Started well and made some good yardage, but missed a couple of tackles and conceding two penalties. Unable to make an impact when he had the ball in midfield. 4/10
12 Ma'a Nonu: His strong running made a definite impact, and the battle between him and Frans Steyn was a brutal one. Nonu was immovable, and didn't miss a single tackle. 7/10
11 Julian Savea: Went missing, which is becoming a bit of a trend in the tougher matches. Time will tell if he is a quintessential flat-track bully though. 4/10
10 Aaron Cruden: An okay game, but not an amazing one by any means. Missed a couple of kicks, a couple of tackles, and never really sparked the backline. But he was still good enough to marshall the All Blacks to victory. 6/10
9 Piri Weepu: A very poor first-half saw him gift the Springboks several opportunities. Substituted during the break. 3/10
8 Kieran Read: His outstanding offload to set up Dagg for the first try of the game was as good as you'll see, and he got through plenty of work, making 10 tackles. 8/10
7 Richie McCaw: Another standout performance from McCaw, even if some intense policing at the breakdown meant that he wasn't as effective as he can be. Was a strong ball carrier, and as usual he made more tackles than anyone else. 8.5/10
6 Liam Messam: Had a fairly quiet game by his rising standards, although he never really put a foot wrong and became more involved towards the end. 6/10
5 Sam Whitelock: Provided the first offload to Read, which in turn led to Dagg's try, but he lost more line-outs than he won. 6/10
4 Luke Romano: Guilty of conceding a couple of penalties, but otherwise he put in a strong performance. 6.5/10
3 Owen Franks: Solid and dependable throughout. 7/10
2 Andrew Hore: Missed his man with a couple of line-out throws at crucial times just before he was subbed. Had a pretty good first half though. 6/10
1 Tony Woodcock: A bit of a mixed bag really - conceded a few soft penalties, but also stole the odd ball at the breakdown. 6/10
Replacements:
16 Keven Mealamu: Nearly conceded the match with a terrible line-out throw on his own tryline. Must be grateful that Dean Greyling was having such a shocker! 4/10
17 Charlie Faumuina: Only played 10 minutes, so no rating.
18 Brodie Retallick: Carried the ball well and provided a trustworthy option at the line-out. 7/10
20 Aaron Smith: Strengthened his grip on the No 9 jersey with an all-action display in the second half, capping it with a sublime, opportunistic try. 8/10
Comments
melkiwi says...
@ georgesmith you sure talk a lot of sh!t!!!
Posted 00:53 17th September 2012
KiwiLad says...
Georgesmith, every comment you post explains the lack of rugby nous that exists in your country, and shows why you have been without the Bledisloe for 10 years.
Have you ever been to a game, much less played in one???? Plonker.
Posted 21:05 16th September 2012
porridge_time says...
Georgesmith.... you truly must be one of the most uninformed posters on here.
Posted 12:19 16th September 2012
whizz52 says...
Georgesmith what a load of twaddle about McCaw. The Boks were quilty as well of slowing the ball and the halfback even kicked the ball back in to rucks. The hatred you guys have for Ritchie just confirms how good he is, because you would dearly like to see him out of the game. Get over it mate and get use to losing when Ritchie is playing his record with the AB's is now 110 played 98 won!
Posted 10:04 16th September 2012
bigb6969 says...
Richie McCaw is a legend, he keeps getting better, and his opponents are show as violent thugs who can't handle being outplayed. McCaw takes it and keeps on going with hardly a word of complaint, unlike the truckload of critics here who are really apologists for thuggery and skulduggery. Certainly lots of apologists over on Super Sport !!.
Posted 09:21 16th September 2012
KiwiLad says...
McCaws 8.5 must be out of 5, surely
Posted 09:03 16th September 2012
passtheball says...
@Mace - You may disagree with my view, as many will, that while Dagg is extremely talented he is far from a finished product and is often selfish in his play. The ABs are rarely under constant pressure currently so he is yet to be really tested. In the W Cup final he appeared uncertain on defense. He has an active fan base and is attracting, like some other ABs, more praise and less criticism than other players. Yesterday I thought Jane was outstanding but he got a 6. So all its personal opinion / debate but calling someone a clown just sounds immature to me. You might disagree?
Posted 02:56 16th September 2012
porridge_time says...
What did McCaw actually do that was so good?
If you can't see what McCaw is doing then you simply do not understand rugby. He was in the first two to every ruck, the highest tackler on the field and carried the ball extremely well. His follow up to rebound from the post off of Cruden's second from last penalty shows exactly why he is the best and has been the most complete backrow player for over a decade.
Posted 01:37 16th September 2012
georgesmith says...
K.Read was good in creating the try but this player committed so many professional fouls and got away with most of it. He was so lazy at the breakdowns and all this was aimed at slowing the Boks ball. Please stop cheating and try winning on merit.
Posted 22:37 15th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
passtheball, yet your ego allows you to sit back and be critical of a player widely regarded as the best in the world?
Posted 22:33 15th September 2012
georgesmith says...
R. McCaw is the greatest cheater in the history of rugby. Along with D. Greyling, he should have been sin-binned as well for the professional foul. R. McCaw slowed the ball release in the ruck by 'sitting' on the ground like a duck. He made absolutely no effort to get out of the way like other players do. This guy is a major embarrassment and his continued cheating attitude is very unsportsmanlike. Why didn't the referee even warn him for slowing the ball down. Clearly he was impeding the delivery of quick balls.
Posted 22:20 15th September 2012
paulynz says...
Richie McCaw was colossal. Surely the best forward to have ever played the game.
Posted 20:40 15th September 2012
Mace says...
@passtheball:
His goose step approach is totally predictable? WTF are you on? The same goose step approach that showed up Quade and the Wannabies in the RWC semi final? Or the same goose step thats seen him score almost 1st in every test for th All Blacks this year? Man theres some clowns posting on PR these days...
Posted 19:57 15th September 2012
shoobydo says...
Should be 10/10 for Israel Dagg today.
One of the best all round no.15 performances I've ever seen.
He punished the SA kicking game with a more powerful and accurate kicking game of his own.
Morne Steyn, why did you persist in kicking to the bloke?
In attack he popped up everywhere. Just watch the build up to his own try, he must have been involved 3 or 4 times.
Posted 18:05 15th September 2012
Trader2 says...
@ben7 methinks you missed quite a few things.
Posted 15:24 15th September 2012
tweedledee49 says...
@ben7, he took a cheapshot that wouldve killed others, like a boss....that alone should be enough for that rating lol....and a couple of tackle busts, breaking the line....work rate.....playing until the final whistle e.g. chasing that penalty goal which came off the post...and that was only the second half.....i missed the first half though....so........not sure how he did then...
Posted 15:23 15th September 2012
FaaSamoa says...
You forgot to say that Aaron Smith's missed tackle led to Habana's try and a South African lead...so 8.5 is more than a bit high. Plus the ABs put more players into rucks and the tackle area in the second half.
If you're going to give Conrad Smith a 4 than that is what Messam deserved too.
Posted 13:01 15th September 2012
ben7 says...
Far too high ratings for a team that was dominated
What did McCaw actually do that was so good? im not asking that to be cheeky or anything i just think i missed something
Posted 12:58 15th September 2012
passtheball says...
A Smith was a bit slow at the base today too but Piri needs to keep his haka job only.
Boy there is some man love for Dagg on PR - he does some fine things but some brainless stuff too. He is still not in the same street as Mils. His goose step approach is totally predictable and he squanders tries from ego problems, although he is maturing.
Posted 12:28 15th September 2012
ABlack says...
Thats pass not apps....
Posted 11:29 15th September 2012