All Blacks player ratings: Tupou Vaa’i a ‘ubiquitous presence’ and Damian McKenzie in ‘best display’ as Dave Rennie’s big calls ‘pay off’
Damian McKenzie and Tupou Vaa'i in action for the All Blacks.
Following a 40-21 victory over Ireland in the Nations Championship clash at Eden Park on Saturday, here are the player ratings for the All Blacks.
15 Damian McKenzie: Was very busy throughout and looked to make things happen in his best display for a while. There was the odd decision-making error, running when he perhaps should have passed, and he had a poor start to the second half, but McKenzie made up for that by regaining his composure, which included a try, before he moved to fly-half and did a fine job. 8
14 Will Jordan: Even when he’s relatively quiet, Jordan is aware to any potential opportunity, as shown by the try he scored following a shocking Ireland mistake. The All Blacks’ record try-scorer had limited chances with ball in hand, but he tended to make ground and was efficient in all the basics, including earning a vital turnover and assisting Anton Lienert-Brown’s try. 7
13 Quinn Tupaea: Proved that he should be the 13 going forward. While it might not have looked necessarily spectacular, Tupaea was a presence on both sides of the ball where he carried hard and was solid in defence. Superb hands in the build-up to McKenzie’s score, too. 8
Another excellent effort
12 Jordie Barrett: Playing against plenty of former team-mates, Barrett acted more as a distributor than a carrier. Against a narrow Irish defence, his passing ability enabled the All Blacks to stress their opponents in the wide channels. Also stood up when New Zealand found themselves under a bit more pressure in the second period as his high ball take from Roigard’s box-kick altered the momentum. 8
11 Josh Moorby: A step up from the Italy clash, but he didn’t look out of place. Like Jordan, he didn’t always have a chance to stretch his legs but, when he did, Moorby looked dynamic, while he also had some job in the air. 7
10 Ruben Love: Still underplaying his hand but took the ball to line, particularly off first phase, and helped the All Blacks make plenty of metres against a retreating Ireland rearguard with the playmaking axis of McKenzie, Barrett, Love and Roigard working efficiently. Also kicked a stunning 50/22 which led to their fourth try. 6
9 Cam Roigard: Classy as ever from the world-class scrum-half, who completely outplayed Jamison Gibson-Park. Roigard was sharp from the base and kept the tempo high as the hosts looked constantly dangerous in attack. 7
8 Ardie Savea (c): Hasn’t necessarily been at his barnstorming best over the past three weeks, but Savea’s influence has been clear, particularly without the ball. Three turnovers won and one of their top tacklers in another captain’s performance. 8
7 Luke Jacobson: Very, very fortunate not to be red-carded in a decision which rather undermines the bunker process. Shoulder to the head with no clear wrap and, for us, with no mitigation. However, ultimately he has to be judged on the fact that he was only sin-binned and, despite that error, Jacobson was once again effective either side of that incident. 6
Changes work
6 Tupou Vaa’i: Moved to blindside from lock and Vaa’i was a ubiquitous presence in the clash. Perhaps didn’t put as much pressure on the Ireland lineout as he would like, but the Chiefs star was good on his own ball and did a fine job around the field. 8
5 Patrick Tuipulotu: Having been brought in for his physicality, Tuipulotu was particularly prominent early on as Dave Rennie’s changes paid off. He carried hard into the Irish defence and was rewarded with a fine try before the lock then went about his business without too much fuss. 7
4 Josh Lord: Another player to do the nuts and bolts very well, Lord was the All Blacks’ primary target in the lineout. He also got around the field well and did his job in the loose. 6
3 Tyrel Lomax: Took a knock early on but returned to put in a solid performance. Had the edge in the scrum but it wasn’t rewarded by the referee. 6
2 Codie Taylor: Only lasted half an hour before going off injured. Taylor did his work in both the set-piece and around the field before being replaced by Asafo Aumua. 6
1 Ethan de Groot: Similar to Lomax, the loosehead had the upper hand in the scrum without being absolutely dominant, while there were some excellent hands on the gain line as he helped move the point of contact. 7
Replacements: Aumua, despite one lineout wobble, was excellent after coming on for Taylor, while Anton Segner added to his burgeoning reputation with a fine shift and Caleb Clarke looked a threat during his time on the field. The others were solid as the All Blacks got decent impact from the bench. 7
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