All Blacks player ratings v Sharks: Outside bets ‘strengthen cases’ for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tests amid Jordie Barrett ‘masterclass’
Jordie Barrett (left) and Quinn Tupaea (right) were among the standout players for the All Blacks against the Sharks
Following the All Blacks’ 54-0 win over the Sharks in the second game of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, here is how we scored Dave Rennie’s side.
All Blacks player ratings
15 Damian McKenzie: Eventful display for the full-back, scoring one try and having another chalked off, but saw his night ended early through injury. 6
14 Fehi Fineanganofo: A big game from the winger, who has certainly boosted his hopes of making the Test 23 later this month. Always seemed to be in the thick of the action, be it on the kick-chase, defence or ball-in-hand, and bagged himself a brace for his troubles. You feel he gives the All Blacks a slightly different dynamic on that edge, which will be interesting to see moving forward. 8
13 Quinn Tupaea: Had a few nice moments in the first-half, but really came alive in the second 40 with some delicious efforts with ball-in-hand. Also offered a nice contrast to his centre partner Jordie Barrett, but they seemed a very comfortable pair. Has done his Test chances no harm here. 8
12 Jordie Barrett: A real masterclass from the ever-classy back, who looks every inch the nailed down number 12 for the Test series against the Springboks. On a night that by no means opened itself up for expansive, inventive rugby, he managed to bring a real flick of flair into the All Blacks’ attack whenever he touched the ball and always made positive things happen for his side. Got a well-deserved try in the second-half too. 9
11 Caleb Clarke: Looked the business tonight, as he so often does in the black jersey. Consistently looked for ways to get his hands on the ball, be it coming off his wing and trucking it through traffic or popping up in slightly different pockets of space in the attack, and that saw him become a key weapon in their attack and later score a try. Was second-best in the aerial game, but overall will be happy with his night’s work. 8
10 Ruben Love: Shook off an early missed kick to touch to have a good game. Combined nicely with Barrett outside him to form a deadly playmaking axis, with the pair often interchanging between themselves at first-receiver to then allow the other to sit deeper in the pocket, and that seemed to really bring the best out of him ball-in-hand. Was virtually automatic off the tee as well, slotting seven of his eight conversion attempts. 7
9 Kyle Preston: Like Fineanganofo, potentially came into this game as an outside bet for the Tests, but he’s certainly strengthened his case with a huge display. Began with a dazzling break from in his own half, and carried on from there with some nice solo moments as well as injecting genuine tempo into his side’s attack. Really showed his value to this squad amid the backdrop of Cam Roigard’s calf injury, which will please Rennie. 8
Back-row
8 Wallace Sititi: One of a number of players who grew into the game as it went on, packing a punch in the tight and dragging his side over the gainline with pretty much every touch. These minutes would have done him the world of good after withdrawing from the opener with illness. 7
7 Luke Jacobson (c): Supremely physical display from the first-time skipper, who will likely be very sore tomorrow morning. Just threw himself into the battle up front in a tireless effort. 8
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6 Tupou Vaa’i: Solid without setting the pitch alight. Just rolled his sleeves up and went looking for work. 6
Tight five
5 Sam Darry: Potentially went under the radar, but a lot to like about the locks efforts tonight. His try late on took the All Blacks over the 50-point mark, but that came as a result of some real steel in the tight and good work in the lineout. 7
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4 Josh Lord: Could pretty much copy and paste his lock partners section in here, really. By no means a headline-grabbing effort, but did exactly what his side needed in the tight and ends in great credit. 7
3 Fletcher Newell: Overall had the better of his individual scrummaging battle, aside from an early penalty, and got himself around well in the loose. Proper nuts and bolts stuff. 7
2 Asafo Aumua: The lineout wasn’t as smooth as he would have hoped, but was destructive in the loose and consistently looked for work. 6
1 Ethan de Groot: A very complete propping display from the looshead. Dominant in the scrum against experienced Springbok Vincent Koch, and stepped up well in defence. 7
Replacements: The game was threatening to properly swing the All Blacks’ way, but the bench absolutley made sure of that. Pretty much every single one of the replacements came on a made a good impact on proceedings, with Timoci Tavatavanawai even coming away with a try, and they should get a pat on the back as a result. The debutants also looked the part, which bodes well for further involvement on this tour. 8
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