Australia player ratings: Woeful Wallabies fall flat in World Cup defeat

Following their first loss in 69 years to Fiji, here is how we rated Eddie Jones’ side in their 22-15 Rugby World Cup defeat on Sunday.

15 Ben Donaldson: Not quite the brilliant performance that earned him the man of the match award in the first game, but the full-back did his utmost to influence the game. He kicked reasonably well out of hand and improved the attack when he moved to fly-half. 6

14 Mark Nawaqanitawase: His work-rate was rewarded when he darted in for a well-taken try that was probably lucky to be awarded. Went looking for opportunities around the field but came up short more often than not. 6

Centres

13 Jordan Petaia: Blunt on attack as he often overran his support lines and was comfortably shut down by Waisea Nayacalevu and co. 5

12 Samu Kerevi: His work-rate and simply scrumptious offload led to Australia’s first-half score. He was a standout in a backline that was largely outclassed, his head-to-head against Josua Tuisova did not disappoint. 6

11 Marika Koroibete: He had a boatload of missed tackles as he was tasked with defending in the outside centre in patches too. Had little purchase when he did get the ball in hand. 5

Half-backs

10 Carter Gordon: Let’s be frank, the Wallabies pivot had a shocker. Conceded four turnovers, was a target for the Fijian attack, failed to contain them and was part of the blunder that led to Tuisova’s easy run in. 3

9 Nic White: It was his 50:22 that set up Nawaqanitawase’s try but that was about as good as it got for the veteran nine who battled to swing momentum for his side. Puzzlingly replaced before the hour mark. 5

Back-row

8 Rob Valetini: One of the forwards who really stood up to the task the Fijians put forward as he carried and tackled strongly. A solid performance and he can hold up his head up after that shift. 6

7 Fraser McReight: The 24-year-old is another who is never short on effort, but in his hour-long shift, he was comfortably outplayed by Fiji’s world-class number seven Levani Botia. 5

6 Tom Hooper: The Test rookie produced another hard-working performance in all facets of the game and made some dents in the Fijian defence with his big carries. He was also disciplined, something few of the Wallabies were. 6

Tight five

5 Rory Arnold: Four penalties conceded and while he and Nick Frost contested well at the lineout, he was part of an inaccurate breakdown effort as Fiji dominated on the floor. 4

4 Nick Frost: The 23-year-old was excellent at the lineouts, managing to pick a few off the Fijian throw and ran that set-piece well. He was one of the more accurate Wallabies at the breakdown. 6

3 James Slipper: Had a good scrum battle with Fiji’s Luke Tagi but was not at his best. 5

2 David Porecki: Far from the best result for the first-time Wallaby captain after taking the armband from Will Skelton before kick-off. There was little to fault him in game, however, as he hit his lineout jumpers and made his tackles. 5

1 Angus Bell: The loosehead prop was one of the standouts in the pack once again as he continues to impress with his bulking carries. A solid 75-minute performance. 6

Replacements: There was certainly some energy and spark from the bench but not enough to see Eddie Jones‘ side over the line. Suliasi Vunivalu looks an entirely different player to the one who debuted against South Africa earlier this year and scored a try that gave Australia a chance. Lalakai Foketi also made a telling impact, as did Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, while Matt Philip stuck his hand up. 6

READ MORE: Fiji claim famous win over the Wallabies to throw Pool C wide open