Wallabies player ratings: ‘Rare mare’ costs Australia dearly while playmaker looked ‘out of his depth’ against All Blacks
Wallabies forward Tom Hooper and an inset of Tane Edmed.
Following Australia’s 14-28 defeat to the All Blacks, here is how we rated the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship loss in Perth.
Wallabies player ratings v All Blacks
15 Max Jorgensen: Whether he is on the wing or at full-back, the rising star makes his mark. Jorgensen was strong aerially and managed to ask questions of the All Blacks‘ backfield and defence with flashes of brilliance. However, the Wallabies lacked the killer edge to really make the visitors pay. 6
14 Harry Potter: Never lacks heart and effort, and today was no different. Potter had some superb touches, particularly in the build-up to Alaalatoa’s disallowed try. He was great under the high ball but would have wanted to do better with Jordie Barrett’s kick through, which led to a try. 6
13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii: For the most part, the All Blacks managed to keep him under wraps while Suaalii was emphatically shut down by Leicester Faingaʻanuku in the first half. 5
12 Len Ikitau: On another day, he may have seen red for his tackle, but luckily for Australia, that was not the case. Ikitau has arguably been the Wallabies’ best this Rugby Championship, and today was no different. Brilliantly brutal when he carried to the line while making the right decision more often than not when spreading it wider. Smartly finished a try in the final quarter. 7
11 Filipo Daugunu: Some courageous work throughout the game. He was excellent aerially, landed some solid hits on defence, including a brilliant read that killed off an All Blacks attack. Daugunu made some good runs and finished the game in the back-row. 6
10 Tane Edmed: Had flashes of excellence but looked out of his depth more often than not. A great kick led to Ikitau’s try, but Edmed really struggled today. He made silly errors, missed tackles and made poor decisions on attack that proved incredibly wasteful. 3
9 Jake Gordon: Troubled the All Blacks’ backfield with sharp, accurate box kicks and even had some nice runs around the fringes. In testing conditions, he put in a tidy performance at number nine. 6
The forward pack
8 Harry Wilson (c): A bread-and-butter game for the Wallabies captain. Strong carries, solid defensively and decent shift in the lineouts. Only blight on his game was a late penalty at a breakdown. 7
7 Fraser McReight: Pestered the All Blacks’ breakdown, proving to be a real menace, but only started to get rewarded by referee Matthew Carley in the second half. In the first, he really should have been lower closer to the line as Leroy Carter, a winger, forced his way over. Battled away throughout his 72 minutes on the park and looked broken when he trotted off after a mighty effort. 8
6 Tom Hooper: Rightly yellow card for his clear-out, which cost the Wallabies a try, and really should have done better with his tackle attempt on Tupaea for the All Black’s second try. A wayward pass to no one cost his side a great attacking opportunity and swung momentum back in the visitors’ favour. A rare mare after what has been a strong Rugby Championship campaign. 3
5 Will Skelton: Let off by Damian McKenzie’s early miss after stupidly reversing the penalty he just won. He managed just 15 minutes before undergoing an HIA, which he failed. A long trip for such a short stint. 5
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4 Nick Frost: Not the best game from the second-rower who was enjoying a fine Rugby Championship before today. A misread from the restart after Edmed opened the scoring resulted in his team quickly conceding the lead, while the lineout was more miss than hit while he was on the park. Replaced just before the hour mark. 4
3 Allan Alaalatoa: Had his well-finished try chalked off and was put under the cosh by Tamaiti Williams. Conceded two penalties during his stint before being hooked shortly after half-time. An average outing. 5
2 Billy Pollard: The Wallabies’ lineout was simply woeful today, and the hooker has to cop some of the blame for that, along with his second-rowers. He stayed on the right side of the referee’s whistle in open play and made some hefty carries. His work rate and athleticism are real assets, as shown in the 50th minute with his tracking back to secure possession, but he needs to be more accurate in the set-piece. 4
1 James Slipper: A true servant of Australian rugby bowed out today. The front-row forward hangs up his boots as the third-most capped player in international rugby and the most-capped Wallaby. The experienced prop’s final shift was much like his entire career, tidy and solid. He held his own in the scrums despite the All Blacks putting the Wallabies under the pump in that facet of the game. He carried reasonably well and made his tackles. Nothing box-office, but Slipper has never been about that; it’s just simply getting the job done. 6
Replacements: The changes in the front-row led to an improved set-piece performance while Jeremy Williams made a good account of himself after being brought on early in the first half. Ditto for Rob Valetini, but Joe Schmidt will rue not throwing James O’Connor into the mix earlier. The Wallabies needed more from their bench and didn’t get it. 5