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The All Blacks landed the decisive blow in the opening Tri Nations match but which players shone the brightest? tvnz.co.nz's Chris Matthews offers his individual ratings.
15-Mils Muliaina - 6/10
Strong positional play and ran the ball back strongly but
the All Blacks custodian fell off the crucial last tackle to allow
Berrick Barnes to score.
14-Cory Jane- 6/10
Few chances for the fullback cum winger but in the tricky
conditions, was safe under the high ball for much of the
evening.
13-Conrad Smith - 7/10
Returning from injury Smith was one of the best players on the
paddock. He gave a beautiful inside ball that led to Richie McCaw's
try and was rock solid in defence. Was lucky though that the two
penalties he gave away in the second stanza did not lead to the
unthinkable result.
12-Ma'a Nonu - 7/10
With his Hurricanes hit man by his side the midfield was
indestructible. Touched the ball often and nearly always made it
over the advantage line but bombed a certain try in first half when
he had a two man overlap. Luckily for him McCaw scored soon
after.
11-Sitiveni Sivivatu -5/10
The winger went looking for work but was found wanting in defence
at times. He can feel partially responsible for letting Barnes slip
through.
10-Stephen Donald - 7/10
Graham Henry said after the game that it was Donald's best
performance in the black jersey which just goes to show how rubbish
his first 10 Test matches have been. Improved dramatically as the
match went on, in what was his finest All Black hour, but
still - he missed a couple of early goals, had a kick charged down
and threw a terrible pass that should have led to a try on the
stroke of halftime.
9-Jimmy Cowan - 6/10
In last year's episode Jimmy Cowan had his best Test in an All
Black jersey however this time round he was solid without being
spectacular. His delivery was laboured at times but he countered
that with an assured short kicking game. Was subbed in the 53rd
minute for Piri Weepu
8-Rodney So'oialo - 6/10
Undoubtedly his presence with Richie McCaw lifted the All Blacks
but he understandably looked short of a gallop. His hands let him
down at times and he was subbed for Kieran Read in the 65th
minute.
7-Richie McCaw - 7.5/10
It was another inspirational display from the All Blacks skipper.
Out gunned his opposite in his 100th Test match and made a couple
of crucial turnovers. Showed some nice touches with the ball in
hand too and of course scored the team's only try.
6-Jerome Kaino - 8/10
Man of the match performance from the punishing blindside flanker.
Was a monster in defence and his turnover in the 34th minute, when
the Australians were hot on attack and was one of the games
critical moments. The big question is though - can he back it up
next week?
5-Isaac Ross - 6/10
Isaac Ross should take some responsibility for Andrew Hore's first
half lineout woes. With the Eden Park wind swirling he should have
directed the throws upfront. Nevertheless he came through his first
Tri Nations Test with reputation still intact and will be looking
forward to showing off his ball-running skills in Africa.
4-Brad Thorn - 6/10
By his lofty standards, it was a quiet game from the All Blacks
enforcer. Not often seen which only means one thing: he was in the
thick of it.
3-Neemia Tialata - 6/10
Neemia Tialata can take some credit for the All Blacks dominating
scrum but he was predictably subbed early in the second half, for
Ben Franks, who certainly didn't let the side down.
2-Andrew Hore - 5/10
Overcooked four first half lineout throws and even though Ross
directed it, as a senior All Black he should have had the
initiative to realise the long throw was a low percentage play. A
couple of bustling runs but was subbed for Kevin Mealamu, in the
43rd minute, who continued his strong international season.
1-Tony Woodcock - 8/10
Al Baxter will have nightmares for many years to come after Tony
Woodcock gave the Australian tight head a serious working over. Had
the Australian scrum stood up to Woodcock the result could have
been entirely different but as it stands - it remains their weak
link.
How did you rate the players? Comment on the message board below
Add a Comment:
Post new commentlordflashhart said on 2009-07-20 @ 11:01 NZDT: Report abusive post
The aussies have a pretty decent team. They seem to pretty switched on, focused, and talent all across the park, match winners everywhere. They just need a decent coach, someone like Henry
davelats said on 2009-07-20 @ 08:53 NZDT: Report abusive post
You can't blame Sitivatu for the Barnes try - he was marking three aussies outside him. Had he gone for Barnes one of the other three would have scored!
bringbackbuck said on 2009-07-19 @ 21:54 NZDT: Report abusive post
new zealand rugby surporters need to get off donalds back and let him have a fair crack at the job. we all have very a short memory dan carter didnt hit the ground running it was not until 2005 lions tour that he came good for many test before we were all calling for merts to come back. its not a wonder all all blacks leave and go overseas so early and we dont get there full carer out of them for god sack become real surporters and dont put so much stress on them thats if we want to win 2011
blacktrick said on 2009-07-19 @ 10:14 NZDT: Report abusive post
Tialata would be awesome if he lost 10 kilos, he's to encumbered by his weight, All Blacks improved and we didn't see McCalistair on the park (relief, he would have thrown an intercept try pass for sure ) lets hope the AB's get better with time !!!