After their 33-19 defeat against England in their Autumn Nations Series clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham here’s how the All Blacks team performed on Saturday.
All Blacks player ratings
15 Will Jordan: The All Blacks try-scoring machine always looked dangerous with the ball in hand when he joined the line from the back and kept England’s defenders on their toes throughout. Jordan went over for a customary try in the second half and was solid under the high ball, but received little support from his teammates. 8
14 Leroy Carter: The rookie flyer struggled throughout as he was exposed on defence when Ollie Lawrence bumped him off before crossing for a try, while his positioning was also poor on several occasions when fielding kicks inside his 22. 4
13 Billy Proctor: Came into the run-on side after an extended period outside the matchday 23 and looked hungry for action, especially in the opening half. Was also shaky on defence and came off second best in his direct duel with Lawrence. 5
12 Quinn Tupaea: The Chiefs star made a good start as he was in the thick of the action when the All Blacks took that early lead, but battled to kick on and was kept in check by the Red Rose defence. Also at fault for Fraser Dingwall’s try. 5
11 Leicester Fainga’anuku: Was shifted to the wing, after impressing at outside centre against Scotland last week, and he made a superb start with a strong attacking performance which resulted in him crossing for one of his side’s tries. However, he became less visible as the match progressed and conceded a crucial penalty in the second half when he played Marcus Smith in the air. 6
10 Beauden Barrett: The experienced playmaker will not remember this game fondly as he battled for long periods and frankly had a mare in this encounter. One of his worst matches for the men in black as he could not execute his basics and battled to stamp his influence on proceedings. Barrett was eventually replaced by Damian McKenzie in the 55th minute. 3
9 Cam Roigard: Like most of the backline, the highly rated scrum-half looked dangerous during the early stages but could not sustain that effort, although it was somewhat surprising when he was replaced by Cortez Ratima early in the second half. 6
The forwards
8 Peter Lakai: The rookie back-row was, alongside Jordan, the All Blacks’ shining lights as he emptied the tank for the full 80 minutes. Lakai was a willing ball carrier throughout and came to the fore with some powerful carries, while he also did his bit on defence. 8
7 Ardie Savea: Not the former World Rugby Player of the Year’s best day at the office. Although he gave his all throughout, he hardly tested England‘s defence with the ball in hand. He was solid on defence and at the breakdowns, but his efforts had little impact in the grander scheme of things. 6
6 Simon Parker: He made his return to the matchday squad after missing the Scotland clash and although he did his bit on defence and won some lineout balls, he was kept in check on attack before Wallace Sititi replaced him midway through the second half. 6
5 Josh Lord: Came into the run-on side as a late replacement for Fabian Holland and gave a good account of himself in the execution of his core duties. Did well in the lineouts, where he won his fair share of possession and also competed well on his opponents’ ball. 6
4 Scott Barrett (c): The All Blacks captain made his return to action after recovering from injury, but despite looking lively early on, he was not very influential on proceedings. Like Lord, Barrett was solid in the lineouts and on defence but made little impact in other areas. 6
3 Fletcher Newell: He did what was expected of him in the scrums but battled at the set-piece when New Zealand had to play with 14 men early in the second half due to a yellow card. 6
2 Codie Taylor: The veteran hooker was excellent with ball in hand during the first half and was rewarded a well-taken try for his efforts but was then yellow carded early in the second half for a cynical defensive foul. He came back on and continued to impress on attack before being replaced by Samisoni Taukei’aho in the final quarter. 6
1 Ethan de Groot: The burly loosehead prop was on the field for 40 minutes before being replaced by Tamaiti Williams at half-time. De Groot did what was expected of him in the scrums and was solid on defence. 6
Replacements: Although New Zealand dominated the early exchanges, they could not sustain that for the full 80 minutes, and a lot of that was due to the lack of impact from their bench. Amongst the forwards, Sititi showed deft touches with the ball in hand while McKenzie asked some questions of the Red Rose defence in the second half, but neither could provide a spark when they were chasing the game during its latter stages. Meanwhile, Ratima was the worst of the replacements as he was indecisive in his decision-making and battled to feed his outside backs. 4