All Blacks hooker Samisoni Tauki’aho heads for a gap against Wales, in Cardiff. Photo / Photosport
3 Pasilio Tosi – 7
Nabbed a key 20th-minute jackal penalty under his own sticks and later bagged an outright turnover. Like his frontrow pals, he was another who impressed on the charge.
4 Scott Barrett (c) – 6
Pilfered Welsh lineout ball and threw his body into the breakdowns to good effect.
5 Fabian Holland – 7
Lineout go-to guy for the All Blacks has been the bright light of 2025 for Scott Robertson. His threat helped to destabilise the Welsh lineout. One ambitious early offload suggested he’d been reading some of the social media comments about Welsh fragility; otherwise, this was a sensible outing with plenty of dynamic clout.
6 Simon Parker – 6
A shoulder-to-the-wheel shift from the big No 6 who has had a season to convince. Still seems more Reuben Thorne than Jerome Kaino.
All Blacks openside flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi
on the charge against Wales, in Cardiff. Photo / Photosport
7 Du’Plessis Kirifi – 6
Momentum-sapping hit on a Welshman in 11th minute sparked a smart, 67-minute shift of breakdown work and clever link play.
8 Wallace Sititi – 9
A superb shift of damaging, punchy ball carries, a couple of which had a bit of the Ruben Wiki about them. With 17 tests to his name, the No 8 was suddenly the veteran in the All Blacks’ loose trio, and stepped up nicely with an inspirational showing.
Wallace Sititi makes one of his telling runs against Wales, in Cardiff. Photo / Photosport
9 Cortez Ratima – 6
With the All Blacks’ ball-carrying armoury stacked against the Welsh, the halfback’s stray first-half box-kicking seemed odd. Error-free in distribution, without bringing the threat of a menacing run.
10 Damian McKenzie – 7
Didn’t buy into the idea that this would be a slapstick rout, instead he played the part of a diligent first five-eighths, darting about probing the staunch Welsh defence without tearing it apart. Beaten in the air in the lead up to Wales’ opening try. Flawless off the kicking tee.
11 Caleb Clarke – 8
The most threatening ball-carrier on the park, he was (mostly) well contained by the Welsh. Clarke’s well-taken try in fourth minute sparked a terrific performance. Lovely run and bumps to get his second in 47th minute, only to have it scratched for an earlier knock on. He’s the best of the All Blacks’ aerial defenders, although he did get burnt by Rees-Zammit’s lovely step.
12 Anton Lienert-Brown – 6
A rare start for a bloke who has bagged 41 of his 88 caps off the bench. ALB is a smart player who distributed well and hit his defensive lines cleanly. Subbed off in the 68th minute, which is usually when he’s running on to the field.
13 Rieko Ioane – 7
A solid midfield outing with good draw-and-pass on display. Clever, cool-headed work bagged Ioane his 50th-minute try and he was a slick link for a couple of the wingers’ tries. He was one of the defenders at fault in the 41st-minute break leading to Wales’ third try.
All Blacks midfielder Rieko Ioane takes on the Welsh defence, in Cardiff. Photo Photosport
14 Will Jordan – 7
Always a smart, lively attacking threat with wheels to burn and an eye for the gap. Did a lot of important defensive work tidying things up, although he was drawn off his line by a clever grubber kick in build up to second Welsh strike.
15 Ruben Love – 7
Had a cracking first half, entering the line smoothly to put Caleb Clarke away for the opener after four minutes. His own try was beautifully taken, cutting back through defenders in the 28th minute. There were some unpolished moments from a guy low on game time – he’s not the only one to be wobbly under the high ball. Came off his line badly leaving the gap that led to Tom Rogers’ hat-trick try.
Reserves:
16 George Bell – 6
A handy run with smart defensive work, though less impact on the ball than his impressive predecessor. Lineout stayed sharp when he took over throwing duties.
17 Fletcher Newell – 6
Took the field with Bower in third-quarter changes. No fault at the scrum on his watch, though the absence of Tamaiti Williams and Pasilio Tosi around the park was noted.
18 George Bower – 6
Got stuck into a couple of the late pile ups near the Welsh line, and was out part of the late pack that finally asserted dominance.
19 Josh Lord – 6
Locking stocks look good with this bloke and Tupou Vaa’i snapping at the starters’ heels.
20 Christian Lio-Willie – 6
Got a 13-minute run in the late scramble after being parachuted in from the XV touring squad.
21 Finlay Christie – 6
Given chance to impress with most of the second half, Christie was accurate in finding runners and stemmed the flow of dull-witted box kicks. Threw a sloppy intercept deep in his own 22 late in the match.
22 Leicester Fainga’anuku – 6
Incisive involvement when he got out there for final-quarter fun, finding space and linking nicely. One spill blew an attacking chance.
23 Sevu Reece – 7
Dropped after being exposed in French series, Reece trotted on to replace Ruben Love in a selection that had been observers scratching their heads. Presumably Razor sees him as a 2027 option. Took his tries well and darted about with energy.