Was Sonny Bill Williams back to his best last night? Photo / Photosport
Was Sonny Bill Williams back to his best last night? Photo / Photosport
See who shone and who struggled in the All Blacks' win over Canada, according to the Herald experts.
With our new interactive tool, My All Blacks Ratings, you can make your voice heard as well - being able to rate every player's performance between 1 and 10 onyour computer, mobile phone or other device - and compare it to the Herald's ratings.
Here's how the All Blacks rated in their win over Canada, and why:
Another vintage performance in greasy conditions, Barrett handled well, defended solidly and made a number of crisp line breaks. Scored one and should've had another - but for the ball getting knocked out of his hands metres out from the line with under a minute left.
14. Jordie Barrett - 7
Full of running in the first half and put in a big hit early on but had a few spills under the high ball after the break.
Had an uncharacteristically quiet night with handling errors sprinkled around smart offloads in contact and a quick throw-in resulting in a try.
12. Sonny Bill Williams - 9
If there had been any lingering doubts about SBW's fitness, form or fighting intent they were allayed in Oita. The bruising second-five tackled, passed - and even grubbered - in arguably his finest performance in the black jersey for three seasons.
Showed glimpses of the attacking finesse that propelled him to the top of the world game in 2017 but was - for the most part - too error-prone. Clearly still lacking confidence after a prolonged spell down the pecking order - and didn't do enough to change the selectors' minds.
Rieko Ioane scored a try but struggled for confidence throughout. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Mo'unga keeps getting better with each opportunity in the No 10 jersey and put in a near-flawless all-round performance. Brilliant off the tee and from the hand, while his distribution and running angles - often from second receiver - added a valuable attacking dimension. A missed tackle and a knock-on in the home straight were Mo'unga's only blemishes.
9. TJ Perenara - 6
Not his finest outing and struggled to connect with Mo'unga, Williams and Atu Moli early on. Was overshadowed by Brad Weber when the nuggety Chiefs halfback replaced him at halftime.
8. Kieran Read -7
Industrious as always and showed good control from the base throughout. Two strong runs either side of halftime but penalised for a no-arms hit on a Canadian attacker near the All Blacks' line - not the smartest move in the current refereeing lotto.
7. Matt Todd - 7
Busy in defence and on the ball and effective at the breakdowns.
6. Shannon Frizell - 8
A couple of sniping runs in the first 40 minutes and apart from the occasional fumble, again showed his value and ability as a footballer. Also competed well in tight phases.
5. Scott Barrett - 7
Blew hot and cold throughout - spilling the ball when he was already over the line but supporting brilliantly to dot down not long after. Pinned twice in quick succession - for being offside and entering from the side - but a constant threat on the Canucks' lineout ball.
4. Patrick Tuipulotu - 5
A handful of handling errors saw the big Blues skipper struggling to make an impact.
3. Angus Ta'avao - 5
Mobile from the first whistle but unable to stake much of a claim on a starting spot for the bigger matches before (somewhat bizarrely) being substituted in the 26th minute.
2. Liam Coltman - 5
Strong tackling on the line and claimed a turnover early but missed his jumpers twice and dropped the ball with plenty on outside him late in the first half.
1. Atu Moli - 6
Poor communication with Williams resulted in Canada's best attacking spell and conceded a scrum free-kick against a clearly inferior front row but marshalled through the full 80 minutes.
All Blacks replacement halfback Brad Weber was one of the standouts. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Reserves: Codie Taylor - 5, Ofa Tuungafasi - 5, Nepo Laulala - 7, Sam Whitelock - 5, Ardie Savea - 5, Brad Weber - 9, Ryan Crotty - 6, Ben Smith - 5.
