Australia vs New Zealand: Player Ratings

On Saturday, Australia grafted their way to an impressive 27-19 victory over New Zealand in Sydney, lifting the 2015 Rugby Championship in the process.

Not only is the result a big confidence boost for the Wallabies heading into the Rugby World Cup, but it also represents their first win over their local rivals in four years.

We have run the rule over both teams and come up with our player rantings, but do you agree?

Australia

15. Israel Folau – 7

The ever-present threat from deep for Australia, Folau was dangerous with ball in hand, making a number of tacklers miss, but he did end up isolating himself on more than one occasion and ended up coughing up possession as a result.

14. Adam Ashley-Cooper – 8

A fine showing from the Waratah wing, who not only displayed his excellent finishing skills when he collected and dotted down Matt Toomua’s grubber kick, but also his resolute defence.

13. Tevita Kuridrani – 7

Kuridrani carried as effectively as ever, but it was his blitzing defence which really rattled New Zealand. When New Zealand lost to England and South Africa in this cycle, much of that was due to Manu Tuilagi and Jean de Villiers pressuring their midfield defensively and Kuridrani played that role superbly.

12. Matt Giteau – 6

The Toulon man didn’t link up as seamlessly with Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps as he would have liked, but the second kicking option he provided kept New Zealand on their heels.

11. Drew Mitchell – 7

Mitchell wasn’t called upon too often in the game but when he was he proved a strong carrier and a solid force defensively.

10. Bernard Foley – 6

The fly-half didn’t play poorly but he also didn’t make the jersey his own. With so much competition at both fly-half and inside centre, Foley may look back on this game as an opportunity missed.

9. Nick Phipps – 4

Phipps was unable to inject impetuous into the Wallaby back line and failed to notice sizable gaps in New Zealand’s fringe defence. The scrum-half also threw a number of errant passes and was lucky not to have seen them punished by the All Blacks.

1. Scott Sio – 7

The loosehead improved the Australian scrum and helped the unit to a considerable advantage over their All Black counterparts.

2. Stephen Moore – 7

Moore captained his side well, respectfully but persistently finding the ear of referee Wayne Barnes, and operated well at the lineout, despite losing two of his jumpers from the previous game against Argentina.

3. Sekope Kepu – 7

Kepu took one for the team when he was yellow carded for not retreating 10 metres early in the game, but he went after Tony Woodcock at scrum time and gave the Kiwi loosehead a torrid time throughout his tenure on the pitch.

4. Dean Mumm – 8

The lock quietly had one of the better games in Sydney, contributing significantly at both the set-piece and the breakdown. His work in both areas allowed the likes of David Pocock and Michael Hooper to shine.

5. James Horwill – 6

It was a solid outing for Horwill but the former Red failed to stamp his authority on the game in the same way many of his colleagues in the Wallaby pack did.

6. Scott Fardy – 7

With Rob Simmonds out of the team and two new locks into the lineup, Fardy stepped up as Moore’s favoured target at the lineout.

7. Michael Hooper – 7

He lived a little in Pocock’s shadow, but Hooper still had a very good game, contributing at the breakdown and always looking for space when he had ball in hand.

8. David Pocock – 9

The Brumby proved a menace at the breakdown, turning over New Zealand ball with abandon and dominating against his vaunted opponent, Richie McCaw.

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau – 6

17. James Slipper – 6

18. Greg Holmes – 6

19. Will Skelton – 6

20. Ben McCalman – 6

21. Nic White – 8

22. Matt Toomua – 8

23. Kurtley Beale – 6

New Zealand

15. Ben Smith – 8

Another classy, effortless-looking display from Smith, who’s positioning was excellent and allowed him set up Nehe Milner-Skudder for his first try in international rugby.

14. Nehe Milner-Skudder – 8

The fullback-cum-wing took to test rugby like a duck to water, grabbing a brace on debut. His elusive footwork and superb balance saw him glide through would-be Australian tacklers with ease.

13. Conrad Smith – 7

As ever, Smith’s decision-making was excellent and though he couldn’t unlock the Australian defence with regularity, he rarely failed to make ground with ball in hand or by distributing to players on the inside or outside.

12. Sonny Bill Williams – 6

Injury has prevented Williams from hitting full-stride this season and that continued in Sydney. The centre wasn’t poor, but equally he didn’t trouble the Australian defence in the way we have grown accustomed to.

11. Julian Savea – 6

The winger was dangerous with ball in hand but his usually powerful tackling was shrugged off with surprising ease on multiple occasions.

10. Dan Carter – 5

With his kicking compass spinning out of control and his pack failing to get on top, Carter struggled to control the game and looked considerably short of his best.

9. Aaron Smith – 8

Smith reinforced his reputation as the world’s leading scrum-half with another fine performance. He was the antithesis of the ineffective Phipps, playing with tempo and ambition.

1. Tony Woodcock - 5

A tough few weeks continued for Woodcock, who was comprehensively beaten in the scrum by Kepu, and the New Zealand loosehead finds himself in a race against time to find some form ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

2. Dane Coles – 7

Coles was guilty of trying a little too much early in the game when the All Blacks were making error after error, but he showed his class later in the game, leading a unit which recorded 100% success at the lineout.

3. Owen Franks – 6

The tighthead fared a little better than Woodcock, but he also struggled for consistency in the scrum and didn’t offer enough in the loose to mitigate this.

4. Brodie Retallick – 7

Retallick used his big frame to great effect defensively and at the breakdown and was one of the more impressive All Black forwards in Sydney.

5. Luke Romano – 6

The lock had a quiet evening both offensively and defensively and was unlikely to have given Hansen any pauses for thought over selection in New Zealand’s preferred matchday 23.

6. Jerome Kaino – 8

Kaino was the pick of the All Black back row, tackling manfully and contributing at the lineout. The blindside was also ever-present at the contact area and his work clearing out Wallaby ruckers coincided with New Zealand’s best spells in the game.

7. Richie McCaw – 6

The legendary openside was outnumbered at the breakdown thanks to Australia’s inclusions of both Hooper and Pocock, but the reality of the game was that Pocock alone proved more than a worthy match for the experienced All Black captain.

8. Kieran Read – 7

Read was a stout force defensively for vast swathes of the game, but a missed tackle resulted in the late, pivotal Australian try. In addition to his four lineout takes, Read also consistently put pressure on the Australian lineout, managing to disrupt the usually excellent Moore.

16. Codie Taylor – 6

17. Ben Franks – 6

18. Nepo Laulala – 7

19. Sam Whitelock – 6

20. Sam Cane – 6

21. TJ Perenara – 5

22. Beauden Barrett - 6

23. Malakai Fekitoa – 6