AB and
French Player ratings; NZ Herald
15. Jordie
Barrett - 7
Outstanding
under high ball. Made a happy meal of French defence on occasion with his array
of skills.
14. Ben
Smith - 6
Scooped up
counter-attacking chance in 7th minute and fed . . . Grosso. Weaved his way
into the match better later.
13. Anton
Lienert-Brown - 7
Top feed in
22nd minute to set up Beauden Barrett's try. A solid hinge in midfield capable
of straightening and bending as required.
12. Ryan
Crotty - 7
Secure in
22nd minute going to ground but enabled the try to evolve from the next phase.
Settled midfield well.
11. Rieko
Ioane - 7
Had an eye
for a gap. Intuitively went blind in 61st minute and scored. Put French away in
74th by streaking to the line.
10. Beauden
Barrett - 7
Top tackle
of Thomas in 7th minute. Clearances, balance and flair gathered momentum as
game advanced.
9. Aaron
Smith - 5
Back chat
cost 10m and gifted 20th minute penalty. Ran an obstructive line stopping 37th
minute try.
8. Luke
Whitelock - 8
Rose like a
well-serviced elevator as a lineout option. Ran off the back of the scrum with
energy and owned turnovers.
7. Sam Cane
- 7
Direct
approach with carries that shunted a fair distance as he rebuilt his match
fitness. Suffered head knock in high tackle.
6. Liam
Squire - 6
Cleared the
ruck of debris like a nightclub bouncer. Solid, given he's been short of a
gallop under the thumb injury.
5. Scott
Barrett - 7
Mobility a
welcome feature especially with the offload leading to his brother's try. Low
body position into rucks.
4. Sam
Whitelock - 7
Buried
Thomas in 70th minute to let him know who was the All Blacks boss. Welcome
return from concussion.
3. Owen
Franks - 6
Bushwhacker
#1 maintained a solid presence. Endured an honest battle with Priso in scrum.
2. Codie
Taylor - 8
Crabbed
well upfield with ball. Gutterboard lineout throwing accuracy in lineout. Link
work finished and scored tries.
1. Joe
Moody - 6
Bushwhacker
#2 spilt flat Aaron Smith pass in 46th and was replaced by Tu'inukuafe —
delivering an amazing footy story.
Reserves:
16. Nathan
Harris - 7
17. Karl
Tu'inukuafe - 7
18. Ofa
Tuungafasi - 7
19. Vaea
Fifita - N/A
20. Ardie
Savea - 7
21. TJ
Perenara - 7
22. Damian
McKenzie - 8
23. Ngani
Laumape - 8
15. Maxime
Medard - 6
Played
Frogger with defence on occasion. Defused try in 52nd like a Champs Elysees
waiter saving a tray of drinks.
14. Teddy
Thomas - 7
Slinky
runner with moves that could've passed muster at Studio 54. Sealed off
potential try in 11th. Chased Ioane hard.
13. Mathieu
Bastareaud - 6
Struggled
for pace. A touch of Jake Heke's "too much weights, not enough
speedwork". Monster Crotty tackle.
12.
Geoffrey Doumayrou - 6
Foiled try
in 11th minute as Crotty looked for support. Might need to demonstrate more je
ne sais quoi flair next week.
11. Remy
Grosso - 7
Seized the
moment when Parra came late to ruck. Ben Smith fed him a gift intercept. Handy
back-of-lineout take in 29th.
10. Anthony
Belleau - 6
Proved a
steady helmsman as the French navigated their way to a 11-8 halftime lead. Fed
outsides well.
9. Morgan
Parra - 7
Solid
tackles, accurate boot. Perfect, low punch of a penalty in the 36th minute to
take his side into halftime lead.
8. Kevin
Gourdon - 6
Not too
many Gourdon bleu moments, but put together a solid 80 minutes despite ABs
juggernaut rolling on.
7. Fabien
Sanconnie - 5
Struggled
for pace around the field and missed tackles. Gave the impression he was on
stilts with ball in hand.
6. Judicael
Cancoriet - 6
Ran lively
lines to pressure ABs defence early, but struggled more as Eden Park fortress
spell took hold.
5. Yoann
Maestri - 6
Good early
take and offered a reliable lineout target. Powerful legs drove through mauls
early, but hard to sustain.
4. Paul Gabrillagues
- 6
Offered
toil in the tight, included fleecing Taylor of possession in 43rd. Binned in
51st for debatable high tackle.
3. Uini
Atonio - 6
The Wesley
College alumnus channelled a block of granite in scrum across a 44-minute
tenure.
2. Camille
Chat - 7
Blew
through rucks like he had nine lives. Gave the impression of being on a hot tin
roof with the ball in hand.
1. Dany
Priso - 7
Looked like
a piano rolling down Baldwin St when he picked up a chargedown and weaved down
field. Offered scrum parity.
Reserves:
16. Adrien
Pélissié - 5
17. Cyril
Baille - N/A
18. Rabah
Slimani - N/A
19. Bernard
Le Roux - N/A
20.
Alexandre Lapandry -6
21.
Baptiste Serin - 6
22. Jules
Plisson - 6
23. Gael
Fickou - 6
