New Zealand V B&I Lions: Player Ratings

All Blacks

1. Joe Moody - 5

The All Blacks props will need to look at the scrum as issues arose throughout the game

2. Codie Taylor - 6

Taylor certainly hasn't looked out of place in the 2 shirt for the All Blacks. 9 carries today and some impressive loose running

3. Owen Franks - 5

Indifferent game for Franks & Moody with some silly penalties conceded at the scrum.

4. Brodie Retallick - 6

Not far behind Whitelock in levels of performance. Two of the real fighters for the All Blacks today

5. Sam Whitelock - 7

Mr Consistent Whitelock worked tirelessly today for the All Blacks around the park.

6. Jerome Kaino - 4

Didn't do much wrong but left the field for Laumape after SBW's red

7. Sam Cane - 6

An all round quiet game for Cane. 5 carries & 6 tackles before leaving the field at 63 min mark

8. Kieran Read - 6

Spent most of the game in the referees ear, still managed to carry 11 times as he tried to drive his team forward.

9. Aaron Smith - 6

Controlled the game well while the All Blacks were down to 14. Some intelligent kicks in the first half kept the Lions guessing

10. Beauden Barrett - 6

A game of ups & downs for Barrett off the tee. Could have put the All Blacks well out of sight if he had got his kicks at goal.

11. Rieko Ioane - 5

A quiet game for the youngster who was clearly effected by the change in tactics after the loss of SBW

 

12. Sonny Bill Williams - 2

Not much to note for SBW. A horrible hit on Watson resulted in a red card after 25 minutes.

13. Anton Lienert-Brown - 6

The 22 year old caused trouble alongside Laumape in the second half for the Lions defence

14. Waisake Naholo - 5

An out of sorts performance from Naholo with some handling errors and left the field  after failing a HIA inspection in the second half

15. Israel Dagg - 7

One of New Zealand's few attacking threats, competed well in the air.

Honourable mentions from the bench:

 

23. Ngani Laumape - 7

An impressive debut for the All Blacks considering the circumstances. Carried well and broke through the Lions defence several times. Could be a shoe in for the 12 shirt next week

B&I Lions

1. Mako Vunipola – 5

Very poor discipline from the loosehead who gave away two carless penalties, one of which earning him a yellow card.

2. Jamie George - 7

 Very solid performance from the Saracens hooker who was consistent at the lineout, dangerous in attack and a dog at the breakdown, consistently disrupting NZ quick ball. 

3. Tadhg Furlong - 6 

The young Irishman put in an impressive performance at scrum time piling the pressure on his opposite number. Failed to make much of a impression with ball in hand but an overall solid performance.

4. Mauro Itoje – 8

The young Saracen was incredible from start to finish tonight. His remarkable brute strength and incredible physicality caused the All Blacks a host of problems. He was a great option at the lineout and an absolute rock in defence.

5. Alun-Wyn Jones - 5

A very quiet performance from the Welsh veteran which leaves question makes over his inclusion next week. Solid at the lineout but gave away some careless penalties and failed to impact the game in an attacking sense.

  

6. Sam Warburton - 6 

Back in the starting team and back in his role as captain today, the Welshman put in a very solid shift. He got through a huge amount of work at the breakdown and made an impressive 10 tackles.

7. Sean O'Brien – 7

 One of the stand out forward today for the Lions. The Tullow Tank made 12 tackles and 9 bulldozing carries as he consistently hammered his way over the gain line providing the Lions with an excellent attacking platform.

8. Toby Faletau - 8

Another very impressive defensive performance from Faletau who made 13 tackles over the course of the game. He also made a really positive impression on the attacking side of the game with some excellent carries and beautiful footwork, the pick of which saw him get over the line in the corner for an incredible try.

9. Conor Murray – 9

Another phenomenal performance from the Munster and Ireland scrum-half. Dictated the tempo of the game masterfully from start to finish, passed accurately and was in scintillating form with the boot. Deserved winner of the man of the match award.

10. Jonathan Sexton - 6

Mixed performance from Sexton this morning. Played some accurate kicks from hand but also put one over the dead ball line which carelessly handed New Zealand scrum possession inside the Lions’ half. However, he was very solid in defence, recording a tackle success rate of 100%

11. Elliot Daly - 7

Solid performace from the Wasps wide man. He was consistent under the high ball, played some lovely kicks and made a couple of breaks down the wing.

12. Owen Farrell - 7

Farrell put in a very good performance in this test clash, he was impressive both with ball in hand and with the boot. He played a key role in Faletau’s try and recorded an impressive kick success rate of 83%.

13. Jonathon Davies - 6

Pretty quiet morning from Jonathon Davies, however, he did all the basics well. Showed some excellent handling, kicked well when required and made all his tackles when called upon in defence. 

14. Anthony Watson - 7

Anthony Watson caused the All Blacks a lot of problems today with combination of blistering pace and the ability to run really intelligent attacking lines. Made a couple of impressive breaks and was impeccable in defence.

15. Liam Williams - 6 

Slightly more quiet afternoon for Williams this week compared to last week’s incredible attacking performance. However, he still put in a very solid shift consistently dealing with the dangerous kicking game of Aaron Smith. Also showed good hands to set Faletau into space for the Lions’ first try.

Honourable mentions from the bench

18. Sinckler - 6

For the second week in a row Sinckler made a very positive impact when called upon from the bench. Accrued well and made some crushing hits in defence. 

19. Courtney Lawes - 6

Another player who positively impacted the game form the bench. A lot more physical than Alun-Wyn Jones and cause New Zealand some problems at the breakdown.