New Zealand V B&I Lions: Player Ratings

Taylor has been an impressive stand in for Coles during the series & was impressive in defence today in a tight game.

A standard day at the office for Franks, solid performance from the Crusaders man.

Retallick had a quiet day at the office by his standards. Outshone by his fellow lock.

Whitelock was incredible today for the All Blacks at the breakdown & in the lineout. Whitelock also was second on the tackle charts making 10 during the game.

 

Kaino got a fair crack of the whip today after two shorten than planned stints in the first two tests. Will be disappointed with his yellow card in the first half

Sam Canes' aggression & power in defence had the Lions out on their feet at times. Some big hits from the Chiefs man to watch back for in the highlights.

Sure to be aggrieved by Poites' late decision. Read was impressive on his 100th carrying hard & making 11 tackles.

Usually a nightmare to deal with for the defence opposition. Smith had a quieter game today but still had some intelligent kicks to put pressure on the Lions.

Oh Beauden... The World Player of the Year could have wrapped the series up if his goal kicking boots were on. Still devastating in attack with ball in hand.

The comeback for the bus could have been so much sweeter if he was to finish off one or two chances that arose for him early on. Savea still managed to beat 7 defenders and make 80m for the All Blacks

 

Laumape looked right at home on his first start of the All Blacks scoring the first try of the game. Think we could be seeing a lot more of this kid in the future.

Lienert-Brown looks like the dream partner alongside Laumape for years to come for the All Blacks. A strong performance where he gained 68M for the Kiwis.

A poor performance from Dagg. An off day at the office.

The Barrett brothers continue to impress on the field & Jordie is taking to international rugby like a duck to water. Scored a fantastic try in the first half.

 

 

1. Mako Vunipola – 6

Solid performance from the England loosehead who got through an impressive amount of work at the breakdown. Put under pressure at scrum time on occasion but all in all he coped well with the All Black pressure.

2. Jamie George - 5

Played really well for large parts of the game. Very solid defensively and carried well when called upon. Unfortunately, he threw two crooked lineouts at key moments of the game, handing cheap possession back to New Zealand. All in all however, a very goof tour from the young hooker.

3. Tadhg Furlong - 7

 

The Irish tighthead put in another impressive performance at the highest level of competition. Solid at scrum time, dogged in defence and a wrecking ball when running with ball in hand.

4. Mauro Itoje – 9

 

The young man was simply sensational from start to finish today. One of the standout players for the Lions in this game and in the series as a whole. He was a rock in defence, impressive with ball in hand and simply majestic at the breakdown.

5. Alun-Wyn Jones - 6

 

Better performance from the Welsh veteran today. Incredibly solid in defence, putting in the most tackles of any Lions player. As always he offered an excellent option at the lineout.

  

6. Sam Warburton - 7

Another great performance from the Lions captain. Really strong at the breakdown, consistently breaking up and slowing down the quick All Black ball.

7. Sean O'Brien – N/A

Unfortunately forced off early through injury but had been very solid up to that point.

8. Toby Faletau - 7

 

Another really solid performance from Faletau both in defence and attack. Didn’t get as much opportunity to run with ball in hand as he would have liked but more then made up for it with his rock solid defensive efforts.

 

9. Conor Murray – 7

 

Controlled the game and the tempo of the Lions back line very well. Incredibly accurate with both his passing and his box kicking, maintaining the incredible standard we have come to expect from him.

10. Jonathan Sexton - 8

 

Excellent performance from Sexton today, one of the standout performance for the Lions. Kicked really well out of hand, set teammates into key attacking spaces with excellently timed passes and made some crunching defensive hits at crucial moments of the game.

 

11. Elliot Daly - 7

Very solid performance from the Wasps wide man. Consistent under the high ball, dangerous with ball in hand and strong in defence. Stepped up the plate to slot a long range penalty early in the first half.

 

12. Owen Farrell - 6

 

Really mixed performance from Owen Farrell today. Started the game poorly, making some questionable decisions and throwing a few wayward passes. However, he was impeccable from the tee and hence played a pivotal role in the result.

13. Jonathon Davies - 7

Davies did all the basics really well today. Made two huge tackles on Jordie Barrett at crucial moments of the game. Another player who had an excellent tour.

14. Anthony Watson - 7

 

Anthony Watson was impressive in attack today, beating more New Zealand defenders than any other Lions player. Consistent under the high ball and very solid defensively.

15. Liam Williams - 6

Solid under the high ball and kicked well at times. Unfortunately, he made a few careless handling errors and was guilty of some questionable decision making.

Honourable mentions from the bench

 

18. Sinckler - 5

Struggled at scrum time when called upon to replace Tadhg Furlong.