North v South: South Player Ratings

September 05, 2020
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Ultimate Rugby

The victors on Saturday, The South scored late through Will Jordan to beat the North 38-35 in a highly entertaining match at Wellington’s Sky Stadium.

We rate the South players out of a possible 10 from the entertaining encounter.

See The North's Player Ratings Here

1. Joe Moody - 7

Strong in the scrums in the first half and got pinged in the second but in truth, the scrums were a bit of a mess.

Moody was excellent on defence and at ruck time though. He made a nice cover tackle on Beauden Barrett in the first half.

George Bower - 6

2. Codie Taylor - 6

Had a few misfires at the set pieces with Tuipulotu nicking a throw and an uncharacteristic mare of a throw in the second half.

Was a threat out wide as per usual and aggressive throughout but not quite at his best.

Liam Coltman - 6

3. Nepo Laulala - 7

Scored a cheeky and intelligent try in the first half. He got around the park really well too both on attack and defence.

Tyrel Lomax - 7

4. Sam Whitelock (c) - 8

Battled at the lineout well with Tuipolotu and won a few steals at the lineout, one particularly important in the first half.

Made an incredible turnover late on after Akira Ioane's break with the North attacking well and looking for the final blow.

5. Mitchell Dunshea - 7

Showed signs of what he can bring to the table for the All Blacks. Solid in all facets and aggressive.

Manaaki Selby-Rickit - 6

6. Shannon Frizell - 6.5

A few uncharacteristic missed tackles but he was busy nonetheless. Hit a high number or rucks but was also missed a crucial tackle on Rieko Ioane.

7. Tom Christie - 8

Won a number of key turnovers at crucial times, he was all over the park and was lightning fast to a number of rucks winning turnovers.

Carried strongly too and defended well too. A test debut can't be too far away despite the highly competitive back row.

Dillon Hunt - 6.5

8. Tom Sanders - 8

Sanders wasn't really in the conversation for an All Black call up before the game but he certainly is now. An excellent first half from the Crusaders' flanker and he continued in that vein in the second half.

Carried well, defended well and got over the ball while also linking up well with a few nice passes.

A quieter second half but he hardly put a foot wrong the entire game.

9. Brad Weber - 7

Provided quick service and tested the North's defence with a few snipes.

Finlay Christie - 6

10. Richie Mo'unga - 8

Mo’unga still looks the favourite to wear the All Black 10 jersey as he showed off his creativity and class in some magical touches and an effective combination with Jordie Barrett at 15.

He was hampered with an HIA but was still outstanding. Threw a superb skip pass out to Tyrel Lomax to score.

Josh Ioane - 8: Produced the match winning bit of magic and was excellent throughout.

Incredible finish!!!

Pinpoint kick from Josh Ioane and an even better take from Will Jordan 🤯#NorthvSouth pic.twitter.com/816DhTyOp9
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) September 5, 2020

11. George Bridge - 6.5

Limited opportunities on attack but defended well keeping Sevu Reece somewhat at bay.

12. Jack Goodhue - 7

A run of the mill game for Jack Goodhue as he did the basics well on defence and attack and had a few nice touches.

13. Brayden Ennor - n/a

A promising start but picked up an injury while making a tackle on Rieko Ioane. He defended Ioane well early on and will be disappointed that he wasn't able to strut his stuff in the big clash.

Leicester Faingaanuku - 6: Usually a winger and it showed somewhat as he was caught out a few times on defence.

14. Will Jordan - 8

The match winner! Will Jordan scored a brace for the South with the first seeing him pounce on an error from the North and the second was a superb take in the air to seal the win.

A standout game from the youngster, especially in the second half.