Can anyone please give me ratings and why for the Welsh / New Zealand teams, I know it is a lot to ask but I missed the game and I really want to know how it actually went. Scoreline isn't everything. Are Wales getting better? Are New Zealand likely to win the tri-nations off the back of this performance and poor performances by quite a strong South African side and a weak Wallaby side? How were the new players for Wales? I saw a bit of the highlights and Tom Prydie looked absolutely terrible, if he was in position Cory Jane should never have scored that try and missed a tackle on him when he ran after him.
Ratings as in players out of 10 preferably.
1. Ben Franks - 6 - He showed alot of power and aggression, but caused a few penalties in the ruck where he was perhaps a little over aggresive. His scrumaging was all right, but struggled against a strong Welsh scrum.
2. Kevin Mealamu - 8.5 - Had one of his best performances in years, he was constantly a problem in the rucks, had a few good ball carries, line out throwing was impecable.
3. Owen Franks - 7 - Not his greatest game ever, he looked much more solid when Woodcock came on. He scrumed all right and had alot of aggression.
4. Brad Thorn - 7.5 - Had a reasonably strong game, alot of work at the break down and one or two good ball carries. Seemed to slow down a little in the second half but over all went well.
5. Anthony Boric - 7 - Was another solid performance by Boric. Didn't set the world on fire but did the basics. Fractured his cheek bone on the head of Mealamu during a collision.
6. Victor Vito - 8 - Improved on last weeks performance, he showed why is is such a good ball carrier and offered plenty of grunt. His only down side was perhaps a few forced passes, when he should have held on to the ball.
7. Richie McCaw - 8 - Lead from the front and was active all day. Not a master class but a solid effort.
8. Keiren Ried - 8.5 - Not his biggest fan untill the last few matches, he seems to becoming an automatic selection. Once again he ran well when it was on offer and worked hard all game.
9. Jimmy Cowan - 7.5 - Supplied good ball for Carter to work his magic, took the right options when they were on.
10. Daniel Carter - 9 - Another great performance, two great tries, ran the backline well. Seemed a little off form in the first 20 minutes but came right for the rest of the game and showed his brilliance, with 27 points for his efforts.
11. Joe Rokocoko - 7.5 - Showed some of his old self for times during the game, but got a bit quiet some times. Needed to look for more word but he did take the chances he was given. Could have scored a try if Carter didn't score it himself.
12. Benson Stanley - 6.5 - Good on defence, but seemed a little uncertain on attack. He kept Jamie Roberts very quiet, but had a couple of knock ons and didn't take all the right options.
13. Conrad Smith - 7.5 - Quiet game for his standards, but he did link up well and took a lot of the pressure off Carter. Showed plenty of leader ship and was solid as a rock on defence.
14. Cory Jane - 8 - Another great game by Cory Jane. Was a little bit more quiet in the second half as he moved into full back, but he scored a nice try by poor defence.
15. Israel Dagg - 7 - Got concussed three quaters of the way through the first half. He looked a little bit more shakey in this game. Sure it will come right soon but is ruled out of the next game. Did not perform badly, just didn't really have time to show how good he can be.
16. Aled de Malmanche - 7 - Didn't amaze when he came on, but didn't go wrong either. Held the scrum well and the line out went fine.
17. Tony Woodcock - 8.5 - Improved the scrum very well and showed alot of enthusiasm which may have been missing. Reedemed poor S14 form. Made some very nice runs and was very active. Expect him to start during Tri Nations if he carries the good form.
18. Sam Whitelock - 7.5 - Once again came on and did well. Solid in the rucks, effective in the lineout and didn't hurt the scrums. I believe he will start next match, and may even take a starting post next Tri Nations.
19. Adam Thompson - 7 - Good work rate when he came on, but didn't really make a huge impact. The Dunedin crowd loved him though.
20. Peri Weepu - 6.5 - Didn't really hurt the team, but seemed to hold onto the ball too long when making the pass and waited too long for the offence to get into position. Did alright but not showing why he should be ahead of Alby Mathewson.
21. Aaron Cruden - 7 - The fact Carter looked so good all match meant that Cruden would always have had a hard time to impresss with the 10 minutes he had on feild. Almost scored a try but it was foiled. Looked solid if unspectacular.
22. Richard Kahui - 8 - Suprise great performance by Kahui, he had silky running and scored a great 50m try, showing plenty of speed. I believe he also stoped Wales from scoring a get-away try as well, which was nice. Had poor S14 form but like Woodcock, he rewarded the selectors with a great game.
There you go Iron Mike, that's my summary, you may want to wait for one of the Welsh lads to do a review as I only noted Steven Jones did pretty well, but other than that, my mind's gone blank, no doubt the Welsh first half effort was very good though.
