Where to start. I'm going to do my ratings I think, but I'll start off with saying that I'm much happier than I was 13 hours ago.
1. Tony Woodcock: Solid game, scrums really improved and I thought the All Blacks were actually dominant for at least the first half. Pretty solid game - 7.5
2. Andrew Hore: Had a pretty solid game. Was always busy at the rucks and got a nice turnover. - 7.5
3. Owen Franks: Had a good game. Made some very solid tackles and was busy. 7.5/10
4. Luke Romano: Had a very good debut. Carried very strongly and worked hard. Reminded me of Chris Jack. 8/10
5. Sam Whitelock: Bit more quiet in terms of ball carrying but looked busy around the field. 7/10
6. Liam Messam: Had a very good game. Tackled well all match and showed plenty of grunt that has perhaps been missing in the past. Think him, McCaw and Vito should be in the running for the 6 jersey. 8/10
7. Sam Cane: Another great game. Looked every bit as physical as you'd want for a 7, but his ball running was outstanding. Think it's time McCaw make a move to 6. 8.5/10
8. Richie McCaw: Much more impressive game from McCaw and reasserts what myself and others have said about a move to 6. He'll never replace Read at 8, but he showed he still got enough in him to be very good. Lots of tackles and turnovers. 7.75/10
9. Aaron Smith: Piri Weepu didn't play too badly, but after Aaron Smith has been on the field he seemed in slow motion. Superb player. 8/10
10. Aaron Cruden: While he was on the field it was the Aaron Cruden show. Great option taking and skills. Set up SBW perfectly. Pitty he was injured but Beuden did well when he came on as well. 8/10
11. Hosea Gear: A few early errors, but lead in terms of running metres (albeit after one amazing run). What I like about Gear is his pace and power and an ability to finish where others wouldn't and I think he showed that with his amazing try. Not a flawless match, but certainly enough to make the selectors give him more oppertunities 8/10.
12. Sonny Bill Williams: Looked much better in this game. Carried well, ran good lines and made the right choices. Two tries doesn't hurt either. Nothing really to criticise him on. 8.5/10
13. Conrad Smith: Everything he did he did well. Great again on defense and set other up very nicely. He gets the almost permanent rating of 8/10.
14. Ben Smith: Looked good while he was on. Nice carries and made a lot of correct decisions. No obvious flaws. Would like to see him used at fullback at some point. Certainly was busy 8/10.
15. Israel Dagg: Another person I was impressed with. Made a few handling errors but otherwise was extremely good. Set up others well, kicked very well and scored showed lots of speed. 8/10.
16. Kevin Mealamu: While he was on he looked to have made a full recovery. I actually thought he was a bit better than Hore, although he did have fresh legs against an already bet up Ireland. 7.5/10
17. Ben Franks: He came on and Ireland's scrum looked better. He's good around the park but to be honest, when two props are allowed on the bench, he's pobably not going to get more tests. 6.5/10
18. Brodie Retallick: Didn't get much time, but looked busy while he was on. 7/10
19. Adam Thomson: Scored a try and didn't celebrate it like a f*ckwit. I thought he was good while he was on, but when comparing him to who started, I think he should probably miss selection for the Rugby Championship. Not a terrible game, just not as good as the others. 7/10
20. Piri Weepu: Unfortunately he had to come on when Aaron Smith came off. The result was slower ball. Not a bad game, just compared to Aaron Smith 7/10
21. Beuden Barrett: Considering he probably didn't expect to be on untill late in the second half, he did very well. Made some nice kicks under pressure and his defense wasn't an issue. Thought the scoring would slow down while he was on, but it continued. Not quite as good as Cruden, but certainly can be proud of his debut. 7.5/10
22. Tamati Ellison: Didn't really notice him much when he came on the field. Didn't get that much time mind you. 6.5/10.
All of these scored don't take into account how Ireland played. NZ played extremely well and Ireland were invisible (not meant as an insult). Certainly didn't get given much of a chance to get into the game.
Great ratings as always Nick - can't really disagree with any of them. I actually think it is a lot harder to give ratings after a total team performance like that, as the range between the top rated and bottom rated players is pretty small.
Overall I was incredibly impressed with the AB's performance. I expected them to have a massive game after last weeks disappointing effort, but I wasn't expecting them to be
that dominant. We still weren't probably as dominant in the front-row as we may have hoped, but in general the front-row did their jobs. I'm starting to get a bit worried about Andrew Hore at times though, as he does seem to be showing his age. He's still incredibly hard working at the breakdown and does his core jobs well, but he was exposed a couple of times in defense due to his lack of pace. I've seen him exposed like this for the Highlanders a couple of times this season too - I don' think it is a major issue yet, but could become one if he loses any more pace. It was great to see Mealamu back, and he made a very good impact when he came on with his ball running - I wonder whether he or Hore will be the number 1 hooker during the Rugby Championship? Sam Whitelock was solid, but Luke Romano had an outstanding debut. He is an incredibly powerful ball runner (he ran through Cian Healy at one stage like he wasn't even there), and he was used very effectively by the AB's (often in midfield from a lineout). He will certainly have more challenging matches to come, but he made an incredibly promising debut, and more than justified his inclusion in the squad (hopefully this finally signals the end of Ali Williams!).
I thought the loose-forward trio as a combination was outstanding. Messam had his best game in a black jersey, which was great to see. The AB's selectors have told him to increase his physicality, and boy did he deliver! He was smashing people back in the tackle, and it was great to see him use his running game to good effect. He will be very difficult to leave out of the squad for the Rugby Championship after that performance, and he will certainly be putting the heat on Vito and Thomson for a starting spot at 6. McCaw looked far more like the McCaw of old this week. His handling was far better, and he made a couple of great steals at the breakdown. Probably the standout loosies for NZ was Sam Cane (again). He has a phenomenal work-rate - he just seems to do everything at full speed too. He hits hard in the tackle, and his running game is superb too - I questioned whether he was the 2nd best 7 in the country at the start of this series, but he's certainly gone a long way to dispel any doubts I previously had!
Smith was again superb at 9. I love the fact our backline now gets quick ball, and his sharpe running game is a real threat the base of the breakdown. He again proved that, despite his lack of size, he is more than able to hold his own in defense. My only (very slight) criticism is he over-kicked his box-kicks, but I suppose it is good to have things to work on! Cruden was quite frankly phenomenal in the 20-odds mins he was on the field. The AB's were going at over a point a minute, and Ireland didn't seem to have any idea how to stop Cruden. While it was disappointing he went off so early it was a great opportunity for Barrett, who had a strong debut. He wasn't as threatening as Cruden, but he was far from overawed, and took the ball to the line very well, generally took the right options, and importantly (as it has been a weakness of his) was rock-solid in defense. SBW had been well contained all series, but Ireland failed to contain him this match. Conrad Smith was again the unsung hero of the backline, making the right decisions every time both in attack and defense. Despite the big scoreline the outside backs didn't really get the ball in space that much, but all had good games. I was a bit worried when Gear stuffed up the first two high kicks but he recovered very well, and scored a great try. What really impressed me was the aggression he brought to he game - not only with ball in hand, but he was also smashing people in defense. Smith was solid on the right wing - his ability to seamlessly slot in anywhere in backline is a big asset, while Dagg too was solid at fullback (and made some massive punts).
Hard to identify many standouts for Ireland. Healy made a couple of good runs, but did miss a few tackles (he will want to forget Romano running straight through him). I was again impressed by Ryan - he was solid all round, and good at the lineout. I remain unconvinced by Touhy though - his work-rate doesn't impress me, and he made a few basic errors. O'Brien was probably the pick of the loosies again, but he is far from the devastating ball running that we were promised at the start of the series. He got driven back numerous times in the tackle, but he did do a good job of disrupting New Zealand's ball at the breakdown on a number of occasions. Can't name any standouts in the backs, though it is hard to stand out when your forwards are completely outplayed.
Overall I was delighted by the performance - bring on the Rugby Championship!
