I always enjoy doing the ratings after a Wallabies win, because rewatching the game is so much easier. This one was a real toughie to rate, though.
It was a titanic performance in many areas, but I couldn’t go bananas with the scores as we came so close to losing. Pat Lambie slots that droppie and it was probably curtains. So it couldn’t be 8s and 9s all round, could it? In the end I think I found a nice medium.
So, to the ratings:
| Player | Rating | Comment |
| Kurtley Beale | 6 | A solid Beale outing. Made a good line-break in the first half, and looked pretty threatening whenever he got the pill. However, his kicking game was average and he was guilty of a couple of poor decisions when things went to shit in the second half. |
| James O’Connor | 8 | Probably his best all-round game in gold. Normally a fleet-footed, silky haired young ragamuffin, on Sunday he turned into a hard-arsed, steely eyed veteran. Made plenty of big hits in defence, some stellar hit-ups off scrums and rucks, and kicked the winning goal under immense pressure. |
| Adam Ashley-Cooper | 7 | Defended very well but barely touched the ball. 18 tackles and 3 missed, he shut down most Bok attacks with aplomb. Not much more to say really. |
| Pat McCabe | 7 | Same as AAC. His defence in midfield was brutal, and the Boks sent plenty of traffic his way. Considering he played with a bung shoulder for most of the game I think he may have silenced some of the critics for now… |
| Digby Ioane | 6 | I thought Digby was a bit off the pace. Still had a couple of good runs, but didn’t have the same effect he has had on every Wallaby game this year. The fact that he still scored a 6 says plenty about his performance in those games. |
| Quade Cooper | 3 | He started off OK, but had a shocker of a second half. Nothing went right for him, and the more he tried to do the worse it got. Hopefully it was just one of those days. |
| Will Genia | 6 | Was busy and had a few nice touches, but it was not one of his better games. Like Digby maybe it’s because we have come to expect so much from him, but his kicking game was poor and his decision making at times was misguided. I am sure he will bounce back pretty well this week. |
| Radike Samo | 8 | Another who I think had their best game in gold. Sure there were no 60m tries or barnstorming line-breaks, just plenty of gutsy defence and strong hit-ups in the face of very strong opposition. Outplayed Pierre Spies by a mile. |
| David Pocock | 10 | Wow. Just, wow. 27 tackles with 0 missed. Big hit-ups. Turnovers at crucial times. Bonecrunching tackles. I think at one point he saved a small child falling from the upper tier. Put simply, if we didn’t have him in the side we would have lost. He set up our only try and saved about 4. It goes without saying that he is the G&GR Man of the Match. |
| Rocky Elsom | 7 | There were no standout moments from the Rock but he just got through an absolute truckload of work. One of the key cogs in the victory, he never gave an inch in defence. |
| James Horwill | 7 | Scored a good try and like all of the forwards made heaps of tackles. A few good hit-ups too, although that was tempered by the failure of the lineout. His leadership passed a vital test. |
| Dan Vickerman | 7 | Back to his abrasive, physical self. This was a game tailor-made for Vicks, and he didn’t disappoint. Flew in at ruck time with no thoughts of his own safety, but there were also some nice touches in attack. Like Horwill he should carry some blame for the shitness of the lineout. |
| Ben Alexander | 6 | The scrum was OK, but we were lucky not to be penalised a few more times than we were. He didn’t get through as much work as he normally does, and he missed a few tackles. Still a respectable performance. |
| Stephen Moore | 6 | He wasn’t bad, but he has certainly had better games this year. The lineout was a shemozzle, and he didn’t get many chances to get his hands on the pill. Made plenty of tackles though and did well in the tight and in the scrum. |
| Sekope Kepu | 7 | Made a couple of bone-jarring big hits and held up his side of the scrum very well. Stepped up his game when it was required, he has come a long way in a short space of time this year. |
| TPN | 6 | Played a pretty solid fifteen minutes without standing out. |
| James Slipper | 6 | Same as TPN. |
| Nathan Sharpe | 7 | Made a real difference when he came on to the ground. A couple of trademark runs and some brutal tackling close to the ruck. Certainly was showing no nerves on 99. |
| Berrick Barnes | 6 | Seemed to steady the ship a bit when he came on. We were still pretty patchy though, so he may not be the miracle cure some are suggesting. Nonetheless a good showing off the bench. |
The patented G&GR ratings guide:
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
Too generous? Not generous enough? Let me know what you think…
