1. Benn Robinson 7 – One of the few forwards who were able to match it with the All Blacks, he was outstanding in defence and held his side of the scrum up well.
2. Stephen Moore 8 – Further enhanced his reputation with another solid all round game in trying conditions. Accurate line-out throwing mixed with good, hard direct running and some deft passing.
3. Le Fuse 4 – Joubert’s bunny…..say no more.
4. Kev Horwill 6 – Started the game well and was matching it with the physical play of the All Blacks before a broken nose and numerous trips to triage ended his momentum
5. Nathan Sharpe 4 – On a night where it was incumbent on him to provide the physical presence to repel the Black tide, he didn’t seem quite up to it.
6. Dick Brown 6 – Started the game well and was destructive with ball in hand before a foot injury ended his evening. Looked better playing no 6 than he has playing no 8.
7. George Smith 8 – Raised the bat for 100 n.o. but sadly didn’t get the result to accompany this feat. Not his fault the Wallabies got beaten – if only he’d have caught that pass…….
8. Cliffy Palu 5 – In horse racing terms you would probably say it was a reasonable first up gallop however he was short of his best and didn’t have the impact that was required.
9. Luke Burgess 3 – The ghost’s of games past came back to haunt Burgo, kicked like an old mule, passes resembled the Harbour Bridge and the final insult was a trademark short side snipe to nowhere. Just when we all thought he had left this shit behind.
10. Gits 6 – Somewhat hamstrung by the afore mentioned short-comings of Burgess’ game, Gits looked flustered at times from the pressure the AB’s were able to bring to bear on him.
11 Drew Mitchell 3 – He and Burgo must have listened to the same motivational tape (or Tracy Chapman CD) pre match as his game mirrored Burgo’s. Kicking game sucked and looked like he wouldn’t have been able to even catch a fucking cold under the high ball. Lote must have been pissing himself!!!
12. Berrick Barnes 6 – Could have won the match but indecision meant he probably lost it by firing a bullet pass at Smith’s scone. Mixed good and bad in equal measure before going off with a hip injury, seems to get injured a fair bit at international level huh?
13. Morty 5 – Not a night for backs but he was rarely sighted….if only Berrick had thrown that pass
14. Lachie Turner 7 – One who can rightly say the loss was not his fault. Lachie mixed great positional play and composure under the high ball with some dangerous runs. Didn’t see enough of the ball on a night when things were going well for him
15. AAC 6 – Let himself down with the inability to secure possession from the endless AB bombs but on the credit side of the ledger, again showed his class in the open field setting up more than a few attacking raids.
18. Dean Mumm 4 – Ended up being on for about a quarter of the game subbing for Big Kev but had no impact and seemed done over by the physical nature of the play, will struggle to hold his spot once Rocky is back.
20. David Pocock 4 – For the last few years Bam Bam has been touted as the next big thing but on his last few outings there seems precious little to get excited about. Got a decent chunk of game time but was never in the hunt.
22. James O’Connor 3 – The bubble well and truly burst for the Wunderkind, makes the hat-trick against the Italians and subsequent adulation seem a world away.
Rating system:
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Man of the match worthy performance
8 – Outstanding
7 – Good game, great in parts
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.
