The Wallabies came back from 17-0 to lose the match by three points and suffer back to back defeats. But how did each individual play?
Here are my ratings:
[one_third last=”no”]
James Slipper
Not a stand out game compared to his usual standard in 2014 but was solid once again. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Saia Faingaa
Has been playing well in recent week’s this week was no exception. 7[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Sekope Kepu
Like Slipper, had a solid game but not a stand out. 6[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Sam Carter
Missed a couple of tackles and can still offer more. 4[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Rob Simmons
Was solid in the lineout with 4 takes and was ok around the field. 5 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Luke Jones
Was held up in his first two runs for going in too high. Struggled to get in the game from then on. 4 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Michael Hooper
Lacking his usual impact but effort was still there. 5[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Ben McCalman
Ran strongly with 11 runs for 74 metres and was solid all around the park. Probably his best match yet in the Gold jersey. 7 and G&GR Man of the Match[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Nick Phipps
Scored two tries but threw an intercept try and was consistently slow to the breakdown. His passing was inaccurate and his handling was sloppy. 4[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Bernard Foley
Was solid but struggled with a few Irish high balls and could offer more in attack. 4 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Henry Speight
Starved of opportunity but we got a peek at what he is capable of as he tip toed down the line to set up Nick Phipps’ second try. 5[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Matt Toomua
Toomua made most of his opportunity starting at inside centre after Lealiifano was preferred over the last couple of weeks. He pulled off some trademark big hits and received some praise from former England player Will Greenwood – “we may have witnessed one of the great performances of an inside centre for a decent while. Matt Toomua – unbelievable”. 7[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Tevita Kuridrani
Standard performance from Kuridrani – strong, hard running. Unfortunate that he was injured. 6[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Adam Ashley-Cooper
Had a fairly quiet game. Made a couple of uncharacteristic errors. 5 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Israel Folau
Saved a certain Irish try and was solid at the back. Perhaps he was standing too deep when the Irish were putting up high balls. Should of claimed more high balls then he should have but in saying that he shouldn’t be the only one in the team who can catch a high ball. 6[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
James Hanson
Little impact when he came on. No Rating[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Benn Robinson
Made some good tackles in defence when he came on. 5[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Tetera Faulkner
Made 4 runs in the short time he was on the field. 5[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Will Skelton
Made 5 runs when he came on which was solid but lacked some game breaking impact. 5[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Jake Schatz
Lacked impact when he was on the field. Virtually unseen. 4[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Will Genia
Speed of the game picked up when he came on and the Irish were on the back foot. Made some trademark darts which kept the inside defenders interested. 7[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Quade Cooper
Nice touches and a clever kick. He worked well with Genia and was straight and direct in attack. Definitely more threatening with this halves pairing. I would like to see them starting against England next week. 7[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Kurtley Beale
Tried to make things happen when he came on but not a lot paid off. 5[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
[/one_third]
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
What are your player ratings? Tell us below!