[one_third last=”no”]
1. James Slipper
Made some tackles, got around the ground well. Replaced at 50 mins. 5
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
2. Jordan Uelese
8 tackles, 11 carries, but conceded 2 turnovers. Was part of the better scrum. 6
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
3. Sekope Kepu
Returned a solid performance, making 7 tackles in the process. Was part of the better, first half scrum. 6
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
4. Rob Simmons
Lineout was superb, and despite doing his thing of not being a physical presence, he did what he was meant to do. Win lineouts. Also wore a matching scrum cap with C0leman which made things hard. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
5. Adam Coleman
Part of a lineout that dominated the Samoans but didn’t dominate at ruck time – Samoa made 10 turnovers. Made 6/7 tackles but there wasn’t as much bashing as you’d like or need from the non-Simmons lock. 6
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
6. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
His stats are solid. 11 carries for 45 metres, 2 defenders beaten, 7/7 tackles made. He didn’t boss the game, but a solid showing nevertheless. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
7. David Pocock (c)
O captain my captain. Passed the first test, which was not to get injured. Passed the second test, which was to not chain himself to a mining truck in the Parramatta area. Didn’t make a Twiggy Forrest-net-worth of turnovers, as he usually does, but did alter his game after it appeared Samoa kept him out of the rucks. Did well in his distributor role, marshalling the troops and making those tackles. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
8. Jack Dempsey
Killed it, despite coming back from injury. Offered a great presence from the back of the scrum, and shored up the depth at no. 8. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
9. Will Genia
After some great performances, Genia looked below-par against Samoa. His dilly-dallying at the ruck was shown up by Nick Phipps, who showed him up when he came on. 5
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
10. Bernard Foley
If his confidence was cheese, it’d be swiss. Looks shot, and his lack of competition for the past four years has done him a disservice. Had a barry on conversions, getting 2 from 6. Made about double the passes Toomua did, more carries, and the same clean breaks. However he looked almost half the value. 4
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
11. Marika Koroibete
Inspired by his binge of pingball halls, Koroibete stamped himself on this game. Running, tackling, charging, he did it all. Made 136 metres. 8 – G&GR MOTM
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
12. Matt Toomua
In his best display this year, Toomua probed, prodded and tackled the Samoans, mainly acting as first receiver in most cases. On top of an easy try, also showed himself to be the better flyhalf over Foley in the match. He made 16 passes. 2 clean breaks and 10 carries. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
13. Adam Ashley Cooper
Praised constantly as “Australia’s best defensive organiser” by Morgan Turinui, AAC showed his nous. He missed 3 of his 5 tackles but you can chalk that up to him filling holes in the defence or chasing down Samoans. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
14. Dane Haylett Petty
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
15. Tom Banks
Given a chance to prove the selectors wrong, Banks didn’t take it. Offered plenty in defence and kicks – except for one touch finder that went dead. His running and running metres – 99, the 2nd best for the Wallabies – were promising. 5
[/one_third]
Finishers
[one_third last=”no”]
16. Tatafu Polota-Nau
Came on at 64th minute, and really didn’t do much. 5
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
17. Scott Sio
Solid effort, the scrum collapse came more so on the tight side. 5
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
18. Taniela Tupou
Didn’t have a great game. Scrum suffered after he came on, and he only did one trademark boomfa – against an otherwise weak defence. 4
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
19. Luke Jones
Cut from the RWC squad, went someway to justify his non-selection. 5
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
20.Rob Valentini
Came on for 7 minutes on debut. No Rating
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
21. Liam Wright
Compared to Jones, who had 3 more minutes compared to Wright’s 22, impacted the game. Made some strong runs, making 55m of 3 carries (compare Jones’ 8m for 6) and one very impressive dummy. 6
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
22. Nick Phipps
The best of the subs, Phipps upped the tempo and passed the ball – unlike Genia’s foot-tapping ruck spectacle. Threw a beautiful inside ball to for Banks. 7
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
23. James O’Connor
Given a mighty 9 minutes. No Rating
[/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
Player Ratings – Australia vs Ireland
