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New Zealand players ratings v Canada
By Tom Vinicombe
New Zealand travelled to the south of Japan with the expectation that they would crush Canada - a side that hasn't come within 50 points of the All Blacks in their last four encounters dating back to 1995.
That expectation was more or less met, with New Zealand cruising to a 63-0 win.
Perhaps no All Blacks were going to catapult themselves ahead in the pecking order on the back of good performances against one of the weakest teams at the World Cup, but that didn't seem to affect their desire to put on a good showing.
So, how did the players rate?
1 Atunaisa Moli - 8/10
Hit ruck after ruck; has mobility in spades. Played the full 80, with the All Blacks' scrum being dominant the whole way through. Huge outing for the big man.
2 Liam Coltman - 5
Solid in the lineout, bar one early overthrow. Also solid in the scrums - but that's all that can really be said of the third choice hooker. Off in 70th minute.
Continued below...
3 Angus Ta'avao - 7
Part of a very dominant scrum which earned more than a couple of penalties. Subbed in 27th minute but was one of the busiest defenders during his time on the field.
4 Scott Barrett - 6.5
Hands let him down - but not the only All Black who suffered in the humid conditions. Lost the ball over the line, costing the All Blacks an easy try. Almost lost a second too! Was called upon as the key ball-runner in the forwards and threw himself into his work and in better conditions would have likely put on a monstrous display.
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Latest Comments
Were you shocked by Sexton trying to rip Barrett's head off when he scored that final try in that return game?
Sexton once again the beneficiary of incredible double standards. Some of the rules simply didn't apply to him. The referee even watched that replay about 5 times in slow motion to see if he grounded the ball. If an NZ player had made that tackle it would have been a yellow card.
Ireland led by Sexton were the biggest bunch of whingers to ever play the game. NZ's dislike of Ireland was not caused by losing to them, it was caused by the Irish players, commentators and media being such giant crybabies.
I genuinely think Ireland are the best team in the world, and I think they will beat the ABs on Friday, but they are by some distance the team I like the least, and I know many people, not just from NZ, who feel the same.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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