The All Blacks perform the haka before facing Fiji, in San Diego. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Assessing the performances in the All Blacks’ test victory over Fiji in San Diego.
The fullback was beaten for space on the crossfield kick that led to Fiji’s try – a weak area for the ABs against England, too. But kicked well and ran nicely, and the understanding with McKenzie, the other 10-15 in the team, was mostly sound.
Quick hands and quick feet, the winger was always dangerous in an error-free performance.
Plenty of eyes on him as Rieko Ioane has looked flat. Continued his run from Super Rugby with some swift dashes, linked up well with the No 12 and bagged a well-deserved try. Proctor will face tougher opponents at this level – and had the relative luxury of not running against England’s rush defence – but the All Blacks selection panel has some thinking to do.
Another solid contender for the starting No 13 jersey, ALB was given the job of breaching the advantage line early and did it well. The midfield partnership was one of the early pillars on which the All Blacks built first-half domination.
Bagged the opening try and was unluckily denied a second with a classic in-and-out skinning. Found gaps smartly and showed real afterburner pace.
Happiest when doing the clever stuff – crossfield kick-passes, clever darts and lovely pop passes showcasing his strengths. But efforts at kick-tennis were ineffective. Did just enough in corner flag tackle to quell Fiji’s 37th-minute try. Game manager couldn’t keep structure in place as subs ran on.
Another first-starter with a chance to impress. Linked well with his Chiefs mate in the No 10 jersey and seemed to have a little more bang in his bullet pass than Finlay Christie. The same instinct that helped him bag a try also saw him get tangled up among the big men a couple of times, but generally Ratima took the right options. Confirmed his status as an All Blacks halfback by getting injured.
Talk of the loose trio lacking punch must irritate World Rugby’s default Player of the Year; he carried well in San Diego (and at one point when he couldn’t get the ball carried a Fijian bloke instead). Lost possession a couple of times, but remains the coaching panels’ uni-tool: If in doubt, chuck the ball to Ardie.
Plenty of burly runs and excellent breakdown work in a typical full-on effort, but selectors wouldn’t have seen enough to answer the ‘Next-Kaino’ question on ball-carrying.
A workmanlike effort, with dutiful defence and some slick handling as a linkman. Heavy ball-carrying work was mostly shared by his loose forward partners. Jacobson’s organised defensive work was key as the game lost structure late on.
Useful first-half carries as All Blacks put the heat on, and had plenty of work today in the defensive clashes.
A couple of restart errors on an afternoon when the skipper didn’t seem to get out of second gear, and didn’t seem to need to.
Unassuming hitman relished the Fijian scrum feeds. Bigger challenges lie ahead this season – notably in Johannesburg, Dublin, Paris and London – but Newell has the chops to wrestle against the best.
There was none of the lineout confusion of recent weeks – though, to be fair, there was no Maro Itoje, either. Aumua seems the nippiest of the hookers in the All Blacks current armoury and has nice, subtle handling skills.
The scrums were a gimme, but the big unit’s mobility around the park and smart defensive involvements (he topped the tackle count with Savea, making seven hits) will have been noted. And when he leans on things they tend to go backwards.
Reserves:
George Bell: First involvement in international rugby was getting bumped off by a Fijian giant. Like the anthem singer, his performance improved as he went on, with plenty of involvement and a try on debut. 6
Ethan De Groot: When your scrum is as poked as Fiji’s was, seeing this bloke lumber onto the field in the 55th minute is the last thing you want. 6
Pasilio Tosi: Star cameo off the bench with five tackles and some urgent running. 6
Sam Darry: Short stint marked by nice handling and clever touches. 6
Wallace Sititi: Plenty of interest in debutant’s 25-minute shift and his ability to bend the defensive line. Strip-and-carry set up De Groot’s try. 7
Noah Hotham: Newest of the newbies had plenty of fans reaching for Google when he ran on before the halftime break. Picked up nicely where Ratima left off. 6
Jordie Barrett: Late run at fullback, blew a chance with poor-choice pass in 74th minute. Would have been good to see him running inside Proctor. 4
Emoni Narawa: The nearly-man of a couple of seasons ago got a fresh shot, but couldn’t make it work on a day when others did. 3
Veteran Sam Cane is given his farewell test appearance.