The All Blacks welcomed Italy to Wellington for round two of the Rugby Nations Championship and won comfortably 47-17. Italy came out of the blocks fast and scored in the opening few minutes. Their defence was lightning fast and stalled many of the All Blacks’ attacks in the first half. The home side came out flying in the second half, and Italy couldn’t live with the pace. The game became very stop-start when the All Blacks hit 40 points and then scored in the last play to win 47-17.
All Blacks Ratings
1- Ethan De Groot 7
Powerful carry scored the All Blacks’ fourth try and gained them their bonus point. Scrum was ok in the first half, but did come under some pressure from the strong Italian front-row.
2- Codie Taylor 5
The All Blacks started building momentum on 28 minutes and were penalised for a Taylor neckroll on Brex. Struggled with the pressure from the Italian lineout.
3- Tyrell Lomax 6
Penalised at scrum time just before halftime. This gave Italy an easy chance to escape their 22. Lomax made nine carries in total, three more than his counterpart on the other side.
4- Sam Darry 7
Scored the opening All Blacks try, showing good strength to reach for the line. A really poor pass on 38 minutes found the touchline rather than a black shirt to halt momentum.
5- Tupou Vaa’i 7
Played the full 80 minutes but was relatively quiet throughout. Scored in the final moments to seal the game 47-17 for the All Blacks.
6- Wallace Sititi 5.5
Played the ball on the ground at ruck time on 20 minutes. Italy had the momentum at this time, which allowed Italy to build on that. Was at first receiver and felt the pressure of the rushing defender and knocked on on 22 minutes. Had made a break from the kick-off after the third try. Dropped the ball and left it behind him. Top on the pitch for offloads, but a few too many mistakes throughout.
7- Luke Jacobson 6
Was lined up on 38 minutes by Malik Faissal and rode the hit to offload the ball to Sam Darry. A counterattack was on by Darry couldn’t find the overlapping All Blacks. Jacobson was replaced at half-time.
8- Ardie Savea 7
A strong carry on 61 minutes pushed the All Blacks towards the line, but he lost the ball forward in contact. Did as he always does, carried consistently, and cleared the ruck with ease and made 10 tackles.
Backs
9- Cam Roigard 8
Roigard got things going in the second half with an early try, following Josh Moorby who carved through the Italy defensive line. Roigard comes off on 59 minutes after another strong performance in the Rugby Nations Championship.
10- Ruben Love 7
Kicked his first three kicks excellently, but pushed one of the easier kicks for the fourth. 50-22 in the 65th minute. He then received a yellow card for the second week in a row for a deliberate knock-on. This was overturned as Italy had knocked it on first. Went about his business quietly but after the line-speed of the first half from Italy eased, he helped the All Blacks find their feet.
11- Leroy Carter 7
Carter provided an outstanding assist for Will Jordan’s try. He had suffered a minor knock to his shoulder just before this. He was replaced by Josh Moorby.
12- Jordie Barrett 7
After a knock-on from Italy in attack. Barrett put a brilliant kick through. Barrett came off on 57 minutes after another strong all-round performance. Led the All Blacks for tackles completed when he came off the pitch.
13- Billy Proctor 7
Conceded a penalty for his hands in the ruck early on. Allowed Italy to pile on pressure. Started to get some more carrying momentum towards the end of the first half. Massive turnover on his own line on 45 minutes, after the All Blacks had just moved 11 points clear.
14- Will Jordan 10
Jordan scored the second All Blacks try and linked up with Josh Moorby for the fifth. Moments later he secured his hat-trick to reach 50 All Blacks tries. This is the most ever scored by an All Black in history.
15- Damian McKenzie 6.5
Was always on the front foot with ball in hand. Some great flat passes to break the line, but couldn’t find that final pass or his own breaks that we have come to expect from the full-back.
