All Blacks player ratings from a very comfortable win in their third game of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, as Dave Rennie’s side beat the Bulls 50-19.
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The hosts started brightly, but the Bulls were denied a couple of tries following TMO checks. Included in that was a Hanro Liebenberg disallowed score on his return to Pretoria.
Josh Moorby then scored twice in the corner, while Codie Taylor added two tries, including one from a quick tap, leaving the All Blacks 24-0 ahead at half time.
The Bulls struck early in the second 40 through Ruan Vermaak, but Leroy Carter quickly restored the All Blacks’ momentum. Rieko Ioane and Carter added further tries before the Bulls responded through Stravino Jacobs and Marcell Coetzee.
Wallace Sititi then completed the scoring late on, taking the All Blacks to 50 points to round off an impressive victory at Loftus Versfeld in their final game before facing the Springboks.
Scroll down for All Blacks player ratings.
Bulls: 19
- Tries: Ruan Vermaak (42′), Stravino Jacobs (54′), Marcell Coetzee (74′)
- Conversions: Curwin Bosch (43′, 74′)
- Yellow card: Francois Klopper (30′)
All Blacks: 50
- Tries: Josh Moorby (14′,19′), Codie Taylor (32′, 40′), Leroy Carter (44′, 67′), Rieko Ioane (49′), Wallace Sititi (78′)
- Conversions: Beauden Barrett (20′), Josh Jacomb (40′,50′,67′, 78′)
15 Beauden Barrett — 7
Barrett looked back to somewhat close to his best, showcasing his passing range and creating the opening try with a sharp assist. He handled things well from deep and kicked less, which suited his team better.
There were still a couple of poor moments, including a missed tackle to allow Stravino Jacobs to cross.
14 Leroy Carter — 8
A lively display from Carter, who made a superb break to create the first try and showed excellent aerial ability from a Barrett kick. His finishing was impressive too, scoring in the corner by the narrowest of margins.
He later broke through and assisted Ioane, while also covering well from deep when needed. A second from close range showed his instinct, as he found himself in the right place at the right time.
13 Rieko Ioane — 7
The centre was a constant threat in attack, making several strong runs and breaking through to create dangerous opportunities. A smart pass put Carter into the corner before he evaded a challenge himself to finish off a try.
12 Anton Lienert-Brown — 7
Lienert-Brown was arguably the quietest of an otherwise lively backline, despite being heavily involved in attack. He was outshone by some of his teammates but still enjoyed a solid game, making 12 carries and contributing plenty without putting a foot wrong.
11 Josh Moorby — 7
Scored two tries, which came from a decent finish in the corner to open to scoring, before a simple finish to secure the brace. Didn’t do too much aside from that, but two tries is nothing to complain about.
10 Josh Jacomb — 8
Jacomb made a strong case for a starting role at fly-half, impressing with his quick hands, high-tempo approach and composure under pressure.
The Chiefs man dealt superbly with kicks in behind, including one on his own try line, while also producing a neat offload for Carter’s second. He was excellent, even if Ruben Love remains slightly ahead.
9 Cortez Ratima — 7
Ratima managed to keep the tempo high in his 40 minutes stint and while there were no hugely notable moments from the scrum-half, his general tempo and quality of play was very high. Hardly kicked at all and most of his play came through his hands, which helped keep his team on top.
