Grading the 2017 All Blacks
After Saturday’s slaughter of the Boks, Steve Hansen gave his All Blacks a B-plus for the ‘‘home’’ component of their test season. Just to be sure, rugby writer Marc Hinton grades the first eight tests to come up with his own overall mark.
Beat Samoa in Auckland 78-0
Not a bad first-up hitout, all things considered, and 12 tries without conceding ticked pretty much all the boxes for what was essentially a rust-remover. There were question marks about the strength of the opposition, with the Samoans dreadfully ill-equipped to handle the pace of the All Blacks’ game, but you can only play what’s in front of you, and this night the New Zealanders did that very, very impressively. They took the first quarter to get the machine rumbling, but from then on had things all their own way. Ben Smith tucked away his first test as captain, Jerome Kaino returned to the fray and Beauden Barrett even kicked well. Grade: A
Beat British & Irish Lions in Auckland 30-15
Behind a performance for the ages from skipper Kieran Read (who hadn’t played in a couple of months) and a two-touchdown strike from 20-year-old wing Rieko Ioane, the All Blacks shaded an entertaining and free-flowing contest, scoring three tries to two, and cruising home on a faultless display of goalkicking from Barrett. The Lions showed plenty, especially with their ability to attack from deep, but were well beaten by a New Zealand side that rallied behind its inspirational skipper, struck with clinical efficiency and shook off the firsthalf losses of key backs Ben Smith and Ryan Crotty to injury. It looked a long way back for the Lions from this. Grade: B-plus Lost to Lions in Wellington 21-24
What a difference a week made for the tourists. Well, that and a 24th-minute red card to All Blacks second five Sonny Bill Williams. The New Zealanders still put in a big night’s work, and actually led 18-9 with 22 minutes remaining. But their lack of ambition cost them dearly as the visitors finished over the top with the only two tries of the game to secure a tense, series-levelling victory. Garces’ decision to make SBW just the third All Black to be sent off in a test was a correct one. His late penalty on Charlie Faumuina to hand the Lions the winning penalty was a lot more questionable. The All Blacks were brave and gallant, but they paid the price for ill-discipline and an inability to land the killer blows with that unlikely lead. Grade: B-minus
Drew with Lions in Auckland 15-15
Dramatic. Controversial. Anticlimactic. This third test had it all, except a decisive result after referee Romain Poite was persuaded (without supporting video evidence) to change his decision to award the All Blacks a late kickable penalty that would likely have sealed the deal. Instead we got the first ever tied series between the great rivals. The end was a farce, and should never have unfolded the way it did (reverse the circumstances, and we would still be hearing about it from the UK and Ireland), but that did not disguise that this was a poor All Blacks performance. They played all the footy, created all the chances, scored the game’s only two tries, and still could not put the Lions away. Repeat handling lapses cost dearly. As did a couple of penalty misses. The visitors nailed all theirs, and stole a shock result in Read’s 100th test. Grade: C
Beat Australia in Sydney 54-34
Funny old game. The All Blacks roared out to 40-6 by halftime with six tries in a near faultless display, and the Wallabies were staring down the barrel of a record obliteration. More so when they struck twice more early in the second spell to lead 54-6. Then they switched off. The Aussies steamed back to play all the footy over the last half-hour to score four converted tries and scramble a semblance of respectability. Liam Squire and Damian McKenzie slotted in beautifully, but the visitors were guilty of buttoning off badly once things were in the bag. Grade: A-minus
Beat Australia in Dunedin 35-29
The Wallabies are still scratching their heads over how such a splendid turnaround didn’t net a famous victory. Just a week after being made to look like cardboard cutouts on defence, they measured up much better, and led 17-0 after a stunning opening 15 minutes. The All Blacks rallied to lead 21-17 with a quarter to play and then went behind 29-28 to Kurtley Beale’s 76th-minute score. But the clutch gene remains in this team’s DNA. Read won the restart and from there they were skilful enough to put Beauden Barrett across for the winner. Another fine test by Ioane, and a fabulous starting debut by Nepo Laulala. The rest mixed the good with the ordinary. Grade: B
Beat Argentina in New Plymouth 39-22
Another flawed performance by
an All Blacks side giving the appearance of going through the motions. New chum Vaea Fifita was the big revelation with a sensational exhibition of his athleticism. But when the Pumas led 22-15 with a half-hour to play things looked decidedly awkward. To their credit the ABs were good enough to conjure three tries over the run home to ease to victory. But, really, they were sloppy to dig that initial hole in the first place. Grade: B-minus
Beat South Africa in Albany 57-0
Sublime. Superb. Pick your adjectives. The All Blacks’ eighttry record-breaking shutout of the Boks was not just their best display of the season, but one of their finest under Hansen. From Ioane’s tackle-breaking brilliance, to a fine return to form from Nehe Milner-Skudder, to the creativity of Barrett and Aaron Smith, to forward masterclasses from Read, Retallick, Sam Cane, Dane Coles and supersub Scott Barrett, this was the complete performance All Blacks fans had thirsted for. And the biggest margin of defeat ever against the old enemy. Grade: A-plus
Overall assessment
Until last Saturday in Albany, we hadn’t seen a complete performance in a test of note. There were periods of excellence in the Lions opener, and an exhilarating first 50 minutes in Bledisloe I in Sydney, but otherwise it had been piecemeal to say the least. But Albany was offthe-charts good, and put an exclamation point on the ‘‘home’’ part of the season, and opening eight tests for 2017. Hansen rated it a B-plus body of work, and I have to agree. I had four of the tests at B-plus or better, and four at B or below. No way to stretch it to an A grade with that blown series against the Lions from 1-0 up. Final grade: B-plus
Stats: Points scored: 329; points conceded: 139. Tries scored: 44; tries conceded: 14.