Wallabies vs France 1st Test Player ratings

[greenandgoldrugby]

Well, knowing that Burgo is looking out for this, I thought I'd better front up. Following last weeks controversy I've decided to give a rating scale a go, with no more half marks:

10 - A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 - Man of the match worthy performance
8 - Outstanding
7 - Good game, great in parts
6 - Solid performance
5 - Average - ho hum
4 - Below par
3 - Had a bad game
2 - Tell your story walking pal
1 - A complete joke

15 Cameron Shepherd - Took a risk to spark up a try, but lucky no-ones pushing for that spot. And for sucks fake, why didn't he just boot it out to finish the first half? 5

14 Peter Hynes - Some good hard, straight runs to consistently make yards (watch the touchline though Marcia) 7

13 Stirling Mortlock (c), Will feature in Traille and Trinh-Duc's night mares. Showing good form and reminded us of the '03 SF intercept 8

12 Berrick Barnes - I'm starting to see what the fuss is about, but more work needs to be done on his combo with Gits for this set up to really work. 7

11 Lote Tuqiri - Hard to blame him for the way the team played for the 30 mins he was on the field, but le squirt did get the better of him 5

10 Matt Giteau - Just wasn't working for him until he beat Chabal. Is he trying to do too much from the word go? 7

9 Luke Burgess - Once he got the passing range right things began to flow. Involved almost all of the wallabies best play. 8

8 Wycliff Palu - Things haven't been working for big Cliffy on the big stage, again. Will a bung shoulder open the door for someone else? 5

7 George Smith - Another quiet game by his standards. Waugh looked better at the breakdown when he came on. 6

6 Rocky Elsom - A typically hard working game from the Ireland-bound flanker. Has a great read on a game. 8

5 Nathan Sharpe - For a guy who's USP is his running game, not making the impact he should. 5

4 James Horwill - Didn't have the same blinder as last week with a few dodgy re-starts, but still turned up at the right place and time in the loose 6

3 Al Baxter - Hmmm. Scrum still wasn't solid against the 3rd string French front row. Almost had his first try to go with his record breaking caps though! 5

2 Stephen Moore - who to blame for the early engagements? Otherwise OK game I guess. 5

1 Benn Robinson.t. - had a great game in the loose. 7

[robyn <3]

so who got the 'gagger' mom?? no-one was a nine..

[gustafsl]

13 Stirling Mortlock (c), Will feature in Traille and Trinh-Duc's night mares. Showing good form and reminded us of the '03 SF intercept 8

10 Matt Giteau - Just wasn't working for him until he beat Chabal. Is he trying to do too much from the word go? 7
[I]

We're you watching the same bloody game as me?? Mortlock was ordinary most of the night and we probably would have put more points on the board if he hadn't of been in the middle of the field the whole night.

On the other hand Giteau was brillant. I thought he was a shoe in for man of the match but apparently they gave it to Hynes. Without Giteau we might have lost this game.

[laura]

Gits contributed 19 points to the game and was instrumental in the win. He deserved MOM without a doubt IMHO.

Sheps was finding his footing a bit I think, when he went for the run (that led to Gits' try) I think he found his place a bit better and got the confidence that he needed. If he keeps going like that he will be unstoppable and when Drew Mitchell comes into the side I think he will feel a more comfortable again and a bit more relaxed, take more chances and light up the back row.

Peter Hynes (marcia wtf not funny): He played well, he really gets going when he pins his ears back. I think the only thing he needs at the moment is to find gaps better. He can out run a lot of other blokes and he just needs the gaps to show what he can do and get some meat pies on the board.

Quite a few of the Wallabies had a quiet night but even then, without their contribution I dont think the team could have won. I'm liking the way the Wallabies are headed and if they keep it up, the games against NZ and SA are going to be a spectacular competition from both sides.

[pieter blackie]

GAG you have no idea mate

IF you say Mortlock is an 8 then Giteau must at least be a 10, Mortlock had an below average game yea sure he scored a try but that was about it. Giteau on the other hand were involved in most of the forward going moves of the 80 minutes of play Not like your other 8 pointer Burgess throwing the ball all over, never hitting his target and running either backwards or from side to side making sure he passes the ball to someone in a worse of situation than himself in most occasions OR KICKING IT TO WHO KNOWS WHERE


Also how can you give Tuqiri 5 and then rate Shepherd also a 5. Shepherd was involved in more than one move and gained a substantial amount of meters Where as Tuqiri was only involved in one move ooh and that was when he thought he was a loose forward at a ruck next to the sideline and Alexis the Gaul ran straight past him

I would not be surprised to see Mitchell back in the squad to strengthen the Australian Wing options because you just can't relay on Tuqiri

Nathan Sharpe was playing an instrumental role in the victory working really hard and you rate him a 5 the same as Fat Al Baxter and Wycliff Palu.

[robyn <3]

GAG you have no idea mate

I would not be surprised to see Mitchell back in the squad to strengthen the Australian Wing options because you just can't relay on Tuqiri

ive been saying that for a looooong time. drews the bomb!!

[prop53]

Tuqiri was lucky to get a ARU contract when he did or he would be out on his arse now. Sharpe was deff worth more then a five, and Mortlock was below his noramal standard untill the last 10 mins of the game. Baxter although made a few mistakes still i believed played his best rugby so far for the Wallabies even though the French were below strength. In all the team still have a way to go yet

[jono]

gits rating would be spot on i think.
look at his play before he made his try.
he didnt catch passes he would normally get, he wasnt giving quick ball. he wasnt there at times and he fumbled a couple of balls.
yeah he scored the points. but he missed the first. and he only started playing after the confidence boost given in his try.

[greenandgoldrugby]

Looks like I've caused a bit of a storm with my ratings of Giteau and Mortlock. Here's what my thinking was.

Mortlock's role in the team is to gallop through the midfield traffic and over the gainline, which he consistently did. I've mental pictures of him almost taking Trinh-Ducs head off with a knee as the frenchman tried to tackle him, and still making yards with 4 of them hanging off him throughout the game. He had a hand in Giteau's try and single handedly made another with an intercept that he created after already marking his man in the line. All of this nudged him into an 8 for me.

At 10, Gits role is to run the backline which he didn't do a bad job of (7 = good game, great in parts) but as has been noted by just about everyone, the backline organisation was a shmozzle for the first half, to the point of Deans pulling a Saders and bringing the game back in tighter for the second half blitz. Even the commentators spotted his crossfield drift.

Gits also missed a sitter penalty in front of the sticks at 0-0 and spilt good ball in this period. If he hadn't had some other great touches, like the ball to Elsom and his own try, then he wouldn't have got a 7, which is a "good with great parts" rating.

Robyn - yeah good point. I couldn't pick out a MoM and would still have a tough time even now.

Pieter - either grow up or get back on your meds.

[jargan83]

what about Burgess being very ordinary in the first half?? Hospital passes to Gits, picking balls of his toes or catching them 2 foot above his head. Bit hard for Gits to run a backline when he's got an erratic scrum half (in the first half at least)
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[KenyaQuin]

Burgess - Got to agree with Jargs regarding Lukey. I thought he had a pretty ordinary game and other than one or two big runs, he was shocking. He had a hard time finding his receivers and when he did the pass was too low, too high, behind..crap. I would have given him a 3 or to be kind a 4. With Sam in in the final minutes, remarkable differences in the passes.

Gits - I would give him a 6. In many cases he did his job and considering the shit ball he was receiving especially in the first half, I'd say he needs to really talk to his scrummie more in the game (if he's not already) and let him know he's getting killed out there (as in "You're giving me shit ball, mate, get it right!").

Barnes - I really liked Barnes in this game. He seemed to step it up and give the backline some spark. Acted well as first receiver, a good alternative option to have. I 've given him the highest rating of the backs at a 7 bordering 8.

Mortlock - Hard to see why you gave him an 8. Nothing I noted was outstanding from his game. Sure he had a few big runs but not worthy of an 8. I would say he had a solid performace and a 6 would probably do it. Perhaps we expect too much from Mortlock..

Lote - Would be cruel to give him anything less than a 5 and ambitious to argue for anything more than a 5. Not much seen of him in the game while he was no but no fault of his, the ball hardly got to him. One or two runs..a defensive slip and a knock-on is all I remember.

Hynes - Gets a 7 from me. A solid performance, a thirst for the ball and a confident player. Not sure yet if he's a finisher (whether he has that extra something to score a try out of nothing) but solid none-the-less. Might see him drop from the starting XV and come off the bench as an impact player.

Sheps - A 5 from me ( in agreement with G&G). He's not had the S14 season he had in 2007..looks to be a little slower and making less line breaks than he used to. Possibly looking at giving a solid performance rather than the x-factor till he cements his position.

[Moses]

Good writeup Gagger, what was your mark for Phil Waugh? He and AAC got enough game-time to warrant a ranking with the starting 15 I reckon...

As for blaming Burgo for Gits being out of position, I guess those calls could go either way.

Brumbies Average: 7
7 George Smith - 6
13 Stirling Mortlock (c) - 8

Tahs Average: 6.33
11 Lote Tuqiri - 5
9 Luke Burgess - 8
8 Wycliff Palu - 5
6 Rocky Elsom - 8
3 Al Baxter - 5
1 Benn Robinson - 7

Reds Average: 6.25
14 Peter Hynes - 7
12 Berrick Barnes - 7
4 James Horwill - 6
2 Stephen Moore - 5

Force: Average - 5.67
15 Cameron Shepherd - 5
10 Matt Giteau - 7
5 Nathan Sharpe - 5

[laura]

Cameron Shpeherd plays for the Force too. ^^

[Moses]

Thanks laura, I accidentally missed him. Have edited the post now so the Force rating average drops from 6 to 5.667.

[laura]

Despite the Force contributing 24 of the 34 points?