PLAYER RATINGS: Hit for six!
This time it was a 9-29 loss against New Zealand in their Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship encounter at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.
Australia managed to stay in the game for the first 40 minutes as they trailed 9-15 at the break before the All Blacks added another two converted tries in the second half, while the Wallabies were kept scoreless.
Josh Isaacson rates the Australian players!
15 Israel Folau
Good under the high ball. Won the high balls which were kicked onto his side of the field and timed his jumps to perfection especially the Quade Cooper kick in the eleventh minute.
7/10
14 Adam Ashley-Cooper
Was fended off by Dane Coles in the 16th minute which resulted in a head knock and replaced by Reece Hodge who made his debut.
4/10
13 Samu Kerevi
Kicked out on the full in the second minute and did not make much of an impression throughout the game.
4/10
12 Bernard Foley
Lacking on defence in the build-up to the first try. His kick-offs and restarts were predictable as he kept on using the short kick.
4/10
11 Dane Haylett-Petty
Didn't receive much ball on the wing and conceded a penalty for a deliberate knock down in the 58th minute. The form which saw him rack up the running metres for the Rebels was not on display in this clash.
5/10
10 Quade Cooper
Cooper mixed his game up with some high kicks combined with distribution skills, however he lacked in the physical aspect of the game.
5/10
9 Will Genia
Genia was Australia's most promising player on the night as he looked to run at the All Blacks defensive line and made metres with some good sniping runs before being replaced by Nick Phipps in the 68th minute.
7/10
8 David Pocock
Quiet game by his standards, attempted to get the Wallabies moving forward, however he was unsuccessful in doing this most of the time.
5/10
7 Michael Hooper
Carried well from the kick off and restart, however just like Pocock, Hooper was found missing at crucial stages of the game.
5/10
6 Scott Fardy
Made his tackles, however he did not do much with the ball.
5/10
5 Adam Coleman
Shoulder charge on Ben Smith in 37th minute earned him a yellow card. Came back onto the field in the 45th minute and was outdone by his opposite number Sam Whitelock, especially in the line-outs.
4/10
4 Kane Douglas
Did some good clean out work at the breakdown and managed to secure possession for Australia at the line-out.
6/10
3 Sekope Kepu
Contributed with some good pick and goes from all over the field and put in a good effort at the scrum.
6/10
2 Stephen Moore (captain)
Moore had a game to forget as on one occasion he threw straight onto the side of the New Zealand line-out and conceded a penalty for going offside before Polota-Nau replaced him in the 63rd minute.
3/10
1 Scott Sio
Sio was only seen in the scrum and he was not able to produce the kind of performance which his team would have expected from him.
4/10
Replacements:
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau (On for Moore, 63rd min)
Replaced Stephen Moore for blood-bin in 38th minute and immediately found his line-out jumper and replaced Moore again in the 49 minute for another blood-bin before he finally came on for Moore in the 63rd minute. Polota-Nau carried the ball well and looked a confident player in the set-piece.
6/10
17 James Slipper (On for Sio, 51st minute for blood bin)
Was not on for long. Not enough time to be rated.
18 Allan Ala'alatoa (On for Sekope Kepu, 52nd minute)
Ala'alatoa had a quiet game and he was found wanting at scrum time especially late in the second half when he was blown up for collapsing the scrum.
4/10
19 Dean Mumm (on for Fardy, 38th minute)
Replaced Fardy in the 38th minute for a short while, tactical sub as a result of Coleman's yellow card and operated well with good work at the line-out in securing Australia's ball.
6/10
20 Will Skelton (On for Adam Coleman, 64th minute)
Skelton did well at the line-out and his physicality on attack and defence got the Wallabies moving forward.
6/10
21 Tevita Kuridrani (On for Samu Kerevi, 68th minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Reece Hodge (On for Adam-Ashley Cooper, 16th min)
Replaced Adam-Ashley Cooper in the 16th minute. Landed a beauty of a kick in the 34th minute inside the Australia half, however making your debut against the All Blacks will always be a challenge and Hodge can be applauded for his coolness on the field, he did not do anything special but neither did he make many errors.
5/10
23 Nick Phipps (On for Will Genia, 68th min)
Not enough time to be rated.
