All Blacks vs Wallabies Combined XV: Your Picks From Bledisloe I

Black Jerseys, Bruised Egos and a Brutally Honest Ballot

Eden Park did what Eden Park does. For ten minutes the Wallabies looked like the side that arrived unbeaten under Les Kiss. They had 90% of the ball, and Tom Wright carved through four defenders for a seventh-minute opener. Harry Wilson’s try under the posts just before the break kept them in it. Then the second half became one-way traffic in front of 46,352 at Eden Park, and it finished 50-19. The All Blacks keep the Bledisloe Cup for another year, and it’s Kiss’s first loss in charge, with Bledisloe II in Sydney next week.

Then you, the Underdog faithful, voted. Credit where it’s due: you were honest about it. Our Perth combined XV against the Springboks was a gold-washed ten Wallabies to five. This time the men in black took nine of the 15 jerseys. Three positions went unanimous, all to New Zealanders. That’s either sound rugby judgment or a cry for help. Possibly both.

The Forwards

1. Loosehead Prop: Angus Bell (Wallabies)

Bell took 56% of the vote. The 26-year-old was the second player on the park to reach 20 tackles, and he did it in under an hour before Aidan Ross replaced him in the 57th minute. A defensive workhorse who also kept the Wallaby scrum honest.

2. Hooker: Codie Taylor (All Blacks)

Taylor won 67% of the vote, and he’s our captain as well (more on that below). As skipper he stood at the front of the haka and was the last to turn. He then went 55 minutes without missing a tackle and danced his way over for a 54th-minute try. His darts mostly hit their mark, even if the Wallabies read a few.

3. Tighthead Prop: Fletcher Newell (All Blacks)

Newell took 78% of the vote without ever really making headlines. He kept the scrum steady, got through his tackles and was effective at the breakdown when play stayed tight. Sometimes the best tightheads are the ones you don’t notice.

4. Lock: Jeremy Williams (Wallabies)

Williams won the No. 4 vote with 44%. He was the primary lineout target for a Wallaby set piece that went 10 from 10 with Brandon Paenga-Amosa throwing. He also pinched an All Blacks throw and won a jackal penalty in the 22nd minute. Three penalties conceded take a little shine off, but he was sixth for tackles when he came off at 58 minutes.

5. Lock: Scott Barrett (All Blacks)

The No. 5 jersey was a dead heat, with Barrett and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto on 33% apiece. Across both lock questions, though, Barrett and Williams topped the combined vote, so Barrett gets the nod.

It was his first Test since last November, after a sabbatical and a back injury. The opening minutes were rusty: his first touch was a knock-on and his first lineout call got picked off. After that he was everywhere at the ruck, kept pace with the line breaks for the second try and set up Damian McKenzie’s break.

6. Blindside Flanker: Rob Valetini (Wallabies)

Bobby V took 56% of the vote. He made 13 tackles and seven carries for nearly 30 metres before coming off at 43-13. Even as a decoy he did damage: Wallace Sititi bit hard on him in the play that opened the door for Wilson’s try.

7. Openside Flanker: Peter Lakai (All Blacks)

Lakai won 78% of the vote. It was his first start in the No. 7 jersey without Ardie Savea around, and he had flagged his jackling as his big work-on for the year. He stood up to Valetini in the collisions all night and finished New Zealand’s first try.

8. Number Eight: Harry Wilson (Wallabies)

Wilson took 56% of the vote. He made a game-high 15 tackles by half-time and 27 by full-time, scored the Wallabies’ second try and doubled as a lineout option. On a night when the scoreboard went south, the skipper’s engine never did.

The Backs

9. Scrum-Half: Cam Roigard (All Blacks)

Roigard was unanimous. He didn’t get clean ball at the back of the ruck, but his decision-making made the chaos work for New Zealand. He held the ball up beautifully for Tupou Vaa’i’s try and scored his own early in the second half. His high volume of accurate kicks kept winning the ball back.

10. Fly-Half: Damian McKenzie (All Blacks)

McKenzie was also unanimous. Back at No. 10 after 37 straight All Blacks selections, he was given licence to play like McKenzie rather than as a stationary distributor. He brought pace to everything, and survived a huge Max Jorgensen shot to keep doing it.

11. Left Wing: Will Jordan (All Blacks)

Jordan took 67% of the vote, and the voters shifted him from his usual No. 14 to the left. His record speaks for itself: every Test he has started in the No. 14 jersey against the Wallabies (bar a five-minute debut cut short by concussion) has produced a try. It took him until the 79th minute this time, but the streak lives on. His work under the high ball was a big step up from earlier this year.

12. Inside Centre: Jordie Barrett (All Blacks)

Barrett won 89% of the vote. He climbed above Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii for the contestable kick that led to the opening All Blacks try. He also bundled one Wallaby into touch and stopped Wright dead. He finished with the most dominant tackles on the park and the most tackles of any Kiwi. The Player of the Year campaign is back on.

13. Outside Centre: Quinn Tupaea (All Blacks)

Tupaea was unanimous as well. He had an MCL strain behind him and Isaac Henry across from him. He picked his moments to shoot out of the line, carried hard, and won the most turnovers of anyone in the match. That’s loose forward numbers from a centre.

14. Right Wing: Max Jorgensen (Wallabies)

Jorgensen took 56% of the vote. He turned a Ben Donaldson tip pass into the try assist for Wright’s opener and flattened McKenzie later in the half. To start the second term, he linked with Wright to turn a kick-off reception into an attacking raid. He made something out of nothing more than once.

15. Fullback: Tom Wright (Wallabies)

Wright won 56% of the vote. Splitting four defenders for the opener was as good a start as any fullback could ask for, but the hosts then took control of possession and territory and he saw less of the ball. The voters remembered the first ten minutes.

The Bench, the Captain and the Coaches

• Best Bench forward: Asafo Aumua, 63%
• Best Bench back: Josh Moorby, 63%
• Captain: Codie Taylor (All Blacks), 67% over Harry Wilson
• Coaching team: Dave Rennie’s All Blacks staff, 89%

Even the most loyal Wallaby supporter couldn’t argue with the coaching vote after that second half.

The Gold-Tinted Glasses Report

Five picks landed at 56%, and every one of them went to a Wallaby. Four were straight head-to-heads, so here’s our honest read:

• Wright over Beauden Barrett: This is the generous one. Barrett broke two tackles early in the second half, hit a mountain of breakdowns and finished with the most defenders beaten. Wright had the moment of the match; Barrett had the better 80.
• Bell over Ethan de Groot: Genuinely a coin toss. Bell’s 20-plus tackles in under an hour are hard to ignore. De Groot’s fake tackle at the end of the first half, which sent Valetini stumbling over his own 22, was the cheekiest bit of rugby IQ all night.
• Wilson over Sititi: Fair call. Sititi carried close to 20 times, but 27 tackles and a try win the argument.
• Valetini over Vaa’i: Tight. Vaa’i scored and was a nuisance at every ruck, but Valetini’s carrying edges it.
• The All Wallabies Team Pick: You know who you are, and I took it out haha

Have Your Say for Bledisloe II

Reckon the voters got it wrong? Think Beaudy was robbed, or that Salakaia-Loto deserved better than a tiebreak? Bledisloe II is in Sydney next week, and the poll will be live on the site after the match. Get your votes in and help us pick the next combined XV. Home crowd bias is welcome, but hopefully this time we won’t need it.