Gaggers Player Ratings - vs Poms

Here are my thoughts on the Australia player ratings from the momentous test at Twickenham on Saturday. Tally with what you saw?

Rating scale at bottom.

15 Adam Ashley-Cooper Everything was OK, except for the kicking. Still not a fullback. 4

14 Peter Hynes - Not seeing the gas or sparkle a winger should have. Couldn't get around Croft the England blind side with 10 yards gap. 4

13 Ryan Cross - Like Hynes just seemed flatfooted and took the wrong options. Still a few questions in defense, although made a good turnover. 4

12 Stirling Mortlock (C), His demolition of Flutey, whether running over him or putting the Kiwi on his arse summarised the manful performance he put in. Led from the front including a cameo long range kick. 8

11 Drew Mitchell Yet again looked the better of the back 3 with some intelligent long range kicking backed up with good kick chase and defense 6

10 Matt Giteau, my sense is that there's a certain disappointment with Giteau's performance around the place, but when you think about it, what else could he have done? His defense was outstanding (including the try saver on Mears), his push pass made AAC's try, he turned them around with his kicking and slotted seven from eight. 8

9 Luke Burgess, Another guy who's copped a bit, but in this claustrophobic game he fronted up and wrestled with the rest of them including tackles, turn overs and fielding kicks. Still polish to come though. 6

8 Richard Brown, didn't have the same power onto the ball today that he did in his other games 5

7 George Smith, again the breakdown interpretation didn't suit his game, but his workrate was outstanding (20 Tackles, 7 Ruck/Maul, 6 Runs) 7

6 Hugh McMenimen, finally started to see his dynamism, especially hitting the ruck and applying pressure (18T) 6

5 Nathan Sharpe, Unbefµckinglievable. What a turnaround. From prime seagull to mr hitman. Charge downs, picked up and offloaded the lineout ball that led to the try, was everywhere, most pleasingly around the ruck and hard stuff. Line-outs and restarts excellent. I don't know how he was walking at the end (20T, 13RM, 7R). Even though the two Cipriani breaks went past one of his shoulders he still gets 9

4 Mark Chisholm, keeps improving and is getting more and more acquainted with real work. 7

3 Al Baxter, If you look at my description of a "10", then you have to say this is one. He monstered the monster, physically and mentally for him and the team. That picture of Sheridan, where he's trying to look nonchalant after being pinged for collapsing, with chalk and blood seared over his face, is worth 1000 words. This could well be the biggest turning point in Aussie rugby for nigh on ten years (13T) 10
G&GRs Wallaby man of the match

2 Stephen Moore, line-out superior, scrum superior, tackled himself to death (15T, 2RM, 2R) 10
G&GRs Wallaby man of the match

1 Benn Robinson, is this guy still officially a rookie? Incredible. He's a star. 10.
G&GRs Wallaby man of the match

Bench:
Palu - took his role back in the team. Great runs, great hits (11 of them including the peach on Cipriani) 8
Mumm - forced a turnover with a great hit on Mears. Managed to rack up 7 tackles in his time on the field. 7
Rest of bench - Not enough time. While I like the idea of keeping continuity in a game, Dingo pushed it a little far.


Rating system:
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.