The results are in! Yesterday we asked you to rate the individual performances from the Wallabies’ 25-29 loss to Wales. We’ve tallied up the results from more than 500 responses.
What’s immediately striking about the results is that, across the board, the voters felt most of the individual Wallabies players did a solidly good job, with the vast majority of the squad rating at around a six out of ten, or close to.
Tolu Latu with a 6.85 got the best average rating of any Wallabies starter, with Dane Haylett-Petty (6.75) and captain Michael Hooper (6.74) close in the contest for that honour.
However, there were a few underperformers.
Will Genia despite getting another crack as a starter didn’t impress, with some poor mistakes costing the Wallabies and bringing his average rating down to a 4.99.
However, Genia didn’t cop the worst of it – that belong to another player elevated to the starting side for this week’s match, Bernard Foley, whose average rating of 2.07 is one of the worst we’ve ever seen.
Somehow, if anything, that flattered his performance. More than half the voters rated him a flat one-out-of-ten.
Instead, the voters much preferred his replacement on the field, Matt Toomua, who achieved the rare feat of recording the best rating in the team despite starting on the bench.
Toomua with an average rating of 7.83 must surely now be in calculations to start for the Wallabies at No.10.
Nic White, having been dropped to the bench for this match, could be in line for an instant recall.
The voters gave him an average rating of 6.47 – not game-breaking, but an improvement over Genia, who replaced him in the starting XV.
Check out the full results below, and let us know what you think in the comments.
1. Scott Sio
Average rating: 5.99
Most common rating: 6 (36 per cent)
2. Tolu Latu
Average rating: 6.85
Most common rating: 7 (33 per cent)
3. Allan Alaalatoa
Average rating: 6.26
Most common rating: 6 (36 per cent)
4. Izack Rodda
Average rating: 6.09
Most common rating: 6 (37 per cent)
5. Rory Arnold
Average rating: 6.28
Most common rating: 6 (35 per cent)
6. David Pocock
Average rating: 6.29
Most common rating: 6 (36 per cent)
7. Michael Hooper
Average rating: 6.74
Most common rating: 7 (30 per cent)
8. Isi Naisarani
Average rating: 5.82
Most common rating: 6 (33 per cent)
9. Will Genia
Average rating: 4.99
Most common rating: 5 (28 per cent)
10. Bernard Foley
Average rating: 2.07
Most common rating: 1 (52 per cent)
11. Marika Koroibete
Average rating: 6.23
Most common rating: 6 (34 per cent)
12. Samu Kerevi
Average rating: 6.68
Most common rating: 7 (28 per cent)
13. James O’Connor
Average rating: 5.87
Most common rating: 6 (31 per cent)
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
Average rating: 5.26
Most common rating: 6 (30 per cent)
15. Dane Haylett-Petty
Average rating: 6.75
Most common rating: 7 (40 per cent)
16. Jordan Uelese
Average rating: 5.06
Most common rating: 5 (35 per cent)
17. James Slipper
Average rating: 5.15
Most common rating: 5 (32 per cent)
18. Sekope Kepu
Average rating: 4.96
Most common rating: 5 (33 per cent)
19. Adam Coleman
Average rating: 5.00
Most common rating: 5 (38 per cent)
20. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
Average rating: 5.10
Most common rating: 5 (31 per cent)
21. Nic White
Average rating: 6.47
Most common rating: 7 (36 per cent)
22. Matt Toomua
Average rating: 7.83
Most common rating: 8 (39 per cent)
23. Kurtley Beale
Average rating: 4.16
Most common rating: 5 (24 per cent)
Toulouse Lautrec
Roar Rookie
He was rounded up easily because he kept receiving the ball running backwards trying to gather up Genia and Foleys errant passes! The scoreline would have been a lot worse without his calm presence in the backline.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Yes it would be a big ask, and I would ask.
SandBox
Roar Guru
Would rather replace Foley with QC but as he hasn’t been near the wallabies for a while might be a big ask to throw him in as starting 10
Leo McGregor
Guest
The game has changed for the worse with too many interchanges 23 players please
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
Surely he won’t play again in the gold jersey.Surely. He'll put in a couple of sterling performances in the Wallabies wins against Georgia and Uruguay which will cement his position as the starting fly-half ;)
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
“SBox, “Need CLL or Tomua to fire.” And if they don’t, or one of them goes down, would you rather have Quade ready and warmed up in a tracksuit, or not?
Olly
Roar Rookie
We have the problem of not playing Toomua at 10 for consecutive games. They should have rotated him and CLL in the lead-up to the RWC. It is always asking a lot of Toomua to throw him into 10 and he seems to always get the job with a makeshift team around him. I think they have to stick to CLL and Toomua as the cover but the temptation to experiment in these next two games must be high. JoC is the extra 10 cover in the event of an emergency and Foley should be sent home.
mickey of mo$man
Guest
Good to see other people appreciate the small (and often unnotcied) things O'Connor did throughout the game. I think hes a great foil partner for an explosive centre like kerevi
Barry
Guest
JOC got ball but was punished or rounded up easily and immediately. He has lost alot of speed for mine.
SD
Guest
No other player in the backs has go forward in the middle .Kerevi is invaluable powerhouse.JOC was invisible again.You dont throw passes to a player in a worse position.Kerevi goes to ground after breaking tackles and it is recycled. Tim Horan our great 12 didn't throw many passes either as he was a powerful ballrunner like Kerevi. But Horan had Lynagh and Larkham as his flyhalves, Kerevi has Foley that is why our backline misfires.
SD
Guest
Lara Were those games Foley won for us in 2015 ? He has lost games for us since then and has won none for us.
Broudy
Guest
I think you could bring QC in now and still get a better performance than Foley's. Slow but steady is not going to win you a world cup.
Bentnuc
Roar Pro
Fair call. Sometimes I think as a team we would be better off with Meakes or Hunt in place. Good defenders, good passers, unselfish, not highlight reel players but probably better for the overall result of the team??? Think the reds will actually be better off too without the 'pass it to kerevi' gameplan
Bobwire
Guest
The persistence with Foley at 10 for the last four years is costing us. Pocock is now average. Can’t understand why Hooper cops it, he’s a great player. JoC needs more ball. White and Genia are both journeymen 9’s, stop talking up White. Only one specialist winger has weakened our attack. Tight five going ok What do I know about professional rugby? Very little but the above seems obvious.
SandBox
Roar Guru
Not sure we have the game time to bring QC back. We can’t afford to take Georgia or Uruguay lightly with yet another shuffled team. Cheika has really painted us in a corner. Need CLL or Tomua to fire.
pm
Roar Rookie
I kind of get why a coach might be frustrated by Cooper, and there are some teams in world rugby where he wouldn't be the top option, but we're kidding ourselves if we think Lealiafano, let alone Foley, are better than him. He's a much better player, with difference making skills. I suspect he's just too smart for Cheika. I don't mind Cheika as a coach - it's as a selector he's poor - but i doubt he's one personality-wise to enjoy having guys about who are constructive and critical thinkers of the game
pm
Roar Rookie
the only underrated player, i thought, other guys were about right.
pm
Roar Rookie
I'd agree, but the bloke who should be ahead of him at 10 isn't even in the squad
An old Fortian prop
Guest
With Hodge out, Perhaps O'Connor could be the best back-up 5/8 (and place kicker!) to Toomua. The curved kicks by Foley and CLL are hopeless, and neither has the guts and power of Hodge in attack or defence. If Beale is on the field (while Hodge is out) he should take the longer kicks; but HP and AAC are the more reliable full-backs.
Bilbo
Guest
Something I don’t get are these ridiculous over ratings for Kerevi every single game. The guy did not throw one pass during the game. NOT ONE. JOC threw 11. I don’t care how good of a ball runner you are, at international level that is just plain dumb and selfish play. The break he made down the sideline in the opening minutes- he had JOC on his inside In front of the cover defender, but instead of popping the pass he tried to drag along the guy holding him with an open tryline beckoning. Not only that he had 3 handling errors in contact, the last of which was the penultimate moment of the game. The 80th minute and the guy can’t be trusted to take down a hit up- THE ONLY THING HE DOES- I don’t get it. How is he an inside centre? Put him in the back row, because all he does is run it straight. And he talks in interviews about “the team” needing to find their passes, lol what? Meanwhile people are rating JOC poorly, because he’s outside a guy who literally never passes, and despite his near flawless handling and ability to clean up and make something out of nothing, they say Kerevi is more valuable. Kerevi might break a tackle, but he’s proven time and time again to be so selfish that he will never evolve into the world class player he would be if he just looked for an offload every once in a while. JOC meanwhile will throw the pass for the guy to make the whole field, instead of going for glory every single play. Big difference.