Few post-match rituals in New Zealand rugby generate as much debate as the player ratings that appear online within minutes of the final whistle. After every All Blacks Test, journalists hand each player a mark — usually out of 10 — and back it up with a short verdict on how they played. Those numbers fuel talkback callers, social-media arguments and clubroom discussions from Whāngārei to Invercargill.
This guide explains what those ratings really are, who produces them, how the scoring tends to work, and why a prop and a winger are judged by completely different standards. It uses real published examples — including the All Blacks’ 34–32 win over France in July 2026 — so you can read any ratings sheet with a clearer idea of what sits behind each score.
Key Points
- All Blacks player ratings are journalists’ opinions, not official New Zealand Rugby scores.
- Most outlets mark players out of 10 — and the written verdict matters as much as the number.
- Forwards and backs are judged against completely different criteria.
- Recent form in Super Rugby Pacific and the NPC, plus Test experience, shapes both selection and expectations.
- Official results and statistics come from AllBlacks.com; the subjective ratings come from rugby media.
What All Blacks player ratings actually are
The first thing to understand is that these ratings are editorial opinion, not an official New Zealand Rugby (NZR) product. The coaching staff run their own internal reviews, but they do not publish a public mark out of 10 for each player. The scores fans read are produced by rugby media outlets and their analysts.
Specialist sites such as RugbyPass, along with New Zealand outlets like Stuff and the NZ Herald, typically post a position-by-position ratings article soon after a big Test. Each writer blends the match statistics — tackles, carries, metres, turnovers, set-piece work and errors — with harder-to-measure factors such as decision-making, game management, discipline and decisive moments. Because it is opinion, two reputable outlets can hand the same player different marks for the same 80 minutes, and both can be defensible.
How the scoring scale usually works
There is no single scale shared by every publisher, but most use a 1-to-10 system and grade in broadly similar ways. A mark in the middle means a player did their job without standing out; the top of the scale is reserved for genuinely match-defining displays, and a perfect 10 is rare. When too few minutes are played to judge fairly — often a late replacement — reviewers may write “N/A” instead of a number. Because outlets differ in how generously they grade, the written comment beside a score often matters more than the digit itself.
Rating Scale Guide
| Score | What it usually signals |
|---|---|
| 9–10 | World-class to near-perfect — a match-defining, rarely awarded display. |
| 7–8 | Very good to outstanding — a clear positive influence on the result. |
| 6 | Solid and reliable — did the job with no errors that hurt the team. |
| 5 | Below par — a quiet involvement or a costly mistake or two. |
| 3–4 | Poor — repeated errors or little positive impact. |
| N/A | Too few minutes (often a late replacement) to grade fairly. |
How reviewers score each position
Rugby is a game of specialists, so it makes little sense to judge a tighthead prop against the same measuring stick as an outside back. Understanding the different player roles is the key to reading a ratings sheet: each jersey carries its own core job, and a good reviewer marks a player against the demands of their position rather than against flashy highlight-reel moments.
Forwards: set piece, collisions and the breakdown
For the tight five, the marks live in the unglamorous work. Props are assessed mainly on their scrummaging — whether they win or concede penalties and hold a stable set-piece platform — plus their cleanouts and close-range defence. A hooker’s rating leans heavily on lineout throwing accuracy, because a crooked or lost throw shuts down the team’s attacking launch. Locks are judged on lineout takes and calling, scrum drive, maul work and a high tackle count.
Loose forwards are the pack’s most visible scorers on a ratings sheet. An openside flanker is rewarded for winning turnovers at the breakdown, a blindside for physical carries and tackles, and a number eight for gain-line metres and linking play. A prop can earn a strong mark without ever carrying into space, while a flanker who is slow to the ruck and concedes penalties will be marked down regardless of tackle volume.
Backs: playmaking, finishing and the aerial contest
Behind the scrum, the criteria shift to skill and decision-making. The halfback is judged on quick, accurate service and game management; the first-five (fly-half) on goal-kicking, tactical kicking and the choices that steer territory. Midfielders such as All Blacks utility back Jordie Barrett are rated on gain-line carries, offloads, defensive reads and tackle completion. The back three — two wings and a fullback — are marked on high-ball security under the bomb, finishing, counter-attack and positioning. A winger can be marked down for a dropped catch even if they touched the ball only a handful of times.
| Position group | What reviewers reward | What pulls a score down |
|---|---|---|
| Front row (props, hooker) | Scrum dominance, accurate lineout throwing, cleanouts, close-range defence | Scrum penalties, crooked or lost throws, missed tackles |
| Locks | Lineout takes and calling, scrum drive, maul defence, tackle count | Lost lineouts, side-entry penalties, being driven back |
| Loose forwards | Turnovers at the ruck, carrying metres, tackle workload, linking play | Slow to the breakdown, conceded penalties, missed tackles |
| Halfback & first-five | Fast accurate passing, tactical and goal kicking, game management | Slow service, charged-down or aimless kicks, poor decisions |
| Midfield | Gain-line carries, offloads, defensive reads, tackle completion | Missed tackles that open the channel, handling errors |
| Back three | High-ball security, finishing, counter-attack, positioning | Dropped bombs, kicks that miss touch, being caught out of position |
Form, experience and how selection shapes the ratings
Ratings never exist in a vacuum — selection sets the expectation a player is measured against. Under head coach Dave Rennie, appointed in March 2026 after Scott Robertson stepped down earlier that year, the selectors weigh recent form in Super Rugby Pacific and the domestic season against proven Test-match experience. A veteran with a hundred caps is expected to steady a tight finish, while a rookie picked on red-hot club form is judged on the energy and X-factor they were chosen to bring.
That balance also explains why reviewers sometimes mark a debutant generously for a composed cameo, or come down hard on an established star who has a quiet game. The number reflects the performance relative to the role the player was picked to fill, not simply raw statistics.
A worked example: the All Blacks’ 34–32 win over France
The clearest way to read ratings is to look at a real match. On 4 July 2026 the All Blacks opened the new Nations Championship — the competition that replaced the Rugby Championship this year — with a 34–32 win over France at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, Rennie’s first Test in charge. In their published ratings, RugbyPass gave halfback Cam Roigard the top mark of 9/10 after a man-of-the-match display featuring two tries, while wing Will Jordan also crossed twice.
The scores tracked the story of a tight game: playmakers who created and finished tries scored highest, while forwards were praised for tackle counts and set-piece work even where their names never reached the try line. Bench players brought on late, with only a few minutes to influence the result, were graded cautiously. For the wider context of this rivalry, see our guide to the series against France.
The data and technology behind modern reviews
Modern analysts do lean on hard data, but it is worth separating what the technology actually does from the myth of a secret scoring formula. Players wear GPS and inertial-sensor units — usually in a small pouch between the shoulder blades — that log distance covered, sprint efforts and workload for the coaching and conditioning staff.
Since 2024, elite rugby has also used instrumented (“smart”) mouthguards fitted with sensors that measure head-acceleration events. Under World Rugby’s rules these can trigger a real-time alert for medical staff and feed into the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process. Crucially, this equipment exists for player welfare and coaching, not to generate the public mark out of 10 — that number still comes from a human writer’s judgement.
The bench and the six-two split
A Test squad is 23 players, and the eight replacements increasingly decide close games. A common modern tactic is the “six-two” split — naming six forwards and only two backs on the bench — so the coach can refresh the entire pack in the final quarter and keep up scrum and breakdown pressure against tiring opponents.
For ratings, this means reserve forwards are judged on the physical impact they make in a short burst: a scrum penalty won, a lineout stolen, a strong carry or a turnover. The two reserve backs are often assessed partly on their ability to cover several positions if injuries strike. Replacements given too little time to make a fair contribution are frequently marked “N/A” rather than handed a low number.
From grassroots to the ratings sheet
Every player being rated in a Test began somewhere in New Zealand’s development system. Junior clubs, secondary-school First XV rugby, the men’s National Provincial Championship (the NPC) and the women’s Farah Palmer Cup all give emerging players sustained senior competition, while NZR’s regional academies provide high-performance coaching and monitoring.
Selectors use these levels to track form and positional depth and to give returning or fringe players meaningful minutes. There is no published formula that automatically converts a strong provincial season into an All Blacks cap — but consistent performance is how players earn the chance to be rated at Test level in the first place. Our overview of the player pathway sets out how that progression works.
Where to follow the ratings and the matches
For subjective ratings after a Test, RugbyPass and the main New Zealand news outlets are the go-to sources. For official results, line-ups, match reports and career statistics — the objective record rather than opinion — the best home is the official AllBlacks.com site. You can also check upcoming fixtures and results before forming your own view.
To watch the matches themselves in New Zealand, Sky Sport is the broadcast home of the All Blacks, and the Sky Sport Now app streams Tests and post-match analysis on phones, tablets and smart TVs with a valid subscription. If you are buying tickets, use official channels only: unofficial resale sites carry a higher risk of inflated prices and invalid barcodes.
Sources
- AllBlacks.com — All Blacks edge France in Christchurch thriller to open 2026
- RugbyPass — All Blacks player ratings vs France, Nations Championship 2026
- RNZ — All Blacks hold off fast-finishing France under Dave Rennie
- NZ Herald — Dave Rennie named as Scott Robertson’s replacement
- World Rugby — Instrumented Mouthguards (iMGs)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are All Blacks player ratings official?
No. New Zealand Rugby does not publish an official mark out of 10 for each player. The ratings fans read are editorial assessments produced by rugby journalists and analysts, most often at outlets such as RugbyPass and the main New Zealand news sites. The coaching staff review performances internally, but those reviews are not released as public scores.
What does each score on the ratings scale mean?
Most outlets use a 1-to-10 scale. As a rough convention, 6 is a solid, job-done performance, 7 to 8 is very good to outstanding, 9 is world-class and 10 is a rare, near-perfect display. Marks of 5 or below suggest limited influence or costly errors, and “N/A” is used when a player had too little time to be judged fairly. Because outlets grade differently, always read the score alongside the writer’s comments.
Why do props get rated differently from wings?
Because their jobs are different. Props are judged mainly on scrum stability, penalties won or conceded, cleanout work and close-range defence, so they can earn a high mark without scoring. Wings are assessed more on finishing, metres, line breaks, high-ball security and positioning, so a single dropped catch or missed tackle can drag a winger’s score down even after a quiet game with few touches.
Where can I read All Blacks player ratings after a Test match?
RugbyPass regularly publishes a position-by-position ratings article covering the starting XV and replacements shortly after major Tests, and New Zealand outlets such as Stuff and the NZ Herald run their own versions. For official results, line-ups, reports and historical statistics rather than opinion, use AllBlacks.com.
Who received the top rating in the All Blacks’ 2026 opener against France?
In the All Blacks’ 34–32 win over France in Christchurch on 4 July 2026 — Dave Rennie’s first Test as head coach and the opening match of the new Nations Championship — halfback Cam Roigard earned the highest published mark of 9/10 after scoring two tries and winning man of the match. Wing Will Jordan also scored twice in a tight finish.