New Zealand ran in eight tries to defeat Wales 23-55 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

The All Blacks got their Autumn Nations Series off to a strong start racking up over 50 points.

Here is how we rated Ian Foster's men in victory.

 

 

 

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15. Beauden Barrett - 7

A tidy performance from the veteran All Black who dealt with all Wales' kick with little fuss.

He added pace and flair to the attack in the latter stages when he moved to flyhalf. 

14. Sevu Reece - 4

Reece saw little ball on attack and conceded a penalty when he went looking for work. Replaced after an hour.  

13. Rieko Ioane - 5

He was guilty of shooting up on North for Dyer's try in the first half. Made little to no impact in the first half and looked far better once he moved to the wing.

12. Jordie Barrett - 8

A double for the youngest Barrett. He snuck down to the wing and plucked a well-weighted crosskick to score his first. He grabbed another running a neat line off his brother Beauden. 

Overall, it was a strong game in the centres as he managed to mark Tompkins relatively well with the one defensive read leading to a try as he shot up on North creating the space for Dyer. 

11. Caleb Clarke - 5

He had little impact on attack but defended relatively well keeping Louis Rees-Zammit quiet. 

10. Richie Mo'unga - 7

Kicked well throughout the game. His cross-field kick to Jordie Barrett was outstanding. Failed to bring in Tomos Williams' box kick that lead to Tipuric's try. 

9. Aaron Smith - 8

Smith provided the All Blacks attack with superb service and kicked well out of hand.

He grabbed two tries in the first 15 minutes of the second half. He caught Reffell napping and ripped through the Wales defence, stepping past Rees-Zammit to score. He got on the end of some Savea brilliance to score.

1. Ethan de Groot - 6

He held his own at scrum time and got stuck into the rucks. A solid performance from the young prop. He was also keen to get stuck into the extras with Taulupe Faletau. 

2. Codie Taylor - 8

After a below-par Rugby Championship for his standards, Taylor looked back to his best today.

He scored twice in the first half, carried strongly, and his set pieces were sharp. 

3. Tyrel Lomax - 6.5

Busy on defence and strong at scrum time. Run of a mill game.

 4. Sam Whitelock - 7

A stock standard Sam Whitelock performance as he edges closer to the all-time All Black cap record.

The stand-in captain put pressure on the Wales lineout, ran his set piece well and was good around the park.

5. Scott Barrett - 6

A relatively quiet game for Barrett as he got stuck into the nitty-gritty of the game, clearing out rucks and lending a hand at the lineouts.  

6. Shannon Frizell - 6

Frizell made a simple error from a kick-off, but outside of that error, he was solid, getting through a ton of work. 

7. Dalton Papali'i - 7.5

Lucky to escape punishment for an early high tackle. He made an excellent carry shrugging Tipuric off in the build-up to Taylor's opening try. 

A busy performance overall as he made the most of his opportunity in the starting lineup. 

8. Ardie Savea - 9

Two early turnovers set the tone for Savea's performance, with the second leading to the All Blacks opening try. 

He edged his name on the scoresheet in the second half and assisted another for Aaron Smith.

Simply outstanding throughout the game and rightfully named man of the match for an incredible shift.

 

 

 

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Replacements: 

16. Samisoni Taukei’aho - 

 

Picked up where Taylor left off and grabbed a try of his own. 

17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi - 5

 

Carried well and didn't budge on defence. 

18. Fletcher Newell - 6

 

Got around the park well and won a scrum penalty. 

19. Tupou Vaa'i - 5

 

He got the final 10 minutes or so and got stuck into the rucks.

20. Akira Ioane - 6

Some big carries and hits as he made a notable impact in the final 20.

21. Brad Weber - 6

 

Added some spark and pace to the attack in the closing moments of the match. 

22. David Havili - 6

 

On with 11 minutes left to play and didn't put a foot wrong. 

23. Anton Lienert-Brown - 6

Limited opportunities but like Havili he didn't put a foot wrong.