How the Springboks players rated in Wellington
The Springboks will be kicking themselves that they did not make their first-half dominance count against the All Blacks. Rassie Erasmus’ side dominated possession and territory in the opening 40 minutes and they rattled the All Blacks with some clever play, but they only had six points to show for that.
However, it was still a fairly strong performance from the Springboks and they will be happy with the fight they showed to rescue a draw. That makes it one win and one draw from their last two outings in New Zealand. Here is how the Springboks players rated:
15. Willie le Roux – 5/10
He looked very rusty and failed to make any real impact on attack. His play with the ball in hand was below average.
14. Cheslin Kolbe – 8
The best player on the field for the Springboks. He threatened the All Blacks’ defence a few times with the ball in hand and he was a man possessed on defence. His chip kick also led to Herschel Jantjies’ crucial try.
13. Lukhanyo Am – 5
Slow and predictable in that midfield. His defensive game needs a lot of work as well.
12. Damian de Allende – 6
He is selected to get the Boks over the gain line with his big fame and he did that on a few occasions. However, he is another predictable cog in the Bok backline.
11. Makazole Mapimpi – 4
Missed quite a few tackles out wide and his place in the team is certainly at risk.
10. Handré Pollard – 6
It was a mixed bag from the flyhalf. His distribution and decision making was questionable, but his overall performance was good enough. He also showed nerves of steel land that last conversion.
The blow by blow RugbyPass account of events in Wellington between New Zealand and South Africa.
https://t.co/QMdxdIQpS3— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 27, 2019
9. Faf de Klerk – 7
While the rest of his backline is predictable, he is certainly not. He caused a lot of problems for the All Blacks in the first half and he was missed later in the game.
1. Steven Kitshoff – 6
Solid enough in the scrums and made his presence felt at the breakdowns.
2. Malcolm Marx – 5
Not the Malcolm Marx we know. He went missing in open play and struggled to find his jumpers at the beginning of the game.
3. Frans Malherbe – 3
Another lazy performance by the prop. Someone needs to tell him to do more on the field than just scrum.
4. Eben Etzebeth – 7
A powerful presence with ball in hand. Some of the All Blacks players will have headaches after he ran into them.
5. Franco Mostert – 7
He had a high work rate in open play. He was a prominent figure in the physical stuff.
Boks show ???, Pollard nerves as Jantjies ????? in Wellington as well.
Match report here: https://t.co/DZ14040wlQ pic.twitter.com/RNKO7BD23o— Springboks (@Springboks) July 27, 2019
6. Kwagga Smith – 6
We know what he is capable of, but he was a bit too quiet in open play. He did have a few good carries and some good breakdown work.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 7
Did a lot of hard work on defence but the Springboks could have used him more with the ball in hand.
8. Duane Vermeulen (capt) – 6
Not the best performance from the No8. He had a few good carries but was not the colossus we expect him to be.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ald-kIGUb/
Replacements:
16. Bongi Mbonambi – NR (for Marx, 70th minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
17. Tendai Mtawarira – 6 (for Kitshoff, 58)
Put in a good amount of work on defence and had a couple of carries.
18. Trevor Nyakane – 6 (for Malherbe, 56)
Did some good work on defence and he put some pressure on his opposite number at scrum time.
No count back on boundaries in Wellington. It's a draw. Thanks for an epic Test @Springboks.#NZLvRSA #BACKBLACK ???? pic.twitter.com/iJKkskeELf
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 27, 2019
19. Rudolph Snyman – 4 (for Etzebeth, 50)
Failed to make a real impact when he came on and gave away a stupid penalty late in the game.
20. Francois Louw – NR (for Smith, 67)
Not enough time to be rated.
21. Herschel Jantjies – 7 (for Francois de Klerk, 44)
He probably wasn’t expecting to come on so early, but he handled the pressure well and scored the crucial try at the end.
22. Frans Steyn – 3 (for de Allende, 56)
He offered nothing on the attack and just made up the numbers in the last 20 minutes.
23. Jesse Kriel – 2 (for Lukhanyo Am, 50)
Missed too many tackles which put his team under pressure.
– @rugby365com
WATCH: The insightful RugbyPass documentary with Nemani Nadolo, the Fijian playing at Montpellier
Comments on RugbyPass
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments