Springbok Player Ratings - vs Pumas
The Springboks got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a winning start when they beat Argentina 34-21 in Durban.
Warren Fortune rates the South African players.
15 Willie le Roux:
A constant threat on attack and a better flyhalf than Handre Pollard. His pin-point kick for Aphiwe Dyantyi’s first try was outstanding.
8/10
14 Makazole Mapimpi:
He made great use of the space he was given out wide and he scored two tries in the win. He notched up more running metres than anyone else in his team.
8/10
13 Lukhanyo Am:
He defended well and showed his strength in the tackle, especially for his try. However, he is just a bit predictable in his channel on attack.
6/10
12 André Esterhuizen:
He was tasked with absorbing as much defenders as possible when he crashed the ball up and he felt comfortable with his Sharks teammate outside him.
6.5/10
11 Aphiwe Dyantyi:
His finishing was impeccable, and he just showed some great awareness for the play around him. Another two tries for the speedster as well.
8.5/10
10 Handré Pollard:
He has a very poor game. He looked predictable with ball in hand and his kicking game was not up to standard. His distribution was shocking at times.
4/10
9 Faf de Klerk:
He improved tremendously as the game went on. He kept Argentina’s defence guessing and he had a hand in two of his team’s tries and he scored one himself.
8/10
8 Warren Whiteley:
It was a bit of a mix bag from the No.8. He could have helped a bit more at the breakdowns, but his defence was good.
5/10
7 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain):
He seemed to go missing for large periods. However, he was aggressive on defence and he got his team over the gain line with some nice carries.
6/10
6 Francois Louw:
He looked a bit lethargic on the field, but he was a threat at the breakdowns and he did his part on defence.
6/10
5 Pieter-Steph du Toit:
An absolute monster on defence. He made more tackles than anyone else on the field and never missed one.
7.5/10
4 Eben Etzebeth:
It was his first game back from a long injury lay-off and he was immense in open play. He carried the ball more than anyone else in his team and he made some serious metres.
9/10
3 Frans Malherbe:
He was strong in the scrums, but we didn’t see too much of him in open play.
6/10
2 Malcolm Marx:
He was outstanding at the breakdowns where he won several turnovers. However, his line-out throwing was shocking on a few occasions in the strike zone.
7/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira:
He was a Beast in the scrums and showed incredible power in the tackle.
7/10
Replacements:
16 Bongi Mbonambi (On for Malcolm Marx, 65th min)
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Steven Kitshoff (On for Tendai Mtawarira, 52nd min)
He had some good carries and he gave his pack a bit of power up front.
6/10
18 Thomas du Toit (On for Frans Malherbe, 58th min)
He brought some great energy up front. He put in a few good tackles and won a turnover.
6/10
19 Marvin Orie
Not used.
20 Marco van Staden (On for Francios Louw, 60th min)
It was a good cameo from the new cap and he ended the match with a nice turnover.
5/10
21 Embrose Papier (On for Aphiwe Dyantyi, 74th min)
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Lionel Mapoe (On for Lukhanyo Am, 73rd min)
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Damian Willemse (On for Andre Esterhuizen, 63rd min)
He didn’t get much opportunity to show what he can do.
5/10
Comments on RugbyPass
Instead of apologising, try to act like an adult, fcknut.
1 Go to commentsLooks like the Force twisted his leg…ahem arm
5 Go to commentsScotland should change their name to the Barbarians
2 Go to commentsThe game was already over leave the bloke alone ….from a Welsh fan 😀👍
2 Go to commentsShamefully the Toulouse players acted like footballers, falling down feigning injury at the slightest knock. About time refs penalised this play acting.
7 Go to commentsAnother non Scot for the anti Scot Townsend. Soon there will be no Scottish born and bred players in the National team.
2 Go to commentsGreat comeback to the playing field by Richie Mo’unga after the loss of his father. A great performance by Richie . I know him well and he is a great guy. On and off the field one of the greatest for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson would have loved him in his All Black’s side. A very missed player and person.
2 Go to commentsYeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
2 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
5 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
5 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
5 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
16 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
16 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
16 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
7 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
7 Go to comments