Springboks player ratings vs New Zealand | The Rugby Championship
The Springboks failed to record back-to-back wins over the All Blacks on Saturday.
Just a week after the Boks recorded a stunning win over the All Blacks, the visitors bounced back in fine fashion beating South Africa 35-23 at Ellis Park.
Trailing 10-15 at the break, the Boks failed to combat the All Blacks’ physical onslaught and had to settle for the defeat.
South Africa suffered an early blow with only 10 minutes gone when groggy wing Jesse Kriel was forced to retire and veteran fullback Willie le Roux came on.
Leezil Hendricks of Rugby365 rates the South African players:
15. Damian Willemse – 8/10
Simply another fantastic performance by the 24-year-old. He copped a yellow card in the opening minutes of the match. Fortunately for him, the Boks did not concede any points during the 10 minutes. He moved to No.12 following Jesse Kriel’s departure in the eighth minute and it was not a bad effort from the utility back. He made up for his early mishap as he ignited the Springboks’ attacking plan, setting up Makazole Mampipi’s try with a perfectly executed loop pass.
14. Jesse Kriel – N/A
The wing’s return was cut short as he was forced to leave the field following a failed HIA Test. Similar to Faf de Klerk, Kriel sustained the head-nock in his tackle attempt on Caleb Clarke in the eighth minute.
13. Lukhanyo Am – 9
Another masterclass by Am. Unfortunate not to score a try in the opening minutes of the match. But eventually, his hard work was rewarded – powering over two defenders for his first try against the All Blacks. The centre had to move to the wing after coach Jacques Nienaber rejigged his backline, but he continued to cause loads of problems for the All Blacks out wide.
12. Damian de Allende – 5
A very disappointing Test by the usually electrifying centre’s standards. He missed crucial tackles including the big one Caleb Clarke which set up the All Blacks’ first try. The centre tried to get in the match with some carries but failed to make an impact – moving him to the outside centre certainly did not help.
5/10
11. Makazole Mapimpi – 6.5
He won a penalty in the opening minutes and faded in the first half. However, he improved in the second half as he continued to look for work. He also contested the high ball very well and scored a try.
10. Handre Pollard – 7
The flyhalf struggled and failed to dictate the match in the first 40 minutes. However, labelled as Mr Cool by All Blacks legend Justin Marshall, Pollard bounced back and produced another cool and collected display in the second half and kicked very well.
9. Jaden Hendrikse – 5
It was a very challenging outing for the No.9. He did the basics well and most of his box kicks were okay. Conceded an obstruction penalty.
8. Duane Vermeulen – 4
Playing in his first Test of the season after his rehab after knee surgery, it was clear that the 36-year-old had problems with his match fitness. Nonetheless, he made two great carries before being replaced by Jasper Wiese in the 35th minute.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 5.5
Far from his best by his standards. He looked out of pace and even missed a couple of tackles. The highlight of his game was when he intercepted the ball inside his own half, unfortunately his legs could not get him over the line.
6. Siyamthanda Kolisi (c) – 6
Was not a perfect performance from the captain, and struggled to inspire his team. He was good in defence, made 10 tackles and missed one. Really not active at the breakdown.
5. Lodewyk de Jager – 6
Was caught offside which resulted in the All Blacks’ first points of the match. Other than that the lock did the basics right, collected the ball well in the line-outs and no one can deny his incredible work rate at the mauls.
4. Eben Etzebeth – 6
A very quiet display by his standards. He made only three carries but was more industrious in defence with nine tackles.
3. Frans Malherbe – 6.5
The best of the struggling starting front row, however not the most memorable 50th test cap for the prop. The All Blacks certainly did their homework on Malherbe along with his fellow front row partners, who also struggled with the scrums. However, his defence was good, making 12 tackles.
2. Joseph Dweba – 3
Coming in for the injured Bongi Mbonambi, the Stormers-bound hooker had big boots to fill. And it was certainly a match to forget. He conceded an early scrum penalty, while he also struggled with line-out throws – one was stolen and the other one in the 22nd minute was skew. He made way for Malcolm Marx after just 29 minutes.
1. Retshegofaditswe Nche – 5
Part of the front row that was realy under pressure in the scrums – the prop also conceded an early penalty. He had problems in defence and failed to make his usual strong carries.
Replacements:
16. Malcolm Marx (on for Dweba, 29th minute) – 7 – The hooker made a big impact. His line-out throws were solid and he managed the driving maul superbly. Far from last week’s show, the hooker’s tackle rate is in double figures.
17. Steven Kitshoff (on for Nche, 35th minutes) – 7 – His introduction was much-needed, especially at the scrums. He was also solid in defence with eight tackles. However, he failed to deliver some solid carries.
18. Vincent Koch (on for Malberbe, 50th minutes) – 3 – He certainly made very little impact and was basically anonymous on the park.
19. Franco Mostert (on for De Jager, 40th Minutes) – 6 – Made a great line-out steal inside his own 22. Worked very hard and made all of his tackles.
20. Jasper Wiese (On for Vermeulen, 35th minute) – 8 – He took to the field when the Boks were trailing 0-15 and certainly made a huge impact. He added physicality and carried well. Conceded a silly penalty in the 48th minute but overall it was a tremendous display by the replacement, who certainly has a case for the No.8 jersey.
21. Albertus Smith (on for Kolisi, 50th minute) – 5 – Working very hard off the ball, making a couple of good tackles.
22. Hershel Jantjies (on for Hendrikse, 75th minute) – N/A – Not enough time to be rated
23 Willie le Roux (on for Kriel, 8th minute) – 6 – The replacement was solid under the high ball and his kicks helped alleviate some pressure. His experience is another facet the Boks will need doing forward.
Comments on RugbyPass
anybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
3 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
32 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
9 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
9 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
32 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
32 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
32 Go to commentsits such a shame he hasn’t achieved more success at club level. He’s really not been a potent finisher for a while now, but he’s still excellent in the kick chase. That’s the kind of skillset that generally only gets appreciated when you’re playing in premiership and european finals. I’m not sure whether the challenge cup counts given the quality of the competition seems lower than in previous years, but his duel with Mapimpi should be enthralling.
1 Go to commentsThe point is the irish players were arrogant,call it like you want sugar coat it aswell but they were you could see it in their way they handeled themselfs on the field when they got something right so dont tell me it was not arrogance it was,you can fool other people but not me,and to say to one of our players see you in the final put a nail in the coffin for this bullsh@t,just be grown men and accept it that you were arrogant,you could if seen it from a mile away, and then you lost to the allblacks what a cocky move that didnt work out for you ,Eben was right when he said u were arrogant,the point is you will deny it because you lost it all just grow some balls and move on we had won you lost accept it.
32 Go to comments“summer tour of North and South America” so its a summer tour of america?
1 Go to commentsEverybody is giving the Irish players the benefit of the doubt in ‘what they meant’, but none of these pundits or commentators offer the same courtesy to Eben. I don’t think Eben went, 1, 2, 3… etc. What might have happened is he didn’t count and when the 3rd or 5th guy said he went, hang on why are so many of them saying this… and then started to concentrate on it more and more as players continue to say it. So no, he didn’t count it, he realised many Irish players said it and made an assumption based on that… The Irish team was VERY confident at the time and I do believe they believed they were going to win the World Cup, which borders a bit on the arrogant side…
32 Go to commentsI can see how some of the Irish players would have said”see you in the final” as a gentle comment after a victory. It’s open to interpretation but it’s clumsy language. I don’t know the fella but I assure you Eben doesn’t have an axe to grind with Ireland. He has never been the media seeking pro. Oh and BTW it is I’ll be our winter in July so won’t be wet.
32 Go to comments*McCloskey*: _I saw this clip. Like, I wasn’t playing that game; I was in the stands…so you don't know sh!t in other words, infact you know just as much as Goode on this matter. I will believe the guy who was on the pitch when things were said as appose to two people speculating over what was said._
32 Go to comments@ turlough dream on buddy. Your boys are in for one tough time down in sa this summer…
32 Go to commentsI think Goode is looking to establish a platform for himself. Eben said “Probably” so that suggests he wasn’t counting. It’s an estimate Goode. I think even with your short and uneventful experience with the Sharks you probably realise winding up Saffas will get you some airtime. It’s a none event. Move on
32 Go to commentsRugby has never been as structured and synthetically pleasing as it is at this moment. The game is simply beautiful and messing with it too much will ruin it for everyone. I can't help but feel that over the past decade or so many rules have been changed to accommodate a certain hemisphere and counter another. Perhaps I am wrong but I somehow don’t think so.
2 Go to commentsNoted some excellent defensive steals from the Rebs last week against the Reds, largely J Canham, I think. It’s not a Rolls Royce but they are a real threat with their defensive line out at the beginning matches. What do you make of Canham Nick, WBs squad material?
86 Go to comments