Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Springboks player ratings vs Scotland | Autumn Nations Series

By Warren Fortune
PA

Springboks player ratings: The Springboks’ forward pack proved to be the difference again in their 30-15 win over Scotland at Murrayfield.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Boks dominated the scrums and the breakdowns and Eben Etzebeth was a colossus in open play.

Springbok player ratings below:

15 Willie le Roux – 6.5
He joined the attacking line well for Makazole Mapimpi’s two tries. However, his positioning at the back was poor sometimes when Scotland sent the ball high and long.

Video Spacer

Morné Steyn | All Access | Why he will be remembered as one of the best Springbok rugby players ever

Video Spacer

Morné Steyn | All Access | Why he will be remembered as one of the best Springbok rugby players ever

14 Jesse Kriel – 6.5
Showed good speed to chase down Duhan van der Merwe in the first half. He applied plenty of pressure when chasing high balls, but he still looks out of place on the wing.

13 Lukhanyo Am – 6
He was very quiet in the first half but came to life a bit in the second half. You just feel he is capable of doing more on the field. He was solid on defence though.

12 Damian de Allende – 8
He was a powerhouse in the midfield. He got his team over the gain line on numerous occasions and he made himself useful at the breakdowns as well. His line speed on defence was excellent. De Allende also broke the line well to feed the ball to Mapimpi for his team’s second try

11 Makazole Mapimpi – 8
One of his best performances in a Bok jersey. He showed off his deadly finishing skills with two tries and Scotland just looked troubled whenever he ran at them. He beat several defenders with ball in hand and he chased the ball well went it was sent high.

ADVERTISEMENT

10 Elton Jantjies – 7
There was nothing spectacular, but it was a solid performance from Elton. Herschel Jantjies’ slow distribution in the first half didn’t help him much, but he made good decisions.

9 Herschel Jantjies – 3
He had a shocker in the first half and he was replaced at half-time. His distribution from the base of the ruck was slow and his kicking game was awful. He also failed to gather the ball from a loose Scotland pass near his tryline which resulted in a try for Stuart Hogg.

8 Duane Vermeulen – 7
He manhandled a few Scottish players out there and he did plenty of good work at the breakdowns as well. It was not his best showing but he certainly made his presence felt on the park.

7 Kwagga Smith – 6.5
He was certainly energetic around the park, but not as influential as he was against Wales a week earlier. It was a solid performance by the former BlitzBok.

ADVERTISEMENT

6 Siya Kolisi – 7.5
Another game where he played out of his skin for his country. He tackled like a man possessed and was a nuisance at the breakdowns. He also carried the ball strongly as well and he drew a defender with his big frame in the build-up to Mapimpi’s first try.

5 Franco Mostert – 7
An important figure in the line-outs and the mauls. He made a crucial line-out steal just a few metres from his own tryline in the 61st minute. He was also aggressive on defence.

4 Eben Etzebeth – 9
He was the best player on the field. He carried the ball more than any other player on the field and the Scottish struggled to deal with his sheer power and physicality in all aspects of the game.

3 Trevor Nyakane – 7
Like his front-row partner, Retshegofaditswe Nché, he dominated his side of the scrum. He was also solid on defence and he had a couple of good carries as well.

2 Mbongeni Mbonambi – 6.5
Part of a powerful front row and his line-out throwing was good. But he was very quiet in open play. He is a better player than what he showed at Murrayfield.

1 Ox Nché – 8
He absolutely destroyed his opponent at scrum time in the first half. He also showed some good speed on defence and the Scots needed more than one man when he carried the ball.

Replacements:

16 Malcolm Marx – 7
Another player who gave Scotland problems at the breakdown. His turnover in the 70th minute was a thing of beauty.

17 Steven Kitshoff – 7
A powerhouse in the scrums and in open play. His experience in the second half helped the Boks dominate Scotland upfront.

18 Vincent Koch – 7
He gave away a lot of penalties, but he made up for it with some strong carries and some powerful scrumming as well.

19 Lood de Jager – 7
He didn’t put a foot wrong when he came onto the field. He did his part in dominant set-pieces and gave the Scots a few headaches when he ran at them.

20 Jasper Wiese – NA
Not enough time to be rated.

21 Cobus Reinach – 8
It boggles the mind why he is not starting these games. His distribution was way better than Herschel Jantjies’ and he made some excellent decisions under pressure.

22 Handré Pollard – 6
It was a bit shaky from the pivot. Elton Jantjies did most of the hard work and Pollard just had to do the basics when he was on the field.

23 Frans Steyn – 7
The Boks looked more secure at the back when he was at fullback. He also kicked well out of hand.

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness' Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness'
Search