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Springboks player ratings vs Wallabies | Rugby Championship
By Warren Fortune, rugby365.com
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The Springboks produced their worst performance of the season so far in their 26-28 defeat to the Wallabies on Sunday.
Jacques Nienaber’s side struggled to get any momentum in the match and their discipline was poor as well.
Here’s how the Springboks rated:
15. Willie le Roux – 4/10
He started the game well by fielding several tough high balls before it turned into a horror show for the fullback. A wayward pass to Handre Pollard in the first half led to a three-pointer for Quade Cooper and in the second half he received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. His attacking game was non-existent.
14. Sbu Nkosi – 3/10
He was poor on defence. He missed a lot of tackles, especially out wide on Marika Koroibete. He only had one real run with the ball and that was in the second half.
13. Lukhanyo Am – 3.5/10
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He had a shocker in the first half when he lost control of the ball in the Australian in-goal area when all he had to was place the ball for a try. He had another shocker when he lost the ball went forward at the beginning of the second half when there was some space in front of him. There were a few promising carries, but it came to nothing.
12. Damian de Allende – 5/10
It seemed like he was stuck in first gear for the entire 80 minutes. He was outplayed by his opposite number, Samu Kerevi, in the midfield.
11. Makazole Mapimpi – 4/10
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The Australians covered him well out wide. He was a threat under the high ball, especially in the danger zones. His defensive game was a mixed bag with a couple of missed tackles.
10. Handre Pollard – 3.5/10
It was one of his worst performances in the Bok jersey. Kicking is a big part of the Boks’ game plan, but in this match, he kicked good quality attacking ball away. When he decided to keep the ball in hand he was a bit clueless. He also missed a few goal-kicks, which was costly. Off in the 66th minute.
9. Faf de Klerk – 4/10
It was a mixed bag from the Bok scrumhalf. He had a few good kicks out of hand which put the Wallabies under pressure in the first 15 minutes. Then things started to go pear-shaped with his missed tackle on Samu Kerevi leading Andrew Kellaway’s try. His distribution from the base of the ruck was also poor at times. Off in the 77th.
8. Duane Vermeulen – 6.5/10
He got his team over the gain line on a few occasions. He also made his presence felt at the breakdowns. However, it wasn’t a trademark Vermeulen performance out there and Wallabies dealt with him well when he was on the field. Off in the 53rd.
7. Franco Mostert – 5/10
Most of his work was in the line-outs, mauls and on defence. Like many of his teammates in the pack, he did not dominate opponents in open play and he wasn’t aggressive enough at the breakdowns.
Here’s how the Wallabies rated in their Rugby Championship upset victory over the Springboks on the Gold Coast on Sunday. #Wallabies #RugbyChampionship #TRC2021 #RSAvAUS https://t.co/eePFHGQ33W
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 12, 2021
6. Siya Kolisi (captain) – 4.5/10
Got a yellow card for a silly tip tack on Tom Banks in the 16th minute and while he was off the field the Wallabies scored a try. He was another one of South Africa’s big names who failed to impose himself physically in the game. Off in the 55th.
5. Lood de Jager – 5/10
He made a lot of tackles out there and his big hit on Allan Alaalatoa in the 39th minute stopped the Wallabies in their tracks when they were building momentum towards the tryline. Despite his heroics on defence, he also missed a number of tackles. He was a key figure in the line-outs and mauls.
4. Eben Etzebeth – 4/10
He gave away a couple of penalties in the first half and he just didn’t have the impact in open play that we saw against the British and Irish Lions and Argentina. The one positive was his ability to put pressure on Tate McDermott around the rucks. Off in the 53rd.
3. Frans Malherbe – 5.5/10
He won his team a few scrum penalties, but he was dominated in the set-piece just before half-time which gave the Wallabies a chance to extend the lead. He hardly had any contribution with ball and hand. However, he was solid on defence.
2. Bongi Mbonambi – 5/10
He scored a try from the maul in the 28th minute, but other than that he was quiet in terms of his contribution in open play. He did put in few good hits on defence. Off in the 47th.
1. Steven Kitshoff – 6/10
He was one of the Springboks’ best defenders on the park with 11 tackles. He was also solid in the scrums, but the Boks needed him to carry the ball more in open play. Off in the 57th.
Replacements:
16. Malcolm Marx – 7/10
On in the 47th. He made a massive impact when he came onto the field. The Boks got over the advantage line more when he had the ball and he scored two tries from driving mauls.
17. Ox Nche – 7/10
On in the 57th. He was powerful in the scrums in the second half and maybe the Boks should have got more penalties for that dominance.
18. Vincent Koch – 7/10
On in the 53rd. Like Nche, he dominated his opponent at scrum time and he had a much better contribution with ball in hand than Malherbe.
19. Marco van Staden – 5/10
On in the 55th. He was a bit quiet in the final 25 minutes. He tackled well, but other than that there is not much to go on.
Quade Cooper, take a bow! ? pic.twitter.com/4iTM9tO4Uw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 12, 2021
20. Albertus Smith – 6.5/10
On in the 53rd. He looked for work when he came onto the field, especially at the breakdowns. he had a great steal in the 68th minute.
21. Jasper Wiese – 7/10
On in the 53rd. The No.8 should have probably started the match. He brought the physicality with ball in hand that was lacking in the first half.
22. Herschel Jantjies – N/A
On in the 77th. Not enough time to be rated.
23. Damian Willemse – N/A
On in the 66th. Not enough time for a rating, but missed an easy conversion before making a try-saving tackle.
This article was first published on rugby365.com and was republished here with permission.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
29 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
29 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
29 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
11 Go to comments