South Africa player ratings vs Ireland | July Series Second Test

South Africa player ratings: The Springboks were left shellshocked in Durban as two late drop goals from Ciaran Frawley sealed a 25 – 24 win for Ireland.

Struggling to match the Irish tempo in the first half, the Boks enjoyed a strong thirty-minute run in the second half and looked to have stolen it as Handre Pollard slotted eight penalty goals.

Ultimately, their lack of cutting edge, just a week after being lauded as an attacking juggernaut, would be their undoing as they simply couldn’t break through the Irish defence. Stifling them further was a lack of impact from the ‘bomb squad’ who, instead of upping the ante, were a step down from the level achieved by the starters.

Here is how Rassie Erasmus’s side fared as they let slip a series victory.

1. Ox Nche – 7.5
Pinching Tadhg Furlong’s nickname as ‘the jukebox’ as he kept the hits coming, the Sharks star confirmed his place as first choice loosehead. Overall, he was far and away the best Bok forward on the night and had some highlight-reel moments in defence as he chopped down the powerful Irish ball carriers.

2. Bongi Mbonambi – 4
Nuggety and confrontational without really influencing proceedings, Mbonambi got stuck into the Irish after every scrum but struggled at line-out time to hit his mark as James Ryan got into his eye line and pinched a few crucial line-outs.

3. Frans Malherbe – 5.5
Forcing Andrew Porter to kick out shows the force that Malherbe generates on his side of the scrum. Unlike a week ago, however, he was fairly anonymous with the ball in hand with just two carries in the contest whilst he made seven tackles in defence.

4. Eben Etzebeth – 6
Living life on the edge and perhaps past it, Etzebeth led the Bok defensive line and was pinged for being offside a few times. Ultimately, he got more right than wrong but lacked that trademark ‘big play moment’ that has been the backbone of his game throughout his career as he carried seven times for four meters.

5. Franco Mostert – 4
Sustaining a gnarly nose injury early on did not deter the normally robust Mostert from throwing his weight about for the next fifteen minutes before he hobbled off with another injury.

6. Siya Kolisi – 6
Marshalled by the Irish defence far more closely than he was a week ago, the Bok skipper looked to utilise the extra kilograms that Racing 92 boss Jacky Lorenzetti felt was holding him back in the Top 14. Utilised as ‘Plan A’ from short line-outs, Kolisi carried hard into the heart of the Irish defence but was met with equal force on the gainline. Whilst this set a platform from which to launch from it was a far cry from the dominant one he set a week ago in test one.

7. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 6.5
South African Rugby’s totemic figure had an unusually nondescript first half but grew into the contest throughout the second half. Smashing into breakdowns, Du Toit wrestled back control and stifled the Irish lightning-quick ball but, like his compatriots, struggled to get over the gainline at any point. Defensively he displayed his customary work rate with seventeen tackles to top that department for the Boks.

8. Kwagga Smith – 6.5
South Africa’s do-it-all star was industrious as ever and came within inches of scoring the Boks’ first try as he chased PSDT’s charge down of Jack Crowley. Topping the carry charts for his side with fifteen for 53 meters, the 31-year-old proved that he is not just an impact player late in fixtures but can maintain his explosive power for a full contest.

9. Faf de Klerk – 4
Ignoring calls from referee Karl Dickson to use it, De Klerk had a mixed bag as he didn’t quite get up the tempo of a week ago. Being replaced early in the second half was perhaps the biggest signal that the usually energetic de Klerk was a notch or two off the pace today.

10. Handré Pollard – 6
Packing his kicking boots this week, Pollard was impervious to the boot as he chipped away at the Irish lead and rewarded his pack’s growing dominance throughout the contest. Offensively, he offered little threat with the ball in hand and looked uncomfortable in Tony Brown’s system, which clearly requires him to test the defensive line, something he has rarely done over the past five years.

11. Kurt-Lee Arendse – 5
South Africa’s pinball bounced around the park but simply couldn’t find a crease to slip through as the Irish defence scragged him time and again.

12. Damian de Allende – 5
Far from the all-singing, all-dancing performance of a week ago, de Allende reverted to type as a crash-ball hit-up merchant. Following a week of praise for his exceptional passing skills, it was disappointing to see him routinely look to route one into the defence rather than get the ball to the edges.

13. Jesse Kriel – 4
Mimicking his centre partner, Kriel was a shadow of the player who took to Loftus last weekend with nine carries for just twenty-four meters for a rather ambiguous showing. Defensively, he was fine without being spectacular, as he made seven tackles, of which one was dominant.

14 Cheslin Kolbe – 5.5
Getting through a mountain of work without really threatening, the sparkling Bok magician fronted up in the physical stakes and chased kicks with vigour. Outside of this, he rarely looked like he was making a clean break despite the stats showing that he beat three defenders. He, more often than not, found himself hot-stepping his way into an Irish defender.

15 Willie le Roux – N/A
Found himself on the wrong side of James Lowe’s knee inside the first two minutes which, unfortunately, forced his departure.

Replacements:

16. Malcolm Marx – 6
Upping the ante when he replaced Bongi, Marx reaffirmed the understanding that he is the best hooker in the Bok squad. This being said, outside of the set piece, he was a yard off his best as he never had that ‘wow factor’ moment with a big turn-over or carry.

17. Gerhard Steenekamp – 3
Solid at scrum time but a significant drop off from the sublime Ox Nche in all aspects.

18. Vincent Koch – 3
Unable to replicate the scrummaging dominance of the man he replaced, Koch had an evening to forget and looks to be waning as a viable option for the uptempo attack that the Boks want to employ.

19. Salmaan Moerat – 3
A complete non-factor in proceedings, the Stormers skipper couldn’t get up to the pace of the game and appears to lack the power of the other locks in the squad in the carry.

20. RG Snyman – 4
Initially coming on as a blood replacement for Etzebeth, Snyman remained on the park as Mostert trudged off in the 17th minute with an injury. Acutely aware of his offloading threat, Ireland dedicated defenders to targeting the ball when tackling him, which saw him stripped a few times and nullified in open play.

21. Marco van Staden – 3
Offered very little from the bench as he was a step and a half behind the action, clearly he is a step behind Kolisi as a ball player and this showed as he never looked like making a break.

22. Grant Williams – 6.5
Adding a level of energy and pace to the Bok’s attack, Williams was a bright spark from the bench and looked far more comfortable in the Tony Brown attack than de Klerk. Mixing in a handful of long-range kicks with a top-class chase, Williams was arguably the best of the Bok backs alongside his fellow replacement Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

23. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 7
Targeted early and often by Jack Crowley with high balls, the highly promising youngster was found wanting by the Irish kick chasers, Calvin Nash and Jamie Osborne, in the first half. Starting the second forty brightly with a superb break, he showed his immense potential with back-to-back brilliant breaks to end the contest with six defenders beaten. He firmly grew into the contest as the action progressed.