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Springboks player ratings vs All Blacks | The Rugby Championship
South Africa kept their unbeaten start to The Rugby Championship rolling as they closed out a remarkable comeback to down the All Blacks 31 – 27 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
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Seemingly out of sight with twenty minutes to play, Scott Robertson’s men appeared to have planned the perfect smash-and-grab game plan with four scintilating tries.
As ever, this Springbok side hung around and chipped away at their deficit and when Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted the ball five meters out with a few minutes to play there was an air of inevitability that the World Champions would find a way to get it done.
Here is how the South African players fared.
1. Ox Nche – 6.5
Topping the charts in terms of carries for the starting front row with nine meters from three carries, Nche did most of his work around the breakdown.
2. Bongi Mbonambi – 5
Scoring the Boks’ first try at the back of a powerful maul, the hooker was perhaps a tad fortunate that the score was awarded as he seemed to lose contact with the ball in the act of touching down. This aside, he linked up with Malherbe to target Tamaiti Williams at scrum time for what was his biggest contribution to the contest.
Closing his account in the 44th minute with one carry for four meters and a try in attack and with six tackles in defence, it was a mixed bag from the veteran hooker.
3. Frans Malherbe – 6
Harassing the new man in the All Blacks front row, Malherbe got after Tamaiti Williams at scrum time in the first half.
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Defensively, the big man got about the park with nine tackles but was ineffective in the carry, with just two meters made from one carry before being replaced in the 43rd minute.
4. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 8.5
Certainly up to the task of being a lock in the test arena, the Malmesbury Missile did his best work during the period that he was in the back row. Understandably his work in open play suffered on account of doing more work in the tight areas of the game.
Still, despite the extra load in the tight exchanges, PSDT topped the carry charts for the Boks with eight carries for twenty-four meters, most of which were in heavy traffic.
5. Ruan Nortje – 8
An exceptional line-out operator who gets through a mountain of work despite not being the ball-carrying beast that the Boks are accustomed to in the position.
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Making eleven tackles and winning ten line-outs was a heck of a return for the Vodacom Bulls captain, who looks set to own the number five shirt going forward.
6. Siya Kolisi – 7
Captain Fantastic had a no-frills showing as a willing carrier when his team needed him during the sixty minutes he was on the pitch. Although we didn’t see him as a fulcrum carrier from the line-out, as was the case in previous outings, he remains integral to this team’s ability to stay in the fight.
7. Ben-Jason Dixon – 4
Struggled to leave an impact on the match, the 26-year-old was a notch off the pace from the off and never quite recovered. This lack of impact saw him plucked from the action early in the second half.
8. Jasper Wiese – 8
Back with a bang, the number eight was in no mood to waste time as he went route one at the All Blacks defence from the off.
Seeming to benefit from the extra time off that his suspension afforded him, Wiese was one of the few Boks who made inroads into the All Blacks defence during the first half.
9. Cobus Reinach – 4
Plucked from the action alongside the bulk of the South African forward replacements, Reinach was hassled at the breakdown by TJ Perenara and the All Blacks forwards. This pressure saw his usual attacking spark elude him as he failed to pose a running threat, which, in turn, saw the All Blacks’ defence shift straight to the Bok backline.
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 9
It was a big-time performance from a big-time talent at Ellis Park as the Stormers flyhalf cemented himself as the undisputed kingpin in the flyhalf berth.
Outside of falling foul to the shot clock as he attempted to convert Bongi Mbomambi’s try, it was a relatively flawless performance from the 22-year-old. This miss appeared to fire up the former Bishops standout even more as he played with an extra bit in the carry and tackle.
Ultimately, the flyhalf was one of the few reasons the Boks were within striking range, and his kick to the corner to set up the Boks’ match-winning try was textbook.
11. Kurt-Lee Arendse – 4
Departing the action with a nasty injury, the flyer struggled to get into the match for the 48 minutes he was on the pitch.
12. Damian de Allende – 6.5
It was far from a vintage attacking performance from the inside centre, who does not look entirely comfortable in the new attacking structures. Gifting Jordie Barrett a try with a simple interception will garner the headlines, but his lack of efficiency in the carry was notable.
He was rock solid on the other side of the ball as he topped the tackle charts for the Springboks and had two timely turnovers.
13. Jesse Kriel – 8
Enjoying an Indian Summer as he closes in on his tenth year of test rugby, the previously disregarded centre has elevated himself to elite status once again over the past twelve months.
Bringing a clever short-kicking game to the table, Kriel turned the All Blacks’ defence on several occasions with grubber kicks which were backed up with a ferocious chase. Whilst with the ball in hand, his rugby league style short bullet passes at the line were a handful for the All Blacks to cope with, whilst his line-breaking ability was superb.
14. Cheslin Kolbe – 6.5
Firmly second-best in his one-on-one battle with Caleb Clarke, Kolbe was marshalled out of the match by the All Blacks defence and was found wanting for both of Clarke’s tries. This didn’t deter the attacking maestro from bringing bundles of energy to the kick chase, which ultimately paid dividends as the All Blacks made a few uncharacteristic mistakes that allowed the Boks back in late on.
To sum up his performance, whilst it was far from a statistical masterpiece, the extra attention he received opened up space for those around him.
15. Aphelele Fassi – 7.5
Overcame an early yellow card, which ultimately set up the first All Blacks to try to put in a composed performance under the high ball and in a counter-attack.
Bringing a different look to the Springbok backline as a lethal strike runner as opposed to the distribution game of Willie le Roux, Fassi is the perfect combination of pace and finishing ability as a key chess piece in Tony Brown’s attacking game plan.
Replacements
16. Malcolm Marx – 6
Not to write the hooker off, but it would appear as though the injuries he has sustained over the past few years are taking their toll. Lacking his former dynamism at the contact point. Yet, for all that he has lost, his rugby intelligence allowed him to be in the right place at the right time as a key protagonist in the Boks’ late try.
17. Gerhard Steenekamp – 8
It was a superb 37-minute outing for the Bulls loosehead, who brought some much-needed extra oomph as both a ball carrier and mauling powerhouse. Defensively, his pace allows him to close the space between the ruck pillars and his outside defenders, thus shoring up the inside channels of the Boks’ rush defence.
18. Vincent Koch – 7
Mr Consistent joins a growing list of Bok veterans who, despite not being as flashy as they once were, get through a ton of work to allow those around them to shine. Clearly, under pressure for his role in the twenty-three due to the continued ascension of Thomas du Toit, Koch remains a scrummaging force and calming influence in the tensest moments.
19. Eben Etzebeth – 7.5
Despite starting on the bench, the towering lock played the bulk of the match. Firstly, he entered the action in relief of Ruan Nortje as a temporary substitution and then permanently for Ben-Jason Dixon.
Although he is arguably the ultimate impact sub, Etzebeth remains too good not to start with his ridiculous ability to perform for the full eighty minutes. Once again, catching the eye with his defensive pressure which ultimately pressured the All Blacks kickers into mistakes costing them valuable meters.
20. Elrigh Louw – 8
Developing nicely as a new-age Danie Rossouw, the versatile Bulls backrow appears to have taken one full step ahead of his nearest rivals as the perfect ‘bomb squad’ operator. In a similar mould to the 2007 World Cup winner Rossouw, Louw does everything at an eight out ten level week-in, week-out. This consistency, combined with his athletic profile as a ball-winning threat in the air, feels like the perfect ingredient for a Tony Brown attacking recipe.
21. Kwagga Smith – 8.5
South Africa’s one-man bomb squad, Smith held up his end of the bargain with some incisive carries, big hits and a crucial turnover. Pouncing brilliantly for the try that brought his team back into the contest, the former 7s star remains an ageless wonder who ups the tempo to a point that opponents can’t match.
22. Grant Williams – 8
He upped the ante tenfold when he entered the fray, bringing a sniping threat to proceedings. He had the All Blacks’ defence on their heels. Backing himself to scoot over for the decisive try shows his level of confidence at the moment and will undoubtedly have the Bok coaches questioning whether he should be the starter going forward.
23. Handre Pollard – 6.5
Replaced Kurt-Lee Ardense, who departed with injury, Pollard brought a strong kicking alternative to the Bok backline. His influence is a tricky needle to thread for the Bok coaches as he is a world-class game manager, but he does dull the influence of Feinberg-Mngomezulu as an attacking threat.
Sacha was not all that good from my perspective. Had an absolute disaster class in the first half. No tactical kicking game, was really outdone by the ABs back 3. Nowehere on defense either to be frank.
I wouldn’t give him a 9 either, but he certainly didn’t play as poorly as you’re describing him. He was the best 10 on the park by a mile.
DDA was massive on defense, stepped into that Marx turnover roll, MMarx looks a bit slower than I remember, hope he gets back
Well, you have to credit the Boks for finding a way to win, as they so often do. And great to see some youngsters stepping up. But this was far from a confidence-inspiring performance.
Aside from the questionable Bongi try, it was clear that a) the Boks new running/offloading attack was not delivering line breaks or gainline meters, and b) the ABs were able to get outside of the Bok defense relatively easily. Additionally the Boks were inaccurate and error-prone in key moments.
Lot's of work to do to sharpen it all up.
Yeah but they learnt early they can't blitz this Dmac attack. That's a huge credit where you see the ABs do dumb kak all game without learning.
That intercept try was their worst attempt (they got progressively worse up until that one that completely fell apart). But credit again, I didn't notice that failure after that so think they just gave up on that approach for the rest of this game. Sacha turned to the boot instead and bingo, wait for ABs to make a mistake.
It was always going to come to this. The attacking threat from the Boks is easy against teams like Portugal, Wales and the Wallabies, but the real test came now. To see where the Boks are at with quality opposition. We didn't use it too much against the Irish. There were flashes of brilliance and there were mistakes made that left tries out there and also cost us tries. The only consistent thing about this game was the awful refereeing. He was bad on both sides. Both sides have a lot to work on. The lineout was frustrating and only looked stable when Nortje was on. He had a massive game for a rookie. So did Elrigh Louw, Sacha and Fassi, though they made mistakes. It's a learning curve and lesson well learned. The Bongi try was short and dropped. DDA not looking at the field, just passing gifting Barret a soft try. The Fassi yellow that wasn't a yellow etc etc etc. Just disgusting from the ref and his team. Registered as an Irish referee isn't it? He didn't favour one side, only his own inept skills. Boks down 10, and to come back from that deficit and win is a real positive for the Boks. They can scrum, they can maul, they can break the gainline, they can run, and they can score tries and kick for goal. They defend like demons, although this game they looked wanting on defence. The lineouts were scrappy but great when Nortje was there. PSDT was just his monstrous self. The AB's aren't done yet. Next game they will come even harder, and the Boks got to be prepared. It's going to be massive again.
Yeah fully agree. It’s the accuracy that’s lacking. And they’ve become vulnerable out wide again - something that crept in a little while back which they sorted out in time for the World Cup. I think they were waiting for those chips overhead and instead the ABs went wide furiously fast catching us out in those two scores.
I hope to see Kitcshie and/or Du Toit back next week. Some fresh props would be good, give Malherbe a rest in particular.
A little harsh on Marx in these ratings. Considering he lost so many months and walked straight back into the test arena.