South Africa player ratings vs Scotland | Autumn Nations Series
South Africa player ratings: Reigning Rugby World Cup champions South Africa got their Autumn Nations Cup off to the perfect start with a 32 – 15 win over Scotland.
Coming out of the blocks hot, the Springboks scored the opening try of the match inside three minutes through winger Makazole Mapimpi.
Scoring two more tries through Mapimpi and prop Thomas Du Toit before half-time, the Boks rarely looked challenged despite a spirited challenge by their hosts.
Sealing the deal with a try in the final minute as they scrummaged over the top of the Scottish pack with Jasper Wiese the beneficiary, the Boks proved that they are the ultimate closers in World Rugby.
Here is how the Springbok players fared at Murrayfield.
1. Ox Nche – 8
Once again, trotting off the park following a 100% success rate at scrum time, the Sharks man is clearly the best loosehead in the world at the moment. This statement was made ever more correct by the drop-off in the Bok’s general play when he departed.
2. Bongi Mbonambi – 7
Surgical at line-out time, Mbonambi found his jumpers consistently. Away from this area, the hooker was pretty quiet, with just a single carry and two tackles made. This was primarily down to the good work that Scotland did around the breakdown, which sucked Mbonambi at the rest of the Bok forwards into a wrestling match.
3. Thomas du Toit – 8.5
Capitalising on a messy line-out, the Bath star displayed cat-like reflexes to nab the ball and race away untouched for his first test try. In isolation, this try looked like a moment of quick thinking, but it was indicative of the bigger picture that Du Toit is the archetypal prop for the Tony Brown attacking game plan.
4. Eben Etzebeth – 8.5
Displaying composure in the face of a hostile environment, the most experienced Springbok of all time had a quiet word with referee Christophe Ridley, who had Scotland down to 14 men, and Scott Cummings was handed his marching orders.
On the stat sheet, Etzebeth was monstrous as he topped the carries charts for the Bok forwards. Most impressively from the 129 cap lock was his ability to have an impact for the full eighty minutes with game-changing tackles, particularly on Duhan van der Merwe.
5. Franco Mostert – 5.5
Concluding his afternoon at half-time, Mostert had a rather quiet showing at Murrayfield. Getting on the ball just once for a 6 meter carry, most of the 33-year-old veteran’s work was done around the breakdown. In open play he made 6 tackles whilst at line-out time he ruled the skies with 4 takes. Overall, it was a quiet return for the World Cup winner who is solid but not the most explosive of options at this point in his career.
6. Marco van Staden – 7
Dump trucking Scottish ball carriers, ‘Eskom’ as he is known within the South African Rugby circle, shut the lights out of several promising Scottish attacks.
7. Elrigh Louw – 7.5
Bringing a rangy attacking element to the wider channels, the Bull’s backrow is a mismatch nightmare for wingers when the Bok kickers go wide.
Defensively, Louw’s pace helped him cover for the rare occasion that the Scottish attack managed to get to the fringes of the Boks’ blitz defence.
8. Kwagga Smith – 7
Harnessing the beast from which his nickname is inspired, the Bok number eight had a busy afternoon. Constantly challenging the Scottish backrow, Smith clattered through blue jerseys like a bowling ball that was lit on fire. This intensity got him onto the wrong side of the referee’s whistle at times but had the desired effect of starving the Scottish backline of clean ball.
9. Jaden Hendrikse – 8
Cool, calm and collected, the Sharks scrumhalf is just such a smooth operator that he rarely gets caught out. In this regard, he is similar to the great Fourie du Preez, and like the 2007 World Cup winner, Hendrikse’s box-kicking was pinpoint. Taking into account the new kick chase laws, Hendrikse’s ability to clear from the base of the ruck makes him the perfect starter for the Boks.
10. Handre Pollard – 7.5
Mixing up his kicking game like peak Roger Federer returning serve at Wimbledon, Pollard reverted to type at Murrayfield. Parking Tony Brown’s beautiful wide attacking game for a cup rugby style of play, Pollard kicked his points and put his pack in good positions.
11. Makazole Mapimpi – 8.5
Handed a rare start and made the most of it with a sharp shooting performance that harkened back to his glory days of 2019. Forming a mind meld with Willie le Roux, Mapimpi was intrinsically in the right place at the right time for both of his tries. One moment he would like to have back, however, was for his yellow card in the 58th minute. This aside, it was a top-class showing for a player who has slipped down the depth chart in recent years.
12. Andre Esterhuizen – 8.5
Direct and confrontational, rugby’s biggest inside centre utilised all of his ballast to routinely get his side over the gainline.
Ending his day as the top backline carrier with 48 meters from 10 carries to go with his 13 tackles, Esterhuizen held his end of the bargain and reminded everyone that he is a genuine contender for Damian de Allende’s jersey.
13. Lukhanyo Am – 7.5
Clearly relishing playing alongside his clubmate Esterhuizen, Am hit some superb lines that kept the Bok attack on track without cutting down space for the wingers. Once he got through the contact, Am managed to get his hands free, which is reflected in the stats as he topped the charts in that department.
Defensively, the centre was precise in his tackle timing and lethal around the breakdown as he pulled off two exceptional turnovers.
14. Canan Moodie – 5
Unequivocally amongst the best young talents in professional rugby, the one thing that holds back the Bulls star is his consistency. This was once again on full display with a few head-scratching moments that cost his side. On the converse of this, his power, pace and vision had the Scottish defence at sixes and sevens.
15. Willie Le Roux – 7.5
In an era where elder statesmen are more valued than at any other period in professional rugby history, Le Roux is the archetypal ‘coach on the pitch’. Offsetting his dip in pace with his cerebral ability to see the game unfolding phases ahead of others sets up his teammates for success.
Substitutes
16. Malcolm Marx – 7
Hugely physical in defence and with a few strong carries, Marx was the pick of the ‘bomb squad’ replacements.
17. Gerhard Steenekamp – 6
Rock solid at scrum time, but in general play, the Bulls loosehead was a tick or two below the man he replaced.
18. Vincent Koch – 5
Mirroring the above review of his front-row replacement compatriots, Koch’s days as a rumbling ball carrier appear to be behind him. This doesn’t mean he is finished, but there was a noticeable dip in the Bok’s ability to get over the gain-line when the props were replaced.
19. RG Snyman – 6
Sneaking onto the park as the first member of the bomb squad to take the pith, the Leinster lock picked up where Mostert left off as the chief target at line-out time.
20. Siya Kolisi – 6.5
Nothing flashy, but the skipper was like Henry the Hoover as he sucked up anything in his vicinity. Cleaning up loose balls, scragging Scottish ball carriers and making a few carries into heavy traffic, Kolisi was rock solid in relief of Marco van Staden.
21. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 8
Mr dependable came on and did what he always does as he clattered into anybody wearing blue.
Interesting fact, If PSDT were to travel to an alternate dimension in which there was another PSDT and they competed in a tackle competition, they’d both win.
22. Jasper Wiese – 8
Rampaging over would-be tacklers, Wiese recovered from a slow start to get rumbling as he grew into the contest. Defensively the number eight knuckled down and had a few key tackles that led to a Scottish resistance fizzling out. Putting a rubber stamp on the result with a late try, Wiese’s ability to control the ball at the back of a scrum which was racing forward was exceptional.
23. Grant Williams – 7
Proving why he is the ultimate super-sub, Williams’s ability to up the ante when he enters the contest is the perfect foil to the control of Hendrikse. Whilst much was made of the ‘bomb squad’ entering the contest, the last thing tired forwards wanted to see was one of the quickest players in world rugby skip onto the park.
Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)
Overall the Boks deserved this win and impressed how they shut down the many Scottish attacks, however they most certainly were for most of the time, evenly matched by a resolute and determined Scottish forward play. The Scott Cummings sending off and eventual red card was imo the Referee/Video Ref. imposing themselves into the games' outcome as there was no real illegal tackle made. Boka deservedly winners but much closer than being stated.
Odd ratings and overly verbose.
None of the Springbok errors were due to systems not working or hesitation or poor decision making.
Every single player knew where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing at the time.
Timing, skill execution, focus.
All easily fixable.
Agreed. Execution was off. And the Scots were fired up.
overly generous I feel given the error rate , poor lineouts etc .
Lots of mistakes from SA but they played well.🤔
Very generous ratings. I can't agree. This was the Boks worst performance of the year. Very poor. Too many mistakes and handling errors. 11 penalties is way too much. The line outs were very poor. I really missed Ruan Nortje.
This was not a cohesive team performance. The Scots really played very well. The only positive is that the Boks played so bad and still got the win. That scoreline flatters the Boks.
Some pretty overrated numbers here overall for a mistake-ridden and sloppy performance
If this is Mostert’s first run after his long injury lay off he was certainly thrown into the deep end.
The sign of a good scrum half/half back is one who can play well behind a beaten or non functioning pack
How was Bongi surgical at lineout time? Lineout looked shaky for sure - 3 lost and TdT's try was pure luck.
Moodie redeemed himself I felt after a mediocre 1st half
Kwagga was unimpressive at 8
Jaden...maul was a mess yes but he was sub-par imo.
RG Snyman changed the lineout momentum (didn't he?)
Grant Williams didn't have loads of time but brought stability.
I clearly saw this very differently...
CAN YOU IMAGINE - you consider yourself a rugby pundit, you watch this game, and you literally rate Hendrikse's performance as being better than Williams'. GG.
Hey mate, the breakdown was a nightmare in the first half, and Hendrikse handled it well. Williams, on the other hand, who did a superb job at upping the tempo, entered the match when the Bok pack was firmly on top in the final ten minutes. It's like comparing apples and oranges; that's why the ratings are the way they are.
Im no expert in the dark laws of rugby scrums, rucks and mauls so was it Jadens fault that opposing legs and feet knocked the ball before he picked it up ? Other than that I thought he played pretty well . Boks defence was immense .
No ways Jaden Hendrickse deserves that rating. A 5 at best
Just clarifying we are different people to avoid confusion 😂
Not sure if this guy watched the same game I watched. Boks were messy and He strikes and Am were poor. Pollard was probably the ideal guy for such a game as he kept cool and played the options well. We prob played a bit too much rugby and might have been better to kick deep and find grass and make Scots attack from deep
Lineouts and handling errors when we were building momentum - very frustrating.
But how about that scrum dominance?
🤣 That would've been my opening line! What game did this guy watch?
Strange ratings. Jaden Hendrikse was poor. He took a second off our ruck speed on his own, plus handling errors. Grant Williams brought a zip and forward momentum.
Overall, generous ratings for what was, at times, the worst looking performance for a while.
Hi mate, writer here. That is a fair point about Williams, which I do mention, but he benefitted from the replacements getting on top of things at the breakdown. Hendrikse, on the other hand, was contending with a mess at the breakdown, which he, by and large, handled well. This, combined with his box-kicking, got the Boks out of trouble on a few occasions and was the thinking behind the rating.