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Springboks player ratings vs All Blacks | 2021 Rugby Championship

Steven Kitshoff and Duane Vermeulen /Getty

The Springboks bounced back with a colossal effort to beat the All Blacks 31-29 in an epic Rugby Championship encounter on Saturday.

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The impact off the bench proved to be the difference for the Boks in a nail-biting second half.

Here are the Springbok player ratings:

15 WILLIE LE ROUX – 3
He had a shocker in the first half and he was eventually replaced at half-time by Francois Steyn. He failed to secure possession under the high ball on a few occasions and one of his dopped balls led to a try for Sevu Reece. He also got knocked to the ground trying to tackle Rieko Ioane, which resulted in a try for Ardie Savea.

14 SBU NKOSI – 7
He had a try assist in the first half and he also put in a brilliant try-saving tackle on Anton Lienert-Brown in the 32nd minute. He applied good pressure chasing the high balls and he got some more ball to work with on attack this week.

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13 LUKHANYO AM- 7.5
His no-look pass around his back for Damian De Allende’s try was a thing of beauty. He also applied pressure on the All Blacks into making a mistake in the build-up to that try. He had a couple of good runs and he directed his team’s defence well out wide.

12 DAMIAN DE ALLENDE – 9
He was fantastic for the Boks in open play. He had a couple of clean breaks and racked up the running metres with those powerful carries. He was also a brick wall on defence and he pushed the All Blacks back at some of the breakdowns as well.

11 MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI – 6.5
He scored one of his team’s two tries and he got a bit more ball to run with this time around. He chased the high balls well which put the All Blacks under pressure.

10 HANDRE POLLARD – 6.5
It was another nervy start for the pivot, especially with his goal-kicking. However, he did try to mix things up this week and the ball went wide much more. He threatened the All Blacks’ defence on a few occasions when he took the ball to the line. It wasn’t the best, but it was an improved performance from the Bok flyhalf.

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9 FAF DE KLERK – 7/10
It was a tale of two halves from the Bok scrumhalf. He produced some good pin-point high balls and there were some that were not so great. In the second half, he showed what he is capable of on attack with some quick distribution. He varied his play nicely and his vision from the base of the ruck played a big role in Makazole Mapimpi’s try in the 52nd minute.

8 DUANE VERMEULEN – 7.5
He missed a tackle on Beauden Barrett, which eventually led to a try for Savea. But there were a lot more positives for the big man in this game. He was secure under the high ball and finally showed that raw power with ball in hand. He got his team over the gain line on a few occasions and he made more tackles than any other player in his team. He was also a nuisance at the breakdowns.

7 KWAGGA SMITH – 8
It was certainly an energetic performance from the former BlitzBok. He troubled the All Blacks’ defenders around the rucks with his movement and quick runs. He also got stuck into the breakdowns to disrupt the All Blacks’ ball.

6 SIYA KOLISI – 7
He was a colossus at the breakdowns and he helped his team win some turnovers. He also tackled like a man possessed and he wasn’t afraid to put his body on the line with ball in hand. He left the field in the 56th minute.

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5 LOOD DE JAGER – 7
It was another industrious performance by the big man. Again, he was great on defence and he showed some great aggression with ball in hand, which resulted in some metres over the gain line.

4 EBEN ETZEBETH – 7.5
He was a key figure in the line-outs. He lost control of the ball in the 33rd minute, which led to Brad Weber’s try in the 33rd minute, but he made up for that later in the game. He produced a great line-out steal in the 69th minute when his team was under pressure. He was also a key figure in some powerful driving mauls.

3 TREVOR NYAKANE- 6.5
Like Ox Nche, he was immovable in the scrums and he looked for work in open play on attack and defence. He seemed to draw a few All Blacks when he had the ball.

2 MBONGENI MBONAMBI – 6.5
He showed his strength when he powered through the All Blacks’ defence in the 19th minute, which almost resulted in a try. His line-out throwing was good until his last throw inside the All Blacks’ 22 which went to no one. He was eventually replaced in the 39th minute.

1 OX NCHÉ – 7
He was solid in the scrums and he had some good carries. he also made his presence felt on defence. He was also replaced in the 39th minute.

REPLACEMENTS BENCH:
16 MALCOLM MARX – 8
He was part of a powerful ‘Bomb Squad’ that changed the game. His line-out throwing was accurate, but it was his work in open play that made a difference. He had several strong carries, with one of those coming in the build-up to Mapimpi’s try. He also halted the All Blacks’ momentum with a great turnover in the 54th minute.

17 Steven Kitshoff STEVEN KITSHOFF – 8
The experienced prop was powerful in the scrums and his steal at the front of the line-out when All Blacks were deep inside the Boks’ 22 was a key moment in the game.

18 VINCENT KOCH – 7
Another one who was solid in the scrums and on defence. There was not a lot of opportunities with ball in hand, but his physical presence definitely made a difference in the second half.

19 FRANCO MOSTERT – 5.5
He gave away two big penalties in the second half, which could have cost his team big time. He did a lot of good work in the line-outs and on defence.

20 JASPER WIESE – 5.5
There was not much impact from the replacement forward, especially with ball in hand. Most of his work was in defence.

21 HERSCHEL JANTJIES – 7
The All Blacks were a bit rattled when he ran at them. His passing was crisp, and he made some good decisions as well.

22 ELTON JANTJIES – 9
He was involved in Mapimpi’s try and he slotted a brilliant drop goal in the 77th minute. He was a calming influence in the backline and he was a key figure in the win.

23 FRANS STEYN – 8.5
The momentum swung in South Africa’s favour when he came onto the field. He put his team in great positions on the field with some fantastic kicks. His 50/22 kick in 51st minute laid the platform for Mapimpi’s try from a line-out.

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J
JW 32 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

This piece is nothing more than the result of revisionist fancy of Northern Hemisphere rugby fans. Seeing what they want to see, helped but some surprisingly good results and a desire to get excited about doing something well.


I went back through the 6N highlights and sure enough in every English win I remembered seeing these exact holes on the inside, that are supposedly the fallout out of a Felix Jones system breaking down in the hands of some replacement. Every time the commentators mentioned England being targeted up the seam/around the ruck or whatever. Each game had a try scored on the inside of the blitz, no doubt it was a theme throughout all of their games. Will Jordan specifically says that Holland had design that move to target space he saw during their home series win.


Well I'm here to tell you they were the same holes in a Felix Jones system being built as well. This woe is now sentiment has got to stop. The game is on a high, these games have been fantastic! It is Englands attack that has seen their stocks increase this year, and no doubt that is what SB told him was the teams priority. Or it's simply science, with Englands elite players having worked towards a new player welfare and management system, as part of new partnership with the ERU, that's dictating what the players can and can't put their bodies through.


The only bit of truth in this article is that Felix is not there to work on fixing his defence. England threw away another good chance of winning in the weekend when they froze all enterprise under pressure when no longer playing attacking footy for the second half. That mindset helped (or not helped if you like) of course by all this knee jerk, red brained criticism.

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