Cape Town - The Springboks suffered a record 57-15 defeat against the All Blacks at Kings Park on Saturday, so the player ratings make for some pretty dismal reading, with signs that the game may be up for one or two of these players, says Wynona Louw.
Pat Lambie 4/10
He looked decent at fullback against the Wallabies last week, but on Saturday he went backwards badly. Nicely dragged Israel Dagg into touch along with Damian de Allende. His kick that was charged down led to a beautiful try by the All Blacks. Impressively gathered a high ball, but he also lost an aerial duel with Ben Smith in the lead-up to a try.
Francois Hougaard 5
He looked for work, but it didn’t pay off. Did well to kick the Boks out of trouble when the All Blacks looked to score a second try in the second 40. Badly slipped a tackle on Waisake Naholo.
Juan de Jongh 5
Made some very nice tackles, but that didn’t last for as long as he was on the field. Won a penalty early on. Nicely caught an offload by Kieran Read that almost caused trouble for the Kiwis.
Damian de Allende 5
Did well in the first half with a physical performance. Made a good break in the second half. Solid defence early on, but he was also one of the many South Africans who just let the New Zealanders run past them at times. Late in the game, with an overlap looming, he sadly chose to cut inside.
Bryan Habana 2.5
He had a bad game, very bad. I don’t know what that blind kick-ahead in the second quarter was when the Boks had half a chance to attack. Lost the ball forward shortly after half-time. His defence was shocking, except for one solid tackle on Dane Coles. I believe his time is running out, quickly.
Morne Steyn 3.5
I don’t know how much longer I can watch this man punt the ball away every time he gets in a bit of space. Contributed absolutely nothing to the game except 15 points with the boot (surprise, surprise). Some good tackles cancelled out by horrible ones. Struggled with his kicks from hand. I don’t know if one can miss the massive physique of Naholo, but I can’t think of another possible reason as to why you would kick the ball straight down his throat. Missed a tackle on Dagg that led to a try. And this over-reliance on drop goals became old a long time ago. Just like his style.
Faf de Klerk 5
He was lucky to get away with tapping the ball out of Smith’s hands. He was again brave on defence but it was also shaky at times. Put in a superb tackle on Naholo one metre from the Bok tryline. His decision-making still needs improving.
Warren Whiteley 5.5
Not his best outing, just like the rest of his team. Superbly stole a lineout ball. He was strong on defence and delivered a powerful hit on TJ Perenara that drove the scrumhalf back well.
Oupa Mohoje 5
Made strong tackles, but he offers no go-forward. You expect a Bok No 7 flank to take the team forward, but he did not.
Francois Louw N/A
Didn’t stay on the pitch long enough to be rated, but he didn’t look bad at the breakdowns before he was taken off in the seventh minute and replaced by Jaco Kriel.
Pieter-Steph du Toit 6
He tried his best to make something of a game that ended disastrously. He tried to get his side on the front foot and he didn’t hold back on attack. Missed a few tackles. Conceded an early ruck penalty, although I don’t know how justified that was.
Eben Etzebeth 4.5
Early knock-on after kickoff. He made a few tackles including strongly assisting in two or three gang tackles. Not his best.
Vincent Koch 4
He deserves praise for his scrummaging, but he didn’t produce the same kind of work away from the set-piece as last week.
Adriaan Strauss 4
It seems like the skipper doesn’t know that truck-and-trailer is illegal… but then again, pressure does do weird things to people. Needless to say, he didn’t build on his massive performance from last week.
Tendai Mtawarira 6.5
I don’t know when last I saw such a beastly performance from him. His scrummaging was massive, and he made rock-solid tackles and some impressive carries.
Replacements
Jaco Kriel 6.5
He brought energy to the Boks again with his powerful hits and impeccable work-rate. One player who seemed to keep it together.
Willem Alberts 4
He didn’t dominate the All Blacks with his physicality, not at all. Made a few runs but didn’t really get over the advantage line. Made a number of strong tackles but, like the rest of the Boks, he also missed a few.
Julian Redelinghuys 6
He worked very hard with some big tackles and all-round energy. Scrummaging was tops. But he conceded a scrum penalty in the last quarter.
Steven Kitshoff 3.5
He didn’t have a very good game. We’ve seen better from him. Much better.
Lood de Jager 2
Ai, this weekend things didn’t go any better than last week for the 2015 Player of the Year. Missed tackles, hospital passes. His yellow card wasn’t even a loss for the Boks.
Willie le Roux 4
Made one great break, but his performance by no means solved the Boks’ fullback issues. Everything but.