Cape Town – At least it wasn’t a cricket score at the famous Adelaide Oval, but the Springboks lost some early wickets and couldn’t recover in their 25-17 Rugby Championship loss to the Wallabies on Saturday.
That made it six consecutive Tests without a win (five defeats and a draw) for the Boks against the Wallabies in Australia, with their last victory coming in 2013 in Brisbane.
Here’s how we rated the Boks…
Damian Willemse: 6/10
Made a couple of exciting runs with ball-in-hand, but those initiatives were few and far between. Willemse is one of the victims of the dogged Bok determination to stick to the kicking-based game plan. He needs to be released from his shackles!
Warrick Gelant: 5
Playing out of position was always going to be difficult for the former Stormers fullback, and it showed as he didn’t see much of the ball. At least he tried to make things happen the few times he got possession.
Lukhanyo Am: 6
The best outside centre in world rugby didn’t get as many opportunities to create his usual magic on attack, and had to be satisfied with making his tackles against the hard-running Wallaby backline.
Damian de Allende: 5
Was hardly unleashed as a powerful ball-carrier, which was a failing of the Bok game plan as he should’ve been targeting young Wallaby flyhalf Noah Lolesio all day long.
Makazole Mapimpi: 6
The ball also didn’t go the way of the Bok left wing too often, but he was denied a certain try when Wallaby No 11 Marika Koroibete flew into the air to tackle him out at the corner, which was a no-arms effort that should have resulted in a yellow card and penalty try.
Handre Pollard: 3
Missed two quite easy penalties at goal in the first half, which sucked some of the wind out of the sails of the dominant Bok forwards. Pollard also battled to get his backline moving on attack and didn’t apply any pressure on the Wallaby defence with his kicking game either. A nightmare outing was completed when he was left for dead by Koroibete’s terrific sidestep that resulted in a try.
Faf de Klerk: 2
Gets an extra point deducted for his yellow card. Yes, Nic White overreacted, but the point is that De Klerk should never have tried to slap the ball down from the Wallaby scrumhalf. He did exactly the same thing at a ruck last year against the same opposition, which also resulted in a yellow card – it is just not worth the risk to try and slap the player’s arm to force a knock-on.
In general, De Klerk was again not as sharp with his service as he has been in past seasons, and his kicking game didn’t trouble the Wallabies either.
Duane Vermeulen: 5
The veteran No 8 was certainly better than he was against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, and made a great breakdown steal and ripped the ball out of a Wallaby player’s hands as well. But Vermeulen doesn’t have that extra spark with his carries or on defence yet as he continues his comeback from knee surgery.
Pieter-Steph du Toit: 5
Was also a bit more involved than in previous games, but seemed frustrated with the Boks’ effort on attack. Still a long way to go to get to his 2019 form.
Siya Kolisi (captain): 6
Tried hard to gain momentum for the Boks by carrying at close quarters, and made his fair share of tackles as well. Had some tough captaincy decisions to opt for touch for lineout mauls after Pollard missed a few early penalties … The forward drives were stopped by the Aussies, so perhaps going for posts would’ve been the better option.
Lood de Jager: 8
The best Bok on the park. De Jager stole a couple of Wallaby lineout throw-ins, won most of his lineouts comfortably, and showcased his full array of skills by being a linking player on attack as well.
Eben Etzebeth: 5
The Bok enforcer has been excellent for most of 2022 (except for those late penalties conceded against Wales in Bloemfontein), but he wasn’t able to really get stuck in against the Wallabies. Perhaps he needs a break to recharge his batteries…
Frans Malherbe: 6
Had the better of opposite number James Slipper in the scrums as the Boks implemented their slow poison, and got stuck in on defence as well.
Joseph Dweba: 6
Had to leave the pitch early on with a cut to his head, but came back and was a bit more reliable with his lineout throws, and part of a dominant front row in the scrums.
Ox Nche: 7
Made a superb run and offload in a thrilling attacking phase in the first half, and won his scrum battle against the experienced Allan Alaalatoa, where he was unlucky not to receive a few more penalties.
Best of the Bomb Squad
Kwagga Smith: 7
Not only did he score two tries, but Smith brought the necessary speed that was missing in the loose trio, and as usual, he put his body on the line on attack and defence.
IOL Sport