Cape Town - John Goliath assesses the South African players who laboured against Ireland in the recent three-match Test series.
*Players rated out of 10
Willie le Roux - 4/10
He was too lateral on attack, he wasn’t great under the high ball and his tactical kicking was poor. A poor series from a man with the supposed X-factor.
Ruan Combrinck - 8/10
Started the Bok revival with a magnificent try on for his Test debut. In PE it was his booming right boot that came to the fore. He could be an option at fullback going forward.
Lwazi Mvovo - 4/10
The Sharks flyer didn’t get any ball in space in the first Test because of all the lateral running. In Joburg he struggled under the high ball and was replaced at half-time.
Lionel Mapoe - 5/10
He didn’t make a lot of mistakes but he wasn’t spectacular either. It’s difficult to say if why but surely needs another run.
Damian de Allende - 6/10
He is strong and powerful but sometimes lacks finesse. Scored a great try at Ellis Park but he needs to be aware of the space around him. His tackling also needs a lot of work.
JP Pietersen - 6/10
He was one of the senior players who heeded Allister Coetzee’s call to step up in PE and scored a great try. But for the most part he didn’t look like an attacking threat.
Elton Jantjies - 6/10
He still mixes moments of magic with a few silly ones but he showed that, with enough front-foot ball, he can spark the Boks. His tactical kicking and place-kicking were average.
Pat Lambie - N/A
The Sharks man only played 32 minutes of the series after being concussed at Newlands.
Faf de Klerk - 8/10
Magnificent debut series for the little scrumhalf. His service was good and he also had a go around the rucks. His tactical kicking needs some work.
Duane Vermeulen - 4/10
He tried hard in the first Test and was also ineffective at Ellis Park after playing with an injury.
Warren Whiteley - 7/10
Sparked the Boks off the bench at Ellis Park. He was a bit quieter on attack in PE but it was his contribution on defence that helped the Boks seal victory.
Siya Kolisi - 6/10
After a good first Test, he struggled at Ellis Park. He did a lot of the donkey work in PE.
Francois Louw - 6/10
Looked really rusty. However, he came alive in that last 20 minutes of Ellis Park when he protected the Boks’ ball well on attack. He didn’t have much impact on the defensive breakdown.
Jaco Kriel - N/A
Came on for 20 minutes in PE. Helped to tackle the Boks to a series win.
Pieter-Steph du Toit - 8/10
He may not have the finesse in the line-outs, but the lock is unmatched when it comes to his work-rate around the park. His cleaning was efficient, his carrying strong and his defence uncompromising.
Eben Etzebeth - 6/10
Tried really hard in this series, but was nowhere at his best. Had little impact with ball-in-hand but was a tower of strength in the line-outs.
Lood de Jager - 3/10
Had a bit of a nightmare series.
Franco Mostert - 6/10
One of the players who gave the Boks some woema in the second Test.
Frans Malherbe - 3/10
His work-rate was very good throughout, but conceded too many silly penalties.
Julian Redelinghuys - 7/10
Malherbe will have to up his game. The prop made a massive impact off the bench every time in this series.
Adriaan Strauss - 6/10
He will never run around the park like Schalk Brits, but his work at set-piece time will always be flawless.
Bongi Mbonambi - N/A
The back-up hooker to the Bok captain only got two minutes of game time in the series.
Tendai Mtawarira - 6/10
Solid at scrumtime throughout the series and was a decent ball-carrier in the third Test.
Trevor Nyakane - 5/10
Seems to be a carrying a bit of excess weight and didn’t quite make the desired impact off the bench in the first two Tests. 5
Steven Kitshoff - N/A
Rooi Gevaar came in the second half in the third Test and scrummed the Irish to pieces. A future star.
Cape Argus