Rugby Writer Jacques van der Westhuyzen shares how good or not so good the players did against New Zealand.
Willie le Roux 3/10: Missed a few high balls and the one tackle he had to make, which was in the move that led to an All Blacks try, he missed. Also kicked poorly.
Cheslin Kolbe 9: Brilliant in every department; ran hard at the defence and tackled strongly. Also solid under the high ball. The best Bok by far.
Lukhanyo Am 4: Anonymous throughout the time he was on the field.
Damian de Allende 5: Carried well on occasion, and pulled off enough tackles to be fairly satisfied, but generally a quiet game.
Makazole Mapimpi 5: A mixed bag. Pulled off a try-saving tackle on Mo’unga, but then missed a crucial few tackles, too. Few opportunities to show his class.
Handré Pollard 4: Slotted a drop-goal which gave Boks hope, but missed an easy penalty, too. Dropped a high ball which led to a New Zealand try. Not a good day out.
Faf de Klerk 4: Some good kicks early on, but more poor kicks; made some tackles and missed some tackles. One very poor pass which almost led to a try.
Duane Vermeulen 5: Cleaned well at rucks, put some pressure on Aaron Smith, and ran strongly on one occasion. Not commanding enough.
Pieter-Steph du Toit 7: Did well to bust through the defences to score a try, and made some big tackles in busy performance. He did however also knock the ball on with Boks on attack.
Siya Kolisi (capt) 4: Only lasted 50 minutes; made a few tackles but actually had little impact in a quiet game.
Franco Mostert 6: Took his line-out ball, cleaned out, made a charge-down, and tackled strongly. He did, however, miss a tackle that led to New Zealand scoring a try.
Eben Etzebeth 5: Made a few strong carries, but was not the enforcer. Took his line-out ball, but missed a crucial tackle in the build-up to a New Zealand try.
Frans Malherbe 6: Scrummed well enough without reward, but crucially missed a few tackles which were costly.
Malcolm Marx 6: A quiet game by the hooker, ineffective in the loose and at the breakdowns, but hit his line-out targets every time.
Steven Kitshoff 5: A mixed bag in the tight-loose exchanges, but won a turn-over early on and scrummed well enough, but overall a quiet match.
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane, Beast Mtawarira, RG Snyman, Francois Louw, Herschell Jantjies, Jesse Kriel all used but not worth rating. Frans Steyn unused.
@jacq_west
Sunday Independent
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