Player ratings: Not good enough

OPINION: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted he should carry the blame for the team’s poor performance in Mendoza, a 19-32 loss to Argentina that effectively confirmed New Zealand will retain the Rugby Championship.

Jan de Koning rates the South African players!

15 Willie le Roux:
He looked scared, almost like a player trying to avoid injury. He missed more tackles than he made and threw some hospital and forward passes.
3/10

14 Makazole Mapimpi:
Left the field after 11 minutes with an injury. Not enough time to be rated.

13 Lukhanyo Am:
Got exposed on defence and conceded a silly penalty. He looks to have lost his confidence.
4/10

12 André Esterhuizen:
Big on defence, with some strong runs. However, his hands let him down and he was one-dimensional on attack.
5/10

11 Aphiwe Dyantyi:
He had some good runs, but was again exposed on defence and also made poor decisions.
5/10

10 Handré Pollard:
His worst performance in the Bok jersey. His goal-kicking remains a concern. Despite some decent passing and taking the ball to the line on occasion, he conceded a silly penalty and was largely ineffective.
3/10

9 Francois de Klerk:
Another player who was a liability. His box kicks were not as accurate as they should have been and while he worked hard on defence at times, he missed more tackles than he made.
4/10

8 Warren Whiteley:
One of his best games in a Bok jersey. Some great cover play and provided support out wide. There were plenty of strong carries and great linking play out wide. He also seemed to be doing a lot of the talking when things started to go pearshaped, was cleaning out at the breakdowns and made all his tackles.
7/10

7 Siya Kolisi (captain):
Started off with a great run for the opening try, followed by another charge downfield. However, his form took a massive dip – was caught out on defence and isolated on another occasion, conceding a penalty metres from the Bok line.
5/10

6 Francois Louw:
He simply missed too many one-on-one tackles. Also broke away from scrums early, leaving his team vulnerable at set pieces. Looked better when he moved to No.8 late in the second half.
4/10

5 Franco Mostert:
He was again involved in everything – on defence, carrying the ball, jumping in the line-outs, cleaning at the rucks. He was visibly tiring in the second half from the massive workload.
6/10

4 Eben Etzebeth:
Showed some nice soft hands early on, but his game quickly went south. Following his yellow card in the 25th minute, he allowed the Argentinean players’ niggling tactics to get to him.
4/10

3 Frans Malherbe:
His scrumming was poor and his workrate unacceptable. He was visibly tired early in the second half and should have been subbed long before the hour mark.
4/10

2 Malcolm Marx:
He made plenty of carries, but was not as effective as usual. His defence was below par and he will be criticized for the line-out losses, but that would be a disservice to the Argentinean locks.
6/10

1 Tendai Mtawarira:
Struggled in the scrums and only made a handful of tackles. Was strangely quiet and only carried the ball once. Looked tired.
4/10

Replacements:

16 Mbongeni Mbonambi (on for Marx, 72nd min):
Not enough time to be rated.

17 Steven Kitshoff (on for Mtawarira, 43rd min):
Worked hard and scrummed powerfully, but made too many mistakes – including knock-ons and conceding penalties.
5/10

18 Wilco Louw (on for Malherbe, 63rd min):
Made a big difference in the scrums and made all his tackles. Also impressive at the breakdown.
6/10

19 Rudolph Snyman (on for Whiteley, 53rd min for blood; then subbed Mostert when Whiteley returned):
His impact was minimal – his carries ineffective and made just one effective tackle.
5/10

20 Pieter-Steph du Toit (on for Etzebeth, 47th min):
He had an amazing workrate after he came on – carries, defence (although he missed two) and cleaning out.
7/10

21 Embrose Papier:
Not used.

22 Lionel Mapoe (replaced Mapimpi, 11th min):
Used the rare opportunity for some serious game time with an impressive display on attack and a solid defensive display.
6/10

23 Damian Willemse (on for Esterhuizen, 63rd min):
Looked determined to make an impression, but was over-eager at times. Did make a couple of impressive runs.
6/10

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