Player Ratings - South Africa
OPINION: The Springboks scraped past Argentina by 17-10 with several players returning from injury.
The performance was far from flawless, but under the circumstances the Boks did well to hold out a plucky Los Pumas side.
*Angus Opperman rates the South Africa players!
15 Aphelele Fassi – 7/10
Solid under the high ball and showed good hands to set Edwill van der Merwe’s try. Didn’t do much wrong for someone who only played a few games this season after a long term injury.
14 Edwill van der Merwe – 7.5/10
Energetic as always and scored a good try. Chased the contestable kicks and worked hard off the ball.
13 Canan Moodie – 6/10
Didn’t do anything flashy but had his moments. Will be better going forward for a player of his calibre.
12 Andre Esterhuizen – 6.5/10
Dropped an early ball on attack. Wasn’t his normal destructive self but didn’t do much wrong. Made two solid linebreaks as well. Made two dominant tackles for his efforts.
11 Ethan Hooker – 7.5/10
Worked hard on and off the ball and never looked like someone who came off a long injury lay-off.
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 6.5/10
A bit rusty, which is understandable for his first game back from injury. Slotted his kicks but was erratic at times. Made 15 carries and marshalled his team around well.
9 Cobus Reinach – 7
Cool, calm and collected. Steered the game well in difficult conditions.
8 Cameron Hanekom – 8/10
Conceded a penalty early on for a high tackle leading to Argentina’s first points. Did some good work at the breakdown at times. Conceded a second penalty at the start of the second half. Scored a late crucial try. Made the third most carries with 13 as well.
7 Elrigh Louw – 6/10
A decent performance but nothing special. Will be better with more game time going forward.
6 Siya Kolisi – 5/10
Went off in the 24th minute. Played well and was a menace in the collisions.
5 Lood de Jager – 7.10
Solid in the line-outs and in general play. Rusty at times but showed why he is a key cog in the Bok tight five. Got two dominant tackles in the process.
4 Eben Etzebeth – 5/10
Also rusty after a long lay-off and made a crucial error inside Los Pumas’ red zone. Will be better with more game time. Won two turnovers in the process as well.
3 Thomas du Toit – 6/10
Conceded a penalty at scrum time. Bounced back nicely from that error and held his own until he got replaced.
2 Johan Grobbelaar -8/10
Solid at set piece and did some good things in the tight-loose. Made the most carries (16) and worked hard during his time on the park.
1 Boan Venter – 5.5/10
Dominant in the scrums but didn’t do anything else noteworthy. Will be in Rassie’s plans going forward but definitely needs to step up his game.
Replacements
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (On forJohan Grobbelaar in the 62nd minute) – 6.5/10
Did well at set-piece and was a menace in the carries.
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (on for Boan Venter in the 49th minute) -7/10
Scrummed well and did his primary job without any errors.
18 Zachary Porthen (on for Thomas du Toit in the 49th minute) – 7/10
Dominant in the carries and scrums and showed why he is highly rated by the Bok coaching group. Plays like a back when given the opportunity.
19 Ben-Jason Dixon (on for Elrich Louw in the 49th minute) 6.5/10
Carried strongly but made a few errors. Still not convinced he is the heir to Pieter-Steph du Toit
20 Cobus Wiese (on for Cameron Hanekom in the 49th minute) – 6/10
Brought physicality and kept the Boks on the front foot. Will be better at Test level with more game time.
21 Marco van Staden (Replaced Siya Kolisi in the 24th minute) – 7/10
Didn’t do anything special but also didn’t do anything wrong. Did the most in the tight-loose and disrupted the Los Pumas’ quick ball.
22 Morne van den Berg – (on for Cobus Reinach in the 59th minute) – 6.5/10
Upped the tempo and controlled the game well. Not his best performance but understandable after a long lay-off.
23 Handre Pollard (Replaced Aphelele Fassi in the 59th minute) 6/10
Slotted his only kick at goal and brought composure to the game. Controlled the game well at a crucial time in the game as well, but nothing special other than that.
