Player Ratings: Back down to earth

OPINION: The Springboks produced their worst performance of the season so far in their 26-28 defeat to the Wallabies on Sunday.

Jacques Nienaber’s side struggled to get any momentum in the match and their discipline was poor as well.

Check out the Player Ratings below:

15 Willie le Roux
He started the game well by fielding several tough high balls before it turned into a horror show for the fullback. A wayward pass to Handre Pollard in the first half led to a three-pointer for Quade Cooper and in the second half he received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. His attacking game was non-existent.
4/10

14 Sibusiso Nkosi
He was poor on defence. He missed a lot of tackles, especially out wide on Marika Koroibete. He only had one real run with the ball and that was in the second half.
3/10

13 Lukhanyo Am
He had a shocker in the first half when he lost control of the ball in the Australian in-goal area when all he had to was place the ball for a try. He had another shocker when he lost the ball went forward at the beginning of the second half when there was some space in front of him. There were a few promising carries, but it came to nothing.
3.5/10

12 Damian de Allende
It seemed like he was stuck in first gear for the entire 80 minutes. He was outplayed by his opposite number, Samu Kerevi, in the midfield.
5/10

11 Makazole Mapimpi
The Australians covered him well out wide. He was a threat under the high ball, especially in the danger zones. His defensive game was a mixed bag with a couple of missed tackles.
4/10

10 Handré Pollard
It was one of his worst performances in the Bok jersey. Kicking is a big part of the Boks’ game plan, but in this match, he kicked good quality attacking ball away. When he decided to keep the ball in hand he was a bit clueless. He also missed a few goal-kicks, which was costly.
3.5/10

9 Francois de Klerk
It was a mixed bag from the Bok scrumhalf. He had a few good kicks out of hand which put the Wallabies under pressure in the first 15 minutes. Then things started to go pear-shaped with his missed tackle on Samu Kerevi leading Andrew Kellaway’s try. His distribution from the base of the ruck was also poor at times.
4/10

8 Duane Vermeulen
He got his team over the gain line on a few occasions. He also made his presence felt at the breakdowns. However, it wasn’t a trademark Vermeulen performance out there and Wallabies dealt with him well when he was on the field.
6.5/10

7 Franco Mostert
Most of his work was in the line-outs, mauls and on defence. Like many of his teammates in the pack, he did not dominate opponents in open play and he wasn’t aggressive enough at the breakdowns.
5/10

6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain)
Got a yellow card for a silly tip tack on Tom Banks in the 16th minute and while he was off the field the Wallabies scored a try. He was another one of South Africa’s big names who failed to impose himself physically in the game.
4.5/10

5 Lodewyk de Jager
He made a lot of tackles out there and his big hit on Allan Alaalatoa in the 39th minute stopped the Wallabies in their tracks when they were building momentum towards the tryline. Despite his heroics on defence, he also missed a number of tackles. He was a key figure in the line-outs and mauls.
5/10

4 Eben Etzebeth
He gave away a couple of penalties in the first half and he just didn’t have the impact in open play that we saw against the British and Irish Lions and Argentina. The one positive was his ability to put pressure on Tate McDermott around the rucks.
4/10

3 Frans Malherbe
He won his team a few scrum penalties, but he was dominated in the set-piece just before half-time which gave the Wallabies a chance to extend the lead. He hardly had any contribution with ball and hand. However, he was solid on defence.
5.5/10

2 Mbongeni Mbonambi
He scored a try from the maul in the 28th minute, but other than that he was quiet in terms of his contribution in open play. He did put in few good hits on defence.
5/10

1 Steven Kitshoff
He was one of the Springboks’ best defenders on the park with 11 tackles. He was also solid in the scrums, but the Boks needed him to carry the ball more in open play.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Malcolm Marx (On for B Mbonambi, 47th minute)
He made a massive impact when he came onto the field. The Boks got over the advantage line more when he had the ball and he scored two tries from driving mauls.
7/10

17 Retshegofaditswe Nché (On for S Kitshoff, 57th minute)
He was powerful in the scrums in the second half and maybe the Boks should have got more penalties for that dominance.
7/10

18 Vincent Koch (On for F Malherbe, 53rd minute)
Like Nche, he dominated his opponent at scrum time and he had a much better contribution with ball in hand than Malherbe.
7/10

19 Marco van Staden (on for S Kolisi, 55th minute)
He was a bit quiet in the final 25 minutes. He tackled well, but other than that there is not much to go on.
5/10

20 Albertus Smith (On for D Vermeulen, 53rd minute)
He looked for work when he came onto the field, especially at the breakdowns. he had a great steal in the 68th minute.
6.5/10

21 Jasper Wiese (On for E Etzebeth, 53rd minute)
The No.8 should have probably started the match. He brought the physicality with ball in hand that was lacking in the first half.
7/10

22 Herschel Jantjies (On for F De Klerk, 77th minute)
Not enough time to be rated.

23 Damian Willemse (On for H Pollard 66th minute)
Not enough time for a rating, but missed an easy conversion before making a try-saving tackle.

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