Player ratings: Late wobble
For almost 70 minutes Australia looked like they might cause an upset. Then the wheels came off. It showed on the scoreboard, as South Africa won 28-10.
There can be several reasons for the late wobble at Newlands on Saturday, but two are obvious – conditioning and the quality of the respective replacement benches.
For the Springboks Schalk Burger and Patrick Lambie made huge impacts.
Other than James Horwill's enormous workrate ion defence, it is hard to find a Wallaby replacement to praise.
Jan de Koning rates the Australian players!
15 Israel Folau:
Maybe didn't attack the line as much as he could have in the first half and only occasionally threatened after the break. Also slipped as many tackles as he made.
5/10
14 Adam Ashley-Cooper:
Showed his pace and power to get his team's only try and did some good work on defence. Only one slipped tackle and a cheap shot that he got away with.
6/10
13 Tevita Kuridrani:
Was powerful with ball in hand and kept the Springbok defensive line honest the whole match. Made 13 tackles, although he also slipped three, for a good day at the office.
7/10
12 Matt Toomua:
Missed a few tackles, but certainly mowed the Springboks down in midfield. Never really threatened on attack.
6/10
11 Joe Tomane:
Was a monster with the ball in hand and made plenty of metres, but was poor on defence – missed as many tackles as he made.
6/10
10 Bernard Foley:
He may not have the flash of some other flyhalves, but his reading of the game is impressive. Slipped some tackles and conceded a couple of penalties.
6/10
9 Nick Phipps:
Made a couple of breaks for some valuable metres, but had a shocking day on defence – missed more than he made.
4/10
8 Ben McCalman:
His work off the ball and at the breakdown is what was most impressive. His tackle count was well into double figures and a few line-outs.
7/10
7 Michael Hooper:
Was into the thick of it from the outset and stayed there – being more than just a nuisance. Still Australia's most valuable player.
8/10
6 Scott Fardy:
He made some strong runs, although he did not always get the reward, but did his best work on defence – including some invaluable turnovers. One of the best tackle counts in the game.
8/10
5 Rob Simmons:
Not very effective with ball in hand, but can't be faulted for his defensive work – just one slipped tackle.
6/10
4 Sam Carter:
Was stopped in his tracks by the Bok defenders when he had ball in hand, but did monumental work on defence and racked up an amazing 18 tackles – without slipping any.
7/10
3 Sekope Kepu:
Worked very hard on defence, for the second highest tackle count, and for most part stood his ground in the scrums.
7/10
2 Saia Fainga'a:
Was one of his team's most valuable defender, but spoilt it by conceding some unnecessary penalties.
6/10
1 James Slipper:
Made no ground with ball in hand, but worked hard on defence – his tackle count was also into the double figures.
6/10
Replacements:
16 James Hanson (on for Fainga'a, 61st min):
Made a good number of tackles, but wasn't spotted much elsewhere.
6/10
17 Benn Robinson (on for Slipper, 65th min):
Very quiet day at the office.
4/10
18 Ben Alexander (on for Kepu, 69th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
19 James Horwill (on for Simmons, 41st min):
He was the only Wallaby replacement to make any impact, especially on defence.
7/10
20 Scott Higginbotham (on for McCalman, 58th min):
Made some tackles and won a line-out, but also conceded a couple of silly penalties.
5/10
21 Nic White:
Not used.
22 Kurtley Beale (on for Toomua, 54th min):
Failed to make any impact on the game and made only a handful of tackles.
5/10
23 Rob Horne (on for Tomane, 66th min):
Made some crucial tackles late in the game, but it was not enough to stop the Bok avalanche.
6/10
