Player ratings: Leaving it late
Comments
0
The Wallabies left it late to claim a dramatic 24-23 victory over the Springboks in Perth on Saturday.
Having trailed for most of the game in miserable conditions, the hosts took their late opportunity well as wing Rob Horne got over for the match-winning try at the death.
Although they battled at the set-pieces the Wallaby backline looked dangerous when they got the ball in opposition territory and managed to punish the Springboks when it counted.
Although it was not the most polished performance, they will take heart from what was their first victory of the campaign which also lifts them off the bottom of the standings.
We rate the Australian players:
15 Israel Folau
Dominant as ever in the air, he claimed the kick-off, went on to score an early try and produced a sensational offload for the winning try, but was also restricted by the Boks' kicking game which kept him tight on the touchline.
7/10
14 Adam Ashley-Cooper
Did not get many chances and looked for work off his wing by popping up in midfield. Should have scored but could not control the ball over the tryline.
6/10
13 Tevita Kuridrani
A stand-out game for the outside centre who looked full of running and dangerous throughout with his pace and power proving more than a handfyul for the Bok defence.
8/10
12 Matt Toomua
Varied his game well by providing a kicking option at centre, he attacked the line and ran straight and got some neat offloads away as well.
7/10
11 Rob Horne
Fairly anonymous until his moment came at the end of the game, and he took it well by stepping off his wing to score the decisive try.
7/10
10 Bernard Foley
Not the most polished performance from the flyhalf who ran at space but lost the ball in contact a few times and his tactical kicking was also erratic.
6/10
9 Nick Phipps
Did a good job of getting under the skin of the Springboks and the referee with his constant chat. Made a few handling errors but otherwise his service was good.
6/10
8 Wycliff Palu
Ran hard when he got the chance and made some big tackles, proved his worth as a line-out option as well.
6/10
7 Michael Hooper
Made his usual impact at the breakdown and ran good support lines as well in another industrious performance.
7/10
6 Scott Fardy
Got through plenty of work on defence and got in the Boks' faces but also got caught offside and battled to get over the gainline.
6/10
5 Rob Simmons
Battled to assert himself in the line-outs against the Springbok locks, but worked hard throughout despite the set-piece issues.
6/10
4 Sam Carter
Made an impact in loose play, providing good energy and support, whilst featured in the Wallabies' effective defence of the driving maul as well.
6/10
3 Sekope Kepu
Held his own in the scrums and got around the park quite well as he put in a big shift in the loose.
6/10
2 James Hanson
His line-out ball was poached too often and although he put in plenty of work he was not able to impose himself on the Bok forward pack.
5/10
1 James Slipper
Battled at scrum-time as he got shoved backwards regularly, battled with injury and was pulled off early in the second half.
4/10
Replacements:
16 Josh Mann-Rea
Not used.
17 Pek Cowan (On for Slipper, 52 mins)
Added some solidity in the scrums and made some big tackles as well.
6/10
18 Ben Alexander (On for Kepu, 66 mins)
Got over the gianline when he got the chance and stood firm in the scrums.
6/10
19 James Horwill (On for Carter, 59 mins)
Penalised immediately when he came on but gave his team a boost as they pushed for the win.
6/10
20 Scott Higginbotham (On for Palu, 59 mins)
Injected some energy and physicality when he came on as he confronted the Bok forwards.
7/10
21 Matt Hodgson (On for Fardy, 72 mins)
Worked hard in the tackle and put his body on the line.
7/10
22 Nic White
Not used.
23 Kurtley Beale (On for Toomua, 72 mins)
Did not get many chances but some neat touches when he saw the ball.
6/10
By Michael de Vries
ADVERTISEMENT
