Player ratings: South Africa

OPINION: The Manie Libbok curse struck South Africa again – a missed penalty kick sent the Rugby Championship into the decider in Nelspruit next week.

Argentina beat South Africa 29-28 in a thriller at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, in Santiago del Estero, on Saturday.

Los Pumas outscored the Springboks by four tries to three, but their failure to get a bonus point (outscoring the Boks by three tries or more) means South Africa need just one point from the Nelspruit face-off to clinch the Rugby Championship.

However, they could have wrapped it up on Saturday.

Libbok had a sitter to seal the deal with two minutes remaining, but his now infamous horror kicking show saw him push the penalty wide and allow Argentina to take away the win.

Jan de Koning rates the South African players!

15 Aphelele Fassi
He is clearly a great finisher and very good in the air. He does add another dimension to the Boks’ fullback play, but was not perfect – with a knock-on and a silly pass or two.
7/10

14 Kurt-Lee Arendse
Caught out of position on defence and was yellow-carded for a high tackle that cost his team dearly. Los Pumas got back into the game with the three tries they scored while Boks were a man down.
4/10

13 Jesse Kriel
He ra a great angle for his try and showed why he is now South Africa’s best No.13, He had Some good metres for his carries, with two clean breaks and three defenders beaten. Also won a turnover.
7/10

12 Lukhanyo Am
He is struggling to get back to his best form and missed a couple of tackles. Maybe inside centre is not his position.
5/10

11 Makazole Mapimpi
He is another World Cup winner who is way below his best form. Four missed tackles is not acceptable at this level. His 57 metres from six carries can’t make up for that.
5/10

10 Handre Pollard
He looked calm from the start, with a sublime pass to set Fassi up for the first try. He varied his game, but also missed two tackles.
7/10

9 Cobus Reinach
He was a bit too excitable and rushed things at times. Missed three tackles and his kicking was also not that good. Simply too many mistakes and a bad day at the office.
4/10

8 Jasper Wiese
He worked very hard and his carry count went well into double figures, but he did not get the reward for his effort. Also missed a couple of tackles.
6/10

7 Ben-Jason Dixon
He had his moments, with a few strong carries. However, a missed tackle and a turnover conceded – along with his workrate fading fast – spoilt what was a promising start.
5/10

6 Marco van Staden
Another player who has a few bright moments – including two crucial breakdown turnovers won. However, missed tackles and his workrate slowing down also resulted in him being subbed early.
5/10

5 Ruan Nortje
He is beginning to settle down as a starting lock and was solid on the restarts. However, he found Los Pumas’ line-out contesting hard to handle. Missed tackles added to the blot on his game.
6/10

4 Salmaan Moerat (captain)
He was involved a lot more than in previous games, with a few neat offloads. His best work was on defence – with eight tackles mad and just one missed.
6/10

3 Thomas du Toit
Very quiet first half, but had a brief burst early in the second half. Six tackles and a turnover won for a handy return.
6/10

2 Malcolm Marx
He remains a machine, but another of the World Cup winners still working his way back to his best form – line-out misses and missed tackles detracting from his impressive workrate.
6/10

1 Ox Nche
Massive start in first scrum and was more active with ball in hand after the break.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (on for Marx – 70th min)
Not enough time to be rated.

17 Gerhard Steenekamp (on for Nche – 65th min)
Not his best day at the office and was very quiet in his short spell.
5/10

18 Vincent Koch (on for Du Toit – 47th min)
Was one of the most productive replacements, especially in the set pieces.
6/10

19 Eben Etzebeth (on for Moerat – 47th min)
Great line-out contesting that forced a couple of Los Pumas errors. However, outside of the set pieces he did not have a major impact.
6/10

20 Elrigh Louw (on for Van Staden – 47th min)
He is pushing hard for a starting spot and apart from his ball-in-hand work, his defensive impact is also to be admired.
6/10

21 Kwagga Smith (on for Dixon – 47th min)
He always brings energy off the bench and is one of the few who made a real impact.
7/10

22 Jaden Hendrikse (on for Reinach – 55th min)
Sped up the game and asked a few more questions around the set pieces and breakdown. However, also not flawless and got handed off too easily.
6/10

23 Manie Libbok (on for Pollard – 47th min)
Kicked a penalty too deep with the game delicately balanced at a crucial stage. Then he also missed that crucial penalty. BMT is not in his vocabulary.
5/10

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