Player Ratings: South Africa
OPINION: Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks finally broke their drought in Ireland, defeating the hosts 24-13 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
A game filled with four yellow cards and one red card to Ireland would suggest the Boks should’ve run away with it, but Ireland’s scramble defence on their line kept the visitors out on multiple occasions.
For the Boks, there will be some frustrations regarding their second-half conversion rate, but they will be pleased to have the Dublin monkey off their backs.
*Angus Opperman rates South Africa!
15 Damian Willemse
Scored the opening try and decent under the high ball. Solid positioning play and executed pinpoint contestable kicks.
7.5/10
14 Canan Moodie
Ran a few beautiful lines and dazzled defenders with his footwork and disrupted Ireland with his defensive rush tackles. Did well to retain his team’s high balls and stood up physically.
8.5/10
13 Jesse Kriel
Had a few good touches but ran a bit laterally at times with ball in hand. He performed his defensive duties well and did some good things on the attack.
6.5/10
12 Damian de Allende
Ran and carried strongly, bullying the Ireland defenders and showed he still has plenty to offer at his ripe Test age.
8/10
11 Cheslin Kolbe
Good positioning play and read the Irish attack well to stop them. Worked hard off the ball as always. Made a dominant tackle. Didn’t have many opportunities but didn’t do much wrong.
7/10
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Missed two conversion attempts and conceded a penalty for a high tackle in his red zone. Slipped a tackle on Bundee Aki that led to Ireland’s opening try. Otherwise dictated the play well. Scored a brilliant individual try with a disjointed Ireland defensive line.
8/10
9 Cobus Reinach
Made a few errors but kept the pressure on Ireland with his boot and around the fringes of the ruck, which in one instance, led to a beautiful individual try.
7.5/10
8 Jasper Wiese
Conceded the first penalty but made up for it by winning one back moments later, and showed solid hands that led to Willemse’s try. Dominated the Ireland defenders with his carries. His forward pass that denied Boan Venter’s try is one of his few blemishes, but otherwise a solid performance, making the joint most carries (11) alongside James Lowe.
9/10
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
Definition of a workhorse. Solid at set-piece and had a hand in Willemse’s try. Did well in open play when the opportunity presented itself. Stole a line-out in the second half when momentum seemed to shift to Ireland.
8.5/10
6 Siya Kolisi
Carried strongly and had a few solid touches in open play. Showed great leadership as usual and didn’t shy away from imposing himself with the ball in hand.
7/10
5 Ruan Nortje
His stocks keep rising. He proved that he is the premier No.5 lock in South Africa. Didn’t step back on defence and worked well in the line-out in tandem with Etzebeth.
8.5/10
4 Eben Etzebeth
Applied pressure on the Ireland line-out and forced them into errors. Also good on his own ball and physically never stepped back.
8/10
3 Thomas du Toit
Made a crucial steal in the first half with his team under the pump and dominated Ireland’s scrum.
8/10
2 Malcolm Marx
Nailed his primary jobs at set-piece well, barring a few crooked line-out throws. Didn’t make his usual presence felt at the breakdown, but did well in open play.
8/10
1 Boan Venter
Formed part of a dominating front row and did his job in the tight-loose. Never took a step back and stuck to his task.
7.5/10
Replacements
16 Johan Grobbelaar (On for Malcolm Marx in the 65th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (On for Boan Venter in the 40th minute)
Made his presence felt as soon as he came on in tandem with Wilco Louw to help the Bok pack earn a penalty try on half-time. Scrummed exceptionally throughout the match and did his defensive duties.
7/10
18 Wilco Louw (On for Thomas du Toit in the 40th minute)
Made an immediate impact to get the Boks a penalty try off a scrum in the 40th minute. Continued to dominate his opposite loosehead throughout the match. Went off in the 72nd minute again due to injury.
8/10
19 RG Snyman (On for Eben Etzebeth in the 50th minute)
Took his first line-out ball immediately and showed his trademark offloads in open play, where he was a ball of energy, drawing Irish defenders with ease.
7/10
20 Kwagga Smith (On for Jasper Wiese in the 52nd minute)
Carried strongly but got himself isolated when a try looked guaranteed to come in Ireland’s red zone. Was a handful in the tight spaces and made Ireland’s defenders scramble at times.
7/10
21 Andre Esterhuizen (On for Siya Kolisi in the 59th minute)
Worked hard on defence and gave his push up front, but didn’t get many opportunities.
6.5/10
22 Grant Williams (On for Cobus Reinach in the 67th minute)
Sped up the game but received a yellow card for a cynical offside.
5.5/10
23 Manie Libbok. (On for Sacha-Feinberg Mngomezulu in the 59th minute)
Dictated the play well but didn’t do anything special that we became accustomed to expect from the mercurial playmaker. Got caught by Ireland’s defence with possession when it was on for the Boks to seal the deal late in the match.
6.5/10
