Player Ratings: Costly Blunders
OPINION: South Africa suffered a narrow 11-12 defeat to England in London on Saturday.
The Boks dominated territory and possession in an opening 40 minutes but inaccurate line-outs and handling errors cost the side the victory.
Leezil Hendricks rates the South African players
15 Damian Willemse
A fairly quiet game for the young man on his first start at fullback, however, he made some vital cross-kicks which caught England back three off-guard. In the second half, there was a glimpse of what he can do with his lethal stepping.
5/10
14 Sbu Nkosi,
One of the best players on the park. Displayed some impressive aerial skills and made some tackles which include a massive hit on Johnny May – certainly one for the highlight reel. On attack, the wing was constantly looking for work and was rewarded with a try.
8/10
13 Jesse Kriel,
Not the best performance for the No.13, he was very quiet in the midfield. He was moved to the rightwing for the last 20 minutes of the match but still failed to make an impact.
4/10
12 Damian de Allende,
Was truly a busy man in the middle of the park, made a couple of carries which got the side in the right areas. Made a break that set up the Springboks’ try and had a few one-one moments with Brad Shield where the centre got the upper hand.
8/10
11 Aphiwe Dyantyi,
The wing looked lethal with the ball in hand and his defence also showed great improvement. Made some good spot-on tackles but on occasions was caught in no man’s land.
6/10
10 Handré Pollard,
Missed a conversion and a 76th-minute penalty kick. However, flyhalf dictated the game very well and his leadership was again crucial for the side.
6/10
9 Ivan van Zyl,
Aided by a good pack, the scrumhalf produced not a flawless but solid performance in his first start. Still, need some game time but Faf De Klerk’s presence was missed.
5/10
8 Warren Whiteley,
Got stuck doing the ‘donkey’ work, tackle stats well into double figures and had a hand in setting up the try.
6/10
7 Duane Vermeulen,
The player produced a full 80-minute performance. Was a constant menace at the breakdown and was a monster with the ball in hand.
7/10
6 Siya Kolisi (captain),
Did not do much, he missed two crucial tackles and failed to make an impact as captain.
4/10
5 Pieter-Steph du Toit,
Plenty of carries and was impressive on defence – his tackle count into double digits. May have missed one tackle but added value to the team.
7/10
4 Eben Etzebeth,
Dictated the line-out drives well before he left the field after just 41 minutes.
6/10
3 Frans Malherbe,
He was basically anonymous, did very little and was replaced in the last quarter of the match.
3/10
2 Malcolm Marx
One of his worst performance in a Springbok jersey. Had several overcooked line-out throws which gifted England an escape route.
4/10
1 Steven Kitshoff
Was strong when it came to the scrums and had a couple of powerful carries.
5/10
Replacements:
16 Bongi Mbonambi, (on for Marx, 74th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
17 Thomas du Toit (On for Kitshoff, 65th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
18 Wilco Louw (on for Malherbe, 65th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
19 RG Snyman (on for Etzebeth, 41st minute)
Did not make much of an impact but did the basic rights.
5/10
20 Lood de Jager, (on for Kolisi, 65th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
21 Embrose Papier, (on for van Zyl, 75th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
22 Elton Jantjies, (on for Willemse, 76th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
23 André Esterhuizen (on for Nkosi, 59th minute)
Made some noteworthy carries, however, a little bit too overeager when it came to defence and missed two tackles
5/10
By Leezil Hendricks
@Leezil07
@rugby365com
