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Ireland v SA: Springbok player ratings
Saturday, November 28
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SARugby.com brings you the player ratings of the Springboks who did duty in the 10-15 defeat to Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday.
Fullback: Zane Kirchner – 7One of the better backs on the day. His positional play was good and he chased and contested the high ball well.
Right wing: JP Pietersen – 6
Better than last week but still some way off the pace.
Outside centre: Jaque Fourie – 7
Lost his dual with opposite number Brian O’Driscoll but his short ball to Burger set the flanker away for the only try of the match.
Inside centre: Wynand Olivier – 6
Slipped too many tackles in midfield and had few opportunities on attack.
Left wing: Bryan Habana – 7
Had some enterprising runs and were solid on defence.
Flyhalf: Morne Steyn – 4
Steyn’s dire tour ended on the lowest possible note. The match-winning flyhalf has looked anything but on the Boks’ dreadful end-of-year tour.
Scrumhalf: Fourie du Preez – 8
Nice crisp service and quick at the rucks and mauls. Kicking wasn’t quite up to his usual high standards but still good in the icy Dublin wind. Best back on the day.
No 8: Danie Rossouw – 6
Not quite the impact he had last week. Showed his versatility when he moved to lock while Bekker was being stitched up.
Blindside flank: Schalk Burger – 6
Scored the game’s only try but failed to make his usual impact on the deck.
Openside flank: Heinrich Brussow – 8
Led the charge for the ball on the deck and won a number of turnovers at crucial times.
Lock: Victor Matfield – 6
Matfield was far from his commanding self in the lineouts.
Lock: Andries Bekker – 6
Was never going to be the one to emulate Bakkies Botha’s enforcer role. Overall, the Boks’ lineouts were uncharacteristically poor.
Tighthead: BJ Botha – 8
BJ had a dominant outing before he was replaced early in the second half.
Hooker: John Smit – 6
Not the performance the country was expecting from Smit back at hooker. His throw-ins in the lineouts were noticeably rusty.
Loosehead: Tendai Mtawarira – 8
Strong performance in the scrums from the man known as “The Beast.” Collectively, it was the Boks’ best scrummaging display since the British & Irish Lions tour.
Replacements:
16. Bismarck du Plessis – 6
A crucial overthrow in the lineout. Also undid his turnover by conceding a subsequent penalty for holding on.
17. CJ van der Linde – (Not enough time to be rated)
18. Francois Hougaard – (Not used)
19. Jean Deysel – (Not used)
20. Dewald Potgieter – 6
Thrown in at the deep end in his international debut but made a good run.
21. Ruan Pienaar – 5
With Steyn struggling, a reliable goal kicker was needed in the flyhalf channel. Pienaar’s kicking, both at goal and out of hand, is not up to standard at No 10.
22. Jean de Villiers – 7
Made quite an impact. Nice break in the latter stages. Solid all round cameo.
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Jean de Villiers just proved his class again. Don't think we have a better 12 than him.
I wonder how poor Steyn would have played if he did not have Du Preez on his inside.
I just think that he is to quick to put boot on ball and on a day when he was completely flat we didn't have a decent back up.
I feel really sorry for a guy like Peter Grant. He is the type of guy we need as back. His kicking is decent and he gets his back line going.
I have always rated JP as one of our wings on his defence and his occasional attacking flare but his last few games have been appalling! Pretty much every single one of his tackles were aimed at the oppositions head....He must catch a wake up and run harder! Needs a rest and more competition at least on the bench!
We should have been better and I know we are better but we were not today.Hats off to the Paddies they upped their game as much as it kills me to say it...fk
regarding the former, i think it's going to be widely acknowledged that gert smal made a telling contribution towards the irish negation of - and even (shock!) dominance over - the bok lineout.
1)
Not only did Burger gouge an Irishman's eye on the Lions' tour, but when he scored today there was a blatant over-reaction to provoke the crowd.
2)
Sore losers: Smit belied his re(edited)tion for being a sporting captain by leading his side off without the traditional applauding off of the winning team. Ireland also played against Fiji and Australia in the past month and they both respected this tradition.
3)
Dropped knee to Irish opponent's head = red card, but missed by ref from all of two yards.
Brussow tries to pull O'Driscoll's head off. Missed by ref spotted by linesman.
A punch by Pieterson to Bowe's face for a tackle. Missed by ref.
Retreating player two second later gets in way of OLeary. Missed by ref. Beast retreating tackles player off ball. Missed by ref. Three yellow card incidents in one play. all missed by the ref.
And no way in hell should the Boks have had a scrum at the end when Habana was turned over.
Wynand Olivier looks one dimensional and utterly predictable. Fourie Du preez got good scrum ball but didnt know what to do with it. He gave a few balls to Steyn and then HE didnt know what to do with it. Danie Rossouw was....well....useless and Ruan Pienaar when he came on was.........Ruan Pienaar.
The positives for me was the scrum and the defence. Ireland couldnt breach our defence and had to rely on penalties to beat the boks. That would suggest that the victory owes more to ill-discipline from the boks than them outplaying us. Not to mention our shocking goal kicking on the day.
Andre Joubert was probable one of the best South African Fullbacks that knew how to add an extra attacking dimension.
Our current crop of fullbacks put boot to easily to ball.
This was Morne Steyn chance to prove that he is a world class flyhalf, he had a good scrum to work with and the kicks were actually in his range. It is different kicking on a heavy and cold field to that of Loftus.
He has a long way to go if he wants to become the complete product.
Irish players off the field seem to be well behaved apart from being sour after defeat. The Boks play hard but fair, and more importantly they conduct themselves like gents off the field. We have no Wendel 'drug addict' Sailor, Mike 'diver' Philips...Cipriani, Tuqiri, Stevens etc.
Another thing, are you oblivious to O'gara's tackle/assault on DuPreez for the Lions, BOD's charge on Rossouw for the Lions and his one on DuPreez yesterday??? Irish and Brits just like to mask how inferior they usually are to s hemi teams for the last 50 years! Atleast in SA we put our hands up and admit when we are second best, not just in the world rankings. We were thoroughly outplayed against France and to a similar extent against Ireland.
Wonder what game plan for next game?. Wait, I think I know this one, could it be kick and chase?.
What a farse the IRB has turned into, because there's no way that McCaw had a better season than Fourie du Preez OR Brian O'Driscoll, for shame IRB, FOR SHAME!
The guy's the captain of the AB's which lost to SA 3 times in a row for the first time in history & in each of those guys he got throuroughly outplayed by Brussouw, in fact, he was nowhere to be seen...so I ask you with tears in my eyes, what the hell?
He was average throughout the Super 14, if you would take that into account, and he didn't really set the world a light when you guys played against England?!
Damn, I thought I was dissapointed when the Boks lost yesterday, but this...the IRB should ban themselves for BRINGING THE GAME INTO DISREPUTE!!!
but the irb clearly have no credibility at all and should be ashamed of themselves
does pieter de villiers have any rugby intelligence?
before we even played a single minute of the rugby, this tour was doomed.
not because we were suffering from fatigue, but because of piet heliums outrages selections.
davon ruabenheimer?
bandise maku?
chilli ralapele?
allistair hargreaves?
jannie du plesiss?
guthro steenkamp?
earl rose?
ruan pienaar?
adi jacobs?
too many question marks were hanging on these players.
does piet helium poses the intelligence to come up with a game plan and back-up game plan?
from the evidence that we saw the answer is a resounding NO!
yet piet helium will say the tour was a success?
Unfortunately, I expect to see a lot or even more shocking inclusions in next year's tour, as PDV as already said that he'll be leaving our stars at home. Expect to see a lot of politician-pleasing selections & 4th/5th string players next year!
Chilliboy will be captain after again missing out on an entire season.
The ABs are capable of slaughtering the Frogs and the Wallabies score four great tries to nothing against the Welsh after a long season but our players are "fatigued"?
I think there is something wrong with the "gees" in the Bok team and it starts at the top. Too many senior players are in a nice comfort zone. Merit playing second fiddle to politics. And the coaching staff are running out of ideas. You make replacements to strengthen your situation on the field - not weaken it! And to be surprised by the fact that your opponents are also counting in Afrikaans when their forward coach is Gert Smal? Please man - what were they thinking? That Gert would not sell out his old team? How naive......
I think we are starting to run out of "Jake White".......
R10 on a terrible season next year with Snor then falling on his sword (alternatively being hanged by a furious mob of Bok supporters) & Heinecke Meyer to take over as coach just before the World Cup in 2011 with a team in disarray and no time to rebuild. Kamp Staldraad here we come again. Perfect planning as usual by our so called rugby administrators!
Right wing: JP Pietersen – 5
Outside centre: Jaque Fourie – 7
Inside centre: Wynand Olivier – 4
Left wing: Bryan Habana – 7
Flyhalf: Morne Steyn – -4
Scrumhalf: Fourie du Preez – 8
No 8: Danie Rossouw – 6
Blindside flank: Schalk Burger – 6
Openside flank: Heinrich Brussow – 8
Lock: Victor Matfield – 5
Lock: Andries Bekker – 6
Tighthead: BJ Botha – 8
Hooker: John Smit – 6
Loosehead: Tendai Mtawarira – 8
WHY DID THEY NOT BRING ON DEYSEL? Potgieter is AVERAGE!
I guess you The Irish don't do anything like that at any stage of the game.... you must be family with Luck Watson...
numb 15...even tho we lost it means nothing ....the springboks are the best team in the world...you just wish you had our players....