Here are our player ratings for the Springbok game against Australia today at Newlands.
01. Gurthro Steenkamp – 5
Looked a bit rusty and wasn’t as effective in the loose as he can be. Went off with what looked like a serious knee injury after Nathan Sharpe fell on him. Failed to dominate in the scrums because the Aussie spoiling tactics worked well. Looks like Os will have to step in sooner than expected.
02. John Smit – 5
Left the field with a knee injury after 11 minutes. Rare to see a game without his leadership influence and today it showed, although Matfield was an adequate replacement as captain. Showed why White sees him as such a huge influence in this team. “It was so frustrating and I saw the coach’s perspective in that you feel helpless because there is only so much you can say to the guys until they have to go out there and make their own decisions,†he said about having to leave the field.
03. BJ Botha – 6
Frustrating outing for the Sharks strongman in the scrums. It looked like the Australian attempts to influence the referee worked as BJ was penalized on a number of occasions. He did, however, put in some good work around the park.
04. Bakkies Botha – 7
Baksteen’s form is improving weekly, and today he delivered a display full of aggression and power – hitting the rucks with gusto and knocking the Aussies off their stride. His lineout work in the first half was also outstanding.
05. Victor Matfield – 7
Not at his dominant best, but still controlled the lineouts with ease. Put in some work around the field and handled the extra burden of the captaincy well when Smit was forced off.
06. Schalk Burger – 8
Schalk was the man of the match today and put in an energetic performance. He did just about everything – huge in defence, had some bullocking runs and was ever-present at the breakdown. Almost yellow carded for his scuffle with Vickerman.
07. Juan Smith – 6
Fairly quiet performance from Smith before he was forced off with a knee injury in the second half. Not his usual dominant self.
08. Pierre Spies – 6
Not a great performance from the Blue Bull today – he was too inconsistent. His raw talent was evident on occasion but he also made a few too many handling errors. Yellow carded for repeated offences just before half time.
09. Ruan Pienaar – 7
Great debut at scrumhalf for Pienaar whose powerful, sniping runs set up some good go-forward ball for the Boks. White must now forget about Januarie and give this young man as much game time as he can before the World Cup.
10. Butch James – 7
Not a bad performance from Butch. Great vision in the pass to set up Jaque Fourie’s try. Controlled the game well. Good attacking of the advantage line and mostly kept Larkham in check on defence. A few too many attacking opportunities wasted through grubbers. Solid game.
11. JP Pietersen – 5
Was Pietersen actually playing today? Hardly touched the ball and didn’t seem to look for work. Showed some good strength in one or two attacking moves, but not much else.
12. Jean de Villiers – 5
Very erratic performance from de Villiers. Something is not right with him – he’s been struggling with his form lately and while just about everyone else seems to be on the upward curve, he seems to be heading in the opposite direction. Had a couple of good linebreaks, but surprisingly did not combine well with his old partner Fourie. Not creating attacking opportunities for his backline ala Mauger and Giteau.
13. Jaque Fourie – 6
Average game in general, but did score a beauty of a try. Looked flat-footed against the Giteau-Mortlock combination and did not combine well with de Villiers. To be fair to him he did not receive good attacking ball from his centre partner so always looked predictable on attack.
14. Ashwin Willemse – 7
Willemse’s form is definitely on the up and he had many good touches today. Proved to be a strong ball carrier. Was excellent in looking for work and the ball often found him – especially in the first half.
15. Percy Montgomery – 8
Commanding, composed performance from Percy. He is rediscovering, late in his career, his natural talent for the counter-attack. He gave the often one-dimensional Bok backline both stability and an injection of attacking flair. A solid performance with the boot as well.
Replacements:
16. Gary Botha – 6
Solid, workmanlike performance from Botha although not as great a physical presence in the scrums as John Smit. Better round the park though.
22. Frans Steyn – 7
Replaced Ashwin Willemse late in the second half and saved the Boks’ blushes with two superb pressure drop kicks to win the game.
Scrums a worry… Lineouts were iffy. Steyn, Monty, Schalk, Ashwin and Butch all had an excellent day (or 10 min in Steys case). I don’t think Ruan was as effective as he could have been – the service to the backline looked a tad slow – not sure if that’s cos the Ozzies were rushing? I’d like to see much faster recycling, less aimless kicking, and getting it wide, fast. What happened to the awesome Bok display we saw in the 1st 20???
Good to see Schalk getting back to his best – especially against a formidable trio like Australia.
This is article is an awesome idea and I think that the player ratings are spot on!