Springbok player ratings vs Australia

Here are our player ratings for the second-string Bok team that lost 25-17 to the Wallabies in Sydney on 7th July.

01.  CJ van der Linde – 6

Had an average game in the scrums and popped up a few times in the loose. Solid but not spectacular.

02.  Gary Botha – 6

Had a fairly good game – definitely his best for the Boks. Loses marks for being yellow-carded at a crucial time in the match – although he was playing out of position on the flank at the time.

03.  Jannie du Plessis – 6

Not a bad debut from du Plessis – we can expect big things from him in the future. He contributes strongly around the park. Will be interesting to see how he measures up against the All Blacks next week.

04.  Johan Ackermann – 5

Surprising that he started, having picked up a calf injury prior to the game. The Bok medical staff obviously hadn’t given him a big enough cortisone injection as he was replaced after contributing little.

05.  Johann Muller – 4

Terrible game from Muller culminating in a yellow-card for blatant punching near the end of the game.

06.  Wikus van Heerden – 7

Along with Ruan Pienaar, van Heerden was the Boks’ stand-out player with a busy performance in the loose and a good try to show for his efforts. His game has improved substantially since joining the Bulls – he’s added a skillful element to his always gutsy efforts.

07. Pedrie Wannenburg – 4

A useless performance by P3 who is nowhere near the player he was last year. His speed and fitness levels appear to be on the slide – as do his Bok chances.

08.  Bob Skinstad – 5

Not a great performance by Skinstad who looked like a player who’s been out of the game for a few years too many. The gameplan didn’t suit his style of play, but his leadership appeared to be solid. Was subbed after picking up a bad rib injury which may keep him out of next week’s game.

                

09.  Ruan Pienaar – 7

Started off well with his Joost-like snipes around the rucks and scrums always threatening the Aussie defence and invariably getting the Boks over the advantage line. Played his part with the boot as well with some pressure-relieving box kicks.

10.  Derrick Hougaard – 4

Missed some important penalty kicks which visibly drained his team-mates of their confidence. His kicking out of hand was too inaccurate and his passing game a mere afterthought. Was totally outclassed by Larkham.

11.  JP Pietersen – 5

He just doesn’t look very confident in a Bok jersey and once again focused more on limiting his mistakes than taking the game to his opponents. His touch kicks were shocking.

12.  Wynand Olivier – 4

Olivier had his worst ever performance in a Bok jersey – equally useless on defence and attack. His averageness was exposed by not having first choice Bok players around him to bail him out. Bambi on ice.

13.  Waylon Murray – 6

Not a bad showing from the youngster given the fact that he had no support from his backline colleagues. Looked solid enough under the circumstances.

14.  Breyton Paulse – 6

Good display from Paulse who at times put on a one-man show in the Bok backline. Surrounded by predictable, unreliable colleagues, his true class emerged. Saved a lot of blushes on defense and looked enterprising on attack.

15.  Bevin Fortuin – 5

Anonymous showing from Fortuin – if it wasn’t for his big hair he would’ve been invisible.