Player ratings for De Villiers’ Bumbling Boksâ„¢.
15. Conrad Jantjes 3
[R365: 4 | SAR: 5.5 | KEO: 4]
Caught a few high balls, dropped a few. Isolated himself on the counter-attack and positional and kicking games were poor.
14. JP Pietersen 3
[R365: 3 | SAR: 4 | KEO: 4]
A shocker from Pietersen before he was substituted in the 44th minute with an injury. His confidence was once again shot.
13. Adrian Jacobs 7
[R365: 6 | SAR: 8 | KEO: 7]
The only Bok player who showed some guts, tenacity and skill. Great on defence and deadly on attack with his fine running lines. Scored two tries.
12. Jean de Villiers 6
[R365: 5 | SAR: 7 | KEO: 6]
A solid if unspectacular showing from de Villiers. Nonetheless better than all his team mates bar Jacobs.
11. Jongi Nokwe 5
[R365: 4 | SAR: 6 | KEO: 5]
Showed glimpses of pace but needs to be put away in space – something that the Bok backline are unable to do. Looked for work.
10. Butch James 4
[R365: 4 | SAR: 4.5 | KEO: 5]
Solid on defence but yet again way below par on attack. He is going through a mighty slump and if he is true to his word will be retiring from international rugby soon.
09. Fourie du Preez 4
[R365: 4 | SAR: 6.5 | KEO: 5]
Looked rusty as hell with some uncharacteristic handling errors and poor kicking game. Needs game time to reclaim the mantle of World’s Best Scrumhalf ™.
08. Pierre Spies 2
[R365: 5 | SAR: 4 | KEO: 5]
Was he even on the field? One word to describe his performance: ANONYMOUS. Much like his debut game against the Aussies. 49-0 anyone?
07. Juan Smith 6
[R365: 4 | SAR: 7.5 | KEO: 6]
A step up in performance from the previous weeks in the Tri Nations, but still not at his World Cup best
06. Schalk Burger 5
[R365: 5 | SAR: 5.5 | KEO: 5]
Headless chicken stuff from Schalk – he needs to have a defined role on the field, something that his coach seems unaware of. His talent and energy are otherwise being wasted.
05. Victor Matfield 1
[R365: 3 | SAR: 4 | KEO: 4]
Probably one of the worst performances ever from Matfield. Knocked on at a kickoff, lost his ball in the lineout, was nowhere to be seen at the breakdown and pathetic in his role of captain. Shocking. Shocking. Shocking.
04. Andries Bekker 4
[R365: 2 | SAR: 6 | KEO: 4]
Solid but unspectacular. For a man of 2.08m was fairly anonymous on the field.
03. CJ van der Linde 5
[R365: -5 | SAR: 5.5 | KEO: 4]
Worked hard all day putting in the tackles and fighting a lone battle in clearing out at ruck time. Unfortunately his indiscipline let his side down to the tune of 6 points. Will be cited this week for his headbutt.
02. Bismarck du Plessis 6
[R365: 4 | SAR: 6.5 | KEO: 6]
Bissie was busy – popping up all over the field. Another one of the few Boks who actually did some work.
01. Tendai Mtawarira 6
[R365: 6 | SAR: 6.5 | KEO: 6]
Dominated Fat Matt ‘Donut’ Dunning at scrum time and was involved in the loose.
17. Brian Mujati 5 (on for Mtawarira – 56th minute):
[R365: 2 | SAR: 5 | KEO: 6]
Solid substitution.
18. Joe van Niekerk 3 (on for Pierre Spies 56th minute):
[R365: 3 | SAR: 3.5 | KEO: 5]
This was not Argentina Joe, but Australia. Lost his first lineout upon entering the game and things just went downhill from there.
19. Cheeky Watson Jr 1 (on for Juan Smith – 60th minute):
[R365: -5 | SAR: 3.5 | KEO: 5]
Pathetic as always – once again he just got in the way. Jake White was right – he’s not an international player’s arse. Cheeky Jr, please try to understand your role in the team (apart from just being there because your father and PdV are old mates). When the Boks are being smashed at the breakdown and PdV sends you onto the field, you are expected to APPLY YOURSELF AT THE BREAKDOWN (which is apparently one of your strengths). Don’t hang around in the frigging backline and get in the way!! Don’t throw a hissy fit at Frans Steyn for catching the ball – he is actually a backline player and is supposed to be there. Once again – DON’T GET IN THE WAY!!!
21. Frans Steyn 5 (on for James – 56th minute):
[R365: 0 | SAR: 6.5 | KEO: 6]
Can’t fault his commitment – catching knees to both temples and a boot to the nose. The backline looked more enterprising when he replaced ‘Botch’ James, but nothing really to write home about.
22. Percy Montgomery 5 (on for Pietersen – 45th minute).
[R365: 5 | SAR: 6.5 | KEO: 5]
Was a steadying influence when he came on for Pietersen and then shifted around just about the entire backline, ending up at flyhalf.
🙁