Springbok Player Ratings: v Wallabies
SARugby.com’s Springbok player ratings for the Tri-Nations Test against the Wallabies in Bloemfontein on Saturday.Springbok Player Ratings:
15: Frans Steyn – 5
Bar a few early attacking grubbers by the Wallabies Steyn had little to do at the back and didn’t join the line enough to make the impact required from a quality fullback.
14: JP Pietersen – 5
Another quiet outing by Pietersen who needs to go looking for work more. Chased well and won a couple of high balls back.
13: Jaque Fourie – 7
Both Fourie and De Villiers were guilty of allowing their direct opponents too much space early on but with ball in hand they were both impressive. Fourie made a number of long runs, most memorably the break from the restart in the 18th minute.
12: Jean de Villiers – 7
Very strong with ball in hand as he proved by beating three would-be defenders to power over for a brilliant try.
11: Bryan Habana – 3
Peter de Villiers’ decision to stick with a clearly out-of-form Habana once again cost the Boks dearly. The under-fire winger conceded three points in the opening minute for holding on, slipped on defence, which saw Kurtley Beale run in for a try, and missed James O’Connor which resulted in Wallaby captain Rocky Elsom scoring the visitors’ bonus point try.
10: Morne Steyn – 7.5
Admittedly, Steyn didn’t get his backline away like a Quade Cooper or Dan Carter but he played his kicking-based game superbly and his big match temperament came to the fore once again when he slotted two crucial penalties at the death in another faultless goal-kicking masterclass.
For the rest go here.
SHOOT: The problem is that no one has been playing consistently really well, with the exception of Morne Steyn and Guthro Steenkamp. Where are the game makers? I think the lack of confidence of the coaches, and in the coaches, is filtering through to the team. It must. This is why a meritocracy is so important.
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