South Africa
1) J Smit (Capt) – 7
His tight play in the rucks and mauls was superb in this game. Capt proved his mettle in the scrum against quality opponents. Winning his own ball time and time again as well as exerting great pressure in the 1st half of the contest. Job well Done.
2) B Du Plessis – 8
Always a very strong player and his contribution to the tight play should be commended and the pressure coming from him in the first half to make two tackles and force a new zealand touch back showed why he forced his way into the springbok starting 15 and has become a mainstay.
3) T Mtawarira – 7
I lost count of the number of scrums he won in the first half with that immense power of his. His commitment in the loose was strong as he compliments John Smit welll with his love of loose play. His tackling was also enormous ( if anyof you saw the hit he put on the New Zealand scrum half in the first part of the second Half. His scrumming gave him such a high total but needs to improve in his tight play and defense around the fringes.
4) B Botha – 8
His captain rightly acknowledged his massive contribution to the win with his outstanding play in the tight play as well as the lineouts. His recent suspension didn’t blunt any of his natural aggression and it showed at the breakdown.
5) V Matfield – 9
Lineouts gentlemen, Lineouts. He owned it, enough said.
6) H Brussouw – 10
Played a blinder of a game against an in form Richie Mccaw. his defensive lines and all round reading of the game is a cut above the rest. To my count he lost in the ball stealing department by 2 steals to richie but everywhere else he pipped him. it was a cracker of a game from both sixes.
7) J Smith – 10
One of the best games i’ve watched him play in recent memory, Kaino had no answer to him, his support play, defense, lineouts were outstanding in my book he deserved the man of the match award.
8 ) P Spies – 6
I think Pierre could have played a better game, it was possibly the best game i have seen him play in a springbok jersey but after the super 14 season i expect a lot more from him. i gave him a low score because his play at the back of the scrum was a bit suspect in this game.
9) F Du Preez – 9
As usual a well balanced game from the 9 he has kept his usual high standards.
10) R Pienaar – 4
In all other areas of the game i felt Ruan had an amazing game, his vision, creativity, defense, lines of running were all superb but his goal Kicking was just not up to par and as such it has marred the score i gave him.
11) B Habana – 7
His defense was immense, as well as his chasing of the ball on all kicks. But i felt he didn’t look for enough work on offense.
12) J De Villiers – 9
Again his defensive effort was the catalyst for the backline pressure, wasn’t used enough in attack but then again the game plan dictated less usage of him.
13) J Fourie – 7
The centre combination of him and Jean is beginning to bear some fruit as evidenced in the defensive effort and pressure they put onto the All Blacks midfield. The Boks also used him for the crash ball but his yardage was rather low. His running lines were also not that great.
14) J P Pieterson – 4
The man did not show up to the game and needs a drastic improvement on saturday. his only saving grace is that their is no one to replace him. His workrate was piss poor compared to that of the other wingers on the park.
15) F Steyn – 9
Great vision, amazing play selection, positioning and tactical kicking. He is made for the position.
Reserves
21) M Steyn – 5
He seems like a confused character on the park unless he is taking a place kick, needs to warm the bench a little bit longer just so he can gain that experience.
22) W Olivier – 6
Great defensive mindset when he came on but his aggro gave away a stupid penalty at the end. Not good enough, but I rate him highly for the future.
18 Danie Russouw – 4
Unecessarily put on the park but didn’t do much to influence the game.
16 C Ralepelle – 3
Given one minute on the park, not enough to warrant a decent rating.
Coaching Staff rating – 8
Messrs De Villiers, Gold & Muir got the tactical spot on. Defense was immense all night, as was discipline but somehow they have to get their team to play a full 80 mins. Also Their Substitutions namely russouw and ralepelle did not inspire confidence in their ability to judge bench impact.
Team Rating – 7
Started off strongly but still can’t play the game for the full 80mins, had a 15min tea break at the beginning of the 2nd half. Thats just not good enough. This game should have been shut out in the 1st half. But great defense.
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18 comments
Kambas says:
Jul 27, 2009
sorry gents didn’t have enough time to do the All blacks one will try get it up by 8am tomorrow morning, or if some all Black fan would like to take a crack at it….
Ron says:
Jul 27, 2009
Thanks for the ratings Kambas. I will go ahead and prepare the All Blacks ratings.
Ron says:
Jul 27, 2009
For me Pierre Spies had a shocker for the Boks and contrary to Kambas, I think that was the worst game i have ever seen Spies play. There is one moment when the ball was on the ground and Spies was the first man there but he failed to win the turnover. I guess fetching is just not part of his game but really as a world class loose forward, you have to be able to fetch. He even failed to make an impact with him famous runs and bursts through tackles. For me Spies would have gotten a 3.
I agree that JP was no where to be seen in the game, I think he only touched the ball once! He needs to up his work rate.
No doubting Brussow for the MOTM award as he did not get out done by Richie. It will be interesting to see how he fairs in Durban and then the week after against George Smith.
Bambo says:
Jul 27, 2009
I agree with you guys on JP. He needs to do more than just wait for the ball and run. The small things matter, look at Habana. he is doing more and as a result is cementing his position.
I don’t agree with keeping M.Steyn on the bench. You don’t get experience by warming the bench. You go in , make mistakes and learn. Ruan is being the benefit to make mistakes, and more mistakes and more mistakes.
For me All Blacks are like lost sheep. Cannot define their game at the moment. Can someone tell me what they are they are trying to do???
Jacque Fourie and De Villiers make a great combination. They offer huge guys that are not afraid to tackle or be tackled. Despite a few lapses, their D was good. Real Bokkie hard nose tackles, were flying in.
Kambas says:
Jul 28, 2009
Ron how can you say Pierre had a shocker? i saw him breaking tackles with the ball in hand and his defence was huge man. what game were you watching ron? so are you saying Kankowski should come on?
Sorry bambo, but steyn just isn’t cutout for the boks just yet. Look at Bismarck he rode the bench for nigh on 2 years before he got to start and look what that has done to his game, i am all for steyn serving an internship on the Bok bench for a while, i mean it did him good at the blue bulls when he sat on the bench when Hougaard was starting. at the moment all he has is kicking and thats not going to cut it on the international scene. whereas ruan has it all as a flyhalf except the kicking. Why not give the Kicking responsibilities to Frans Steyn (greatly improved) and let Pienaar show you a thing or two about playing flyhalf.
There is also talk of Jacobs coming back into the lineup now that he has been pronounced fit. not too happy about that if you ask me. His defence is very suspect.
Bambo says:
Jul 28, 2009
Internship for M.Steyn , I agree, but he still needs actual game time for us determine whether he can make decisions under pressure and game situations. I agree M. Steyn should not be getting major minutes , but enough for us to properly assess him. An average of 15 minutes is nowhere near being enough.The sooner De Villiers breaks him into Bok rugby, the better. I agree with F.Steyn taking over the kicking when either kicker are off form. F.Steyn is a coaches nightmare, huge talent to the extent that you are spoilt for choice were to play him.
Ron maybe fell asleep,I think,Spies played a great game. He is that kind of player who does the small things which will undoubtedly go unnoticed in games. His defence has been solid and really sets the tone for everyone in terms of intensity. Players like him , are tough to leave out of a team, because they define the tempo and have the ability to shift the game with a flick of a finger.
Jacobs, this is not his series. I think the coach is lucky to be spoilt for choice with Fourie also playing well, but it all depends on who you are playing. We all know, although, he has vastly improved , Jacobs is not really a hard-nose tackler. The AB’s are physical, and this Saturday they will try and run.I predict major tackling figures this week-end.Nah!! Jacobs, should sit out this one.
Ron says:
Jul 28, 2009
We were watching the same game guys and Piere was not his normal self, he could have do a whole lot better. I am a fan of Kanko but right now I do not feel he is good enough to be picked ahead of Piere. Spies needs to up his game in Durban.
As for Ruan vs Morne, PdV will start with Ruan 99% of the time if he is fit, that goes without saying. As for Frans’ kicking ability, he has a conversion rate of 52%, you can not have your number one kicking having such a low percentage. Yes a lot of his attempts are from the half way line but I have seen him miss a couple of sitters too. Having Frans as the number one kicker for the Boks could be a huge mistake.
Guru says:
Jul 28, 2009
I think the argument surrounding Pierre Spies just typifies the big man’s play, he does not play well enough to stand out but neither does he play bad enough to be dropped. He is just average most of the time at international level. One thing for sure though, Pierre is a liability in defence, the boy cannot tackle. I personally would like to see mor eof Kanko and less of Pierre, especially in the tighter games. If it were up to me, Kanko would start vs NZ and Pierre would start vs Aus. I think PDV plays Spies too much. He should have a 60/20 policy between the 2 players and do that more regularly. I see no reason for having Danie Russouw on the bench. Have both Kanko and Pierre in the match day 22, i think that would bring out the best in both players.
Kambas says:
Jul 28, 2009
guys kanko has nothing on pierre spies. what are you saying guru?
Bambo says:
Jul 28, 2009
I was frantically trying to dig up stats on tackles by both men, but will provide them later. Besides tackling , Spies brings discipline in rucks,mauls and tackling .I strongly believe we see the young Roussow making headway because of the stability provided by Spies in the loose trio. The Boks last Saturday did not give any offside penalties, compared to AB’s which had 4 that were gladly converted. Kanko sometimes does not have this discipline, and tends to be maverick. A split of game time perhaps, but not on the first home game. Guys, Spies is the ace up the sleeve, only played in dire circumstances. He can turn a game on its head in seconds.( under 12 secs to be exact)
I see M.Steyn gets his day in the sun, in Durban.To him this is an away game, he is comfortable up in the north. I don’t believe there is a greater test for him. If he pulls it off, he is set.
Guru says:
Jul 28, 2009
LOL, Kambas, I know you rate Piere highly and so do I mate. In fact, I think he is a phenomenal player, but that’s just on attack. In the S14, Piere Spies had a tackele percentage of less than 34%, this was after roughly Week 5 but I doubt it improved greatly afterwards. Kanko’s is much higher than that. A second point is that Pierre is a devastating runner and all but is too one dementional. Whereas Kanko has a sidestep and he varies his pace very well (uses the stop/start to good effect). I find that Pierre is too predictatble and at the moment, PDV is not doing Kanko any favours by giving him extended bench time when Pierre is really not performing. My point is that Kanko has a lot more to offer but if he is benched 80% of the tests, his form will never improve. On the other hand, Pierre Spies had started in 3 out of 4 matches that the boks have played and yet his stats are not saying a lot. I say bring on Kanko into the matchday 22 and let the 2 best eighthmen push each other and bring the best out of each other. Overall, I would say Kanko is a better well rounded player.
Ron says:
Jul 28, 2009
Thank you Guru, for once we agree on something. I am a great fan of seeing ‘flairy’ number 8′s i.e. Zinzan and the one and only Ron Cribb! I can say that Kanko has the ability to be a Zinzan or Ron Cribb if he is given game time. How many times have you seen Spies put in a little chip or grubber? I have never seen it and for me a number 8 needs this ability. You yourself Kambas were a veteran of such flair play as a loose forward. Spies is just brute strength.
Guru says:
Jul 28, 2009
http://www.sport24.co.za/Content/Rugby/Super14/354/c383ddcfaafa4a7a8af841b6f3cb3424//Bok_No_8_Kankowski_or_Spies
Have a look at this article wirtten after week 4 of the S14. It is very clear that Spies is the bettering ram of the bulls as you can see by the number of times he has taken up the ball. On the other hand, up until week 5 when Deysel got injured, he was the battering ram of the Sharks so it would not be fair to compare these 2 in that respect. We all know they play very different roles in their teams. This is reflected by the fact that Kanko had made twice as many passes as Spies. You can also see that Kanko kicks much more than Spies, which is what Ron has said. However, the stats that have nothing to do with team strategy are tackling and turnovers. This is where my argument is, just have a look at the difference in tackling %. I will admit that the stats show that Pierre is better around the breakdown but the difference is very marginal compared to how much of a tackling liability he is.
Ron says:
Jul 28, 2009
This is why you are the Guru and you have a bottle of Blue Label to prove it! well researched Guru and after reading that article these tackles statistics shocked me:
Kankowski: Attempted 43, Made 27, Missed 16, Efficiency 62.79%.
Spies: Attempted 48, Made 21, Missed 27, Efficiency 43.75%.
For loose forwards these missed tackles are just unacceptable from both players, worse more Spies. I guess in the Bok setup, Spies’ lack of tackling is not highlighted because he has a bunch of workhorses around him who tackle all day but there is going to come a time when his lack of tackling is going to be exposed especially if Juan Smith, Bismarck and Beast are ever out of the Bok team.
Manny says:
Jul 29, 2009
Well researched Guru, if you continue down this track the Wallaby fan club will welcome you with open arms! Stats don’t tell the whole picture, but in a game like rugby they do provide some meaningful indicators.
Ron is right, BOTH players seems to miss a very high number of tackles, but Spies is just poor in this area of the game. It may just be that the Boks current success is keeping the spotlight off of this man and allowing him to quietly slip under the radar.
Once the Boks start to lose expect Kanko to get the run he deserves.
Guru says:
Jul 29, 2009
Yes, their tackle rate is very low but the presence of Bakkies and Juan Smith around the fringes of the ruck allow anyone playing 8th man to get away with murder. Which is why i really do not understand the presence of Danie Rossouw. He is too similar to Botha amd Smith. Becasue Kanko has more flair and can also be used in the linouts I think he is a better option to have on the bench. I would just make a direct switch between Danie and Kanko.
Kambas says:
Jul 29, 2009
as long as kanko stays on the bench i’m happy, but the thing with Danie is that he is versatile in that he can also play lock (his preferred position) but then again andries bekker is on the bench.
Guys, unfortunately kanko or rather his team did not have as prolific a campaign in the s14 and thats why he is sitting on the bench.
Manny says:
Jul 29, 2009
Kambas has a valid point, Danie offers an option at flank or lock and if you haven’t noticed, Botha almost always gets subbed. So his replacement has to be as physical as him; which is why Danie is there. Bekker seems to be cover for Matfield more than anything else. If Danie is dropped and Kanko comes in, you have two relatively “lightweight” locks on the field once Botha gets replaced by Bekker. Maybe what makes sense is to drop Bekker for Kanko; because even if Matfield goes off and Danie comes in at lock, Juan Smith and Kanko still offer a lineout option.