Player Ratings: Eish
Heyneke Meyer suffered his first loss in the Northern Hemisphere when a lackluster Springboks lost to Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
A below-average performance for 99 percent of the match saw them being brought back down to earth and scratching their heads after they suffered a 15-29 loss.
The two-week break seemed to have caused more harm than good as the Springboks looked like a gun without any ammunition.
Tauriq Ebrahim rates the South African players!
15 Willie le Roux:
Excellent under the high ball and always posed a threat on the counter-attack while putting in a good kicking effort. Fell apart in the second half.
6/10
14 Cornal Hendricks:
Never had an attacking opportunity but had the best seat in the house for the 50 minutes he was on the field.
3/10
13 Jan Serfontein:
Looked out of his depth and hid himself in the field.
3/10
12 Jean de Villers (captain):
Attempted to straighten the attacking lines. Other than that, was only seen when speaking to the referee.
4/10
11 Bryan Habana:
Posed no threat in the game. A mere passenger on the side of the field.
3/10
10 Handré Pollard:
Missed his first kick of the match and never recovered. Was a shadow of his recent self.
4/10
9 Francois Hougaard:
The less said, the better. Looked out of sorts and left much to be desired.
3/10
8 Duane Vermeulen:
Must have felt like the lone ranger with yet another monumental effort. Had a chance to have a throw-in when Adriaan Strauss was in the sin bin.
8/10
7 Teboho Mohoje:
Taking off early in the second half after a workman-like effort in the first 40 minutes. Made life hard for the Irish at the breakdown.
6/10
6 Marcell Coetzee:
A warrior-like effort in defence was rewarded with a try in the second half.
6/10
5 Victor Matfield:
The veteran showed he is still one of the best line-out jumpers in the world.
5/10
4 Eben Etzebeth:
Made a nuisance of himself by stealing some line-out ball. Had some good carries and made plenty of tackles.
6/10
3 Jannie du Plessis:
Gave a much improved performance and dominated his opponent in the scrums.
6/10
2 Bismarck du Plessis:
Gave away needless penalties in the first half but turned that around by winning some in the second half. Accurate with his line-out throws.
4/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira:
Massive effort in the scrums and always there to clean out at the breakdown.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss (on for Bismarck du Plessis, 51st min):
Didn't do anything to catch the eye but received a dubious yellow card for tackling a player in the air in the 67th minute.
3/10
17 Trevor Nyakane (on for Tendai Mtawarira, 67th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
18 Coenie Oosthuizen (on for Jannie du Plessis, 71st min):
Not enough time to be rated.
19 Bakkies Botha (on for Eben Etsabeth, 65th min):
Came on, ran around but had no impact whatsoever.
4/10
20 Schalk Burger (on for Teboho Mohoje, 47th min):
Ran around and attempted to make a difference but, for the most part, looked lost.
5/10
21 Cobus Reinach (on for Francois Hougaard, 56th min):
Looked better but Hougaard but did had no impact on the game.
5/10
22 Pat Lambie (on for Pollard, 67th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 JP Pietersen (on for Cornal Hendricks, 50th min):
Scored a consolation try but was in the wilderness before that.
4/10