Player ratings: Bok brutality
The Springboks made it two from two on their end-of-year tour with a 21-10 win over a spirited Scotland side at Murrayfield on Saturday.
It was another step in the right direction for Heyneke Meyer’s charges whose inexperience showed as they crept back into their shell and defended their lead in the final quarter.
It won’t go down as a Springbok performance to remember nor was it a particularly sweet measure of revenge for the 2010 defeat, but it was another important step in the development of this Springbok squad.
Quintin van Jaarsveld rates the Springbok players.
15 Zane Kirchner
While he did little wrong, he didn’t bring anything to the table and at Test level, one has to add value to earn your keep.
5.5/10
14 JP Pietersen
Made a statement with his aggressive defence. Hardly had an opportunity to stretch his legs on attack.
6/10
13 Juan de Jongh
With the little ball he got – one solitary attacking opportunity – he showed just what a difference an attacking midfielder brings to the table. He asked questions of the Scottish defence with his footwork and should have been brought into play much more often.
6.5/10
12 Jean de Villiers
As he has matured, De Villiers has developed into a one-dimensional player which eliminates several attacking possibilities. As such, defenders know exactly what to expect from the Springbok skipper. With that in mind, De Villiers succeeded in crashing over the advantage line and giving the visitors go-forward ball and he was outstanding on defence.
7.5/10
11 Francois Hougaard
Injected pace and created opportunities for his support runners with his good stepping. In hindsight, considering the Springboks’ attacking mentality, he would have been more effective starting at No.9.
6.5/10
10 Pat Lambie
The conditions and opposition were ideal for Lambie to weave his attacking brilliance. He failed to seize the opportunity as he took the ball to the line twice all game and his kicking out of hand was not up to standard.
5/10
9 Ruan Pienaar
Arguably his poorest Test as starting scrumhalf this year. Certainly in the first half the Springboks were intent on running the ball, and while his speed to the ball was satisfactory, he was simply a link to the backline. When he did kick he was off-target.
6/10
8 Duane Vermeulen
His high workrate saw him make 13 tackles and frustrate the Scots at the breakdown. Will have to work on his ball-carrying though.
7/10
7 Willem Alberts
An unstoppable force and reliable source on phase one/two ball and won ground on defence in the way he forced ball-carriers back with his brute strength.
7.5/10
6 Francois Louw
Exceptional on the floor once again, making some key turnovers, and tireless on defence, with his 17 hits seeing him scoop the man of the match award.
8.5/10
5 Juandré Kruger
Flew under the radar but didn’t put a foot wrong all evening with four line-out takes and eight tackles.
7/10
4 Eben Etzebeth
A much better balanced game compared to last weekend. He was impressive once again in the line-outs but he also upped his workrate in the tight-loose and made some valuable contributions in this area of play. Carried the ball strongly as always.
7.5/10
3 Jannie du Plessis
One bad knock-on aside, Du Plessis had another solid outing and finally received a long overdo breather after 52 minutes.
7/10
2 Adriaan Strauss
Simply outstanding in all departments, Strauss produced a match-winning performance in the No.2 jersey. His line-out throwing was spot-on as per usual, he played a brilliant support role as spoiler at the breakdown and bagged a brace.
8.5/10
1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Can’t fault his scrummaging but his tackling technique was sloppy and allowed runners to bounce off his.
6.5/10
Replacements:
16 Schalk Brits (on for Strauss, 76th minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Heinke van der Merwe (on for Steenkamp, 61st minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
18 CJ van der Linde (on for Du Plessis, 52nd minute)
Had an absolute mare at scrum time.
3/10
19 Flip van der Merwe (on for Kruger, 68th minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Marcell Coetzee (on for Alberts, 53rd minute)
Made a significant impact off the bench with his world-class work ethic and intensity.
7/10
21 Morné Steyn (on for Lambie, 73rd minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Jaco Taute
Not used.
23 Lwazi Mvovo
Not used.