Certainly there was some promising stuff from the newbies. Exciting breaks from Reinach and Steppie and even Lambie beat a few tackles for his well taken try. One could carp a bit and say Steppie was matched a against a lock, and Foley for the second time in the match failed to grasp that Steppie's weapon is the inside jink. Still he took the opportunity well and Reinach showed he is a dangerous bench option.
On the other hand, I think we have to conclude that our breakdown is worse, a lot worse without Louw. That Victor adds hugely in general play. And that Schalk was the player who turned around the test with his brilliant ball handling and punchy passing.
In short we ended up with a lot of success stories out there....new and old. Perhaps Pollard was the only disapointment on the day....but he was physical and dangerous. The Aussie defence was tight while he was on. Although it appears Morne is not the only flyhalf who misses touch occasionaly.
But lets stop and salute HM for his ability to find the talent we need, when nobody else was keen on his picks. One thinks of Matfield, of Schalk, of Hendricks....all uniquely HM calls. Well done the coach.
One final thought....if we had Michael Hooper we would be odds on to beat the ABs....what a monster performer. That's what Marcel needs to emulate to become a dominant test flank.
