Before I begin my ratings, I should say that I was in two-minds about several players. It wasn't a pretty performance, there were lots of mistakes, but I'm erring on the side of decisive contribution towards a victory.
Ratings:
- Nche (5.0)
- Mbonambi (5.8)
- Nyakane (5.5)
- Etzebeth (6.7)
- de Jager (5.8)
- Kolisi (6.0)
- Smith (6.5)
- Vermeulen (7.0)
- de Klerk (6.0)
- Pollard (5.7)
- Mapimpi (5.5)
- De Allende (5.5)
- Am (6.0)
- Nkosi (5.0)
- Le Roux (4.0)
- Marx (6.5)
- Kitshoff (6.0)
- Koch (5.8)
- Mostert (5.8)
- H Jantjies (5.5)
- E Janjties (6.0)
- Steyn (7.0)
Steyn: He made some errors. He really should have been carded. The ref was doing everything to avoid carding the Boks, and there were three clear cardable offences. In the end, this was the turning point for the Boks. I believe that without Frans, the Boks lose this test. He kept them deep in New Zealand territory at critical moments and that led to a try. Without that territorial advantage in the second half, the Boks are essentially picked-off. His defence was immense, his intensity and will to win was crucial as well. He never dropped his head, and this clearly rubbed off on his teammates as they hung on and played to the final whistle. Makes one wonder why he is used so sparingly.
Etzebeth: It was an emotional performance, where the Boks needed to want it more than the All Blacks; Eben had a hunger to win and fought, scrapped hard. He set the tone for the physicality that saw the Boks disrupt the Kiwis, especially in the second half. He pinched two lineouts as well. Not perfect, such as his handling in one lineout which didn't end so well, but his overall contribution was pivotal to the Boks.
Pollard: It wasn't a polished backline performance. In fact, I wasn't very impressed with the product ball-in-hand, but there were a few things which were better: 1.The Boks played at pace, and 2.Pollard held his line longer. They made a greater effort to hold the ball until the last moment, committing defenders. Overall, the same issues existed as in previous tests, but the fact that the Kiwis had to respect the run a little more opened up the field for the boot a bit more.
Elton Jantjies: The better Jantjies. Showed good composure. There are a couple of things I'd like to review when I have a bit more time, but for now, I am satisfied with his performance. He kept the pressure on and was very accurate.
Vermeulen: This was his best test in a long, long time. He looked more engaged and was a menace at the breakdown. Contributed to the intense physicality.
Summary
The All Blacks looked slick in the first half for a while, but they didn't look very hungry for the result, which is unusual. The Boks by contrast played on adrenaline, and it showed in the robust gang tackles. I identified this as the key fixture before the competition, and thought the Boks would be well suited to a last chance effort. They didn't disappoint on that front. In the end, it doesn't gloss over the cracks. When the All Blacks were sticking passes, they were carving our defence up and it looked, for a time, like 40 points was a realistic margin. The Boks can't negotiate an entire season on emotion alone, but the result was what they needed. Some positive energy to take on tour in November.
Shout out to Nienaber who was the architect of the victory
