Player comments vs NZ

Willie….a fine game. His tackle on Jordan in space was terrific. His momentum allowed allowed Jordan to reset and pick up. The mistake was Mapimpi who was over the tackled runner and got distracted. Willie’s pass for Kolbe class.

Kolbe….back to his best. A constant menace.

Am.. nothing much to report

Dud Allende a series of mistakes.. .poor positioning, stripped, missed tackles, dropped balls…..aimless tractoring and poor timing of his passes.

Mapimpi a defensive liability, particularly in the air where he never takes the space.

Willemse…pretty horrible, his missed tackle on Mo’unga for the try was embarrassing.

Faf….he tried to compete in the first 20 minutes, which is more than you can say for most.

Malherbe…nothing in the scrums, lots of missed tackles.

Bongi, still can’t hit his man

Kitshoff..  one dominant scrum, but he was up against the ABs weakest link.

Etzebeth….never had the fire, who can blame him

Lomp …no energy, lost his lineout, never near the action. Passive as always

Mostert…at every down ball, took several lineouts…nothing obvious but solid.

Wiese….had few chances to run, not evident in the defence

Snyman….made a huge difference, great hands

Marx ….also dominant when on…has to start

Dud Toit… lots of energy in the first 10 minutes, but missed tackles and dominated by Savea in the ruck that resulted in a penalty and settled  the game. His blind side scrum defense still a liability, witness the Mo’unga try, Neither physical nor mobile 

Thomas….one scrum, one penalty. A liability

Vermeulen….not much to report, lifted the team though.

Koch….added a bit of mobility.

Williams….a little frenetic looking for space which wasn’t there…but not intimidated.

Libbok ….got no space and looked vulnerable

……..

In general terms……our scrums and lineouts were pretty much a neutral, we don’t beat NZ when that’s the case…..our defense was incredibly poor in first 20 minutes. If we made our tackles it was a different game….our high ball game was a huge negative, we simply weren’t ready for the kicking game, our technique was far too passive.

Supposedly having the team with Harrassmiss for 10 days before the test was going to set us up….we were totally unprepared. The leadership in this team is coming from the senior players, in this game the bomb squad, it reminds me of de Villiers in 2008.

The first fuck-up Mostert made was when he gave away a penalty - there-after his contribution as a forward was basically non-existent and his lack of physicality  amongst the forwards were a contributory factor to a disastrous mess.    

I fail to see how the Springboks can improve on their performance - they lost the game in the first 20 minutes of the match when poor and non-existent defense was the norm.     It showed us again that the defensive problem of last week was not solved.   The  backline defense line-up against Australia led to two tries y the Aussies - if they used their opportunities better they would have done exactly what the AB's did today.            

I guess you missed Savea blowing Dud Toit off the ball leading to a penalty, leading to the try that ended the contest.

No match winning performance from the best 12 in the game? Who would have thought...

Boks were the better side for 60 minutes. But were fast asleep for 20. Two tries were ever so close and one was definitely a try.

Ref was biased and it was home advantage.

Not even the best side was selected. Rassie wisely is giving his guys a chance to see exactly where they are. 

Lots to be positive about if you understand the game. Unfortunately few do.

Its a great pity the oaks cant see the positives. The oaks get far to emotional and cant think straight. Don't think Rassie will be too worried. He can put a very good match 22 on the park. Fact.

Marx. RG, Steph Du Toit, and Vermuelen made a big impact. The wee abs didn't know what hit them. Add in Van Staden and you have a great pack. Kwagga on the bench.

I thought Faf was outstanding and just hope he is okay. Williams looks very good too. Arendse is a quality wing that can be added to the team. Man the wee abs must be very nervous if they have to face us on a neutral ground and a neutral ref!

Our big men will improve with game time as well.

But oaks let me stop you having your little tantrums its hilarious to watch!

No, the boks were fast asleep, not match hardened. All Blacks have been in, camp, training, travelling together and minimal changes to their squad.