South African got their international season underway with a satisfactory 44-10 drubbing of Italy in Durban on Saturday.
It was by no means flawless - in fact the first 20 minutes of the second half belonged entirely to Italy - but the new running game the Boks put on display made for exciting viewing.
There is still plenty to work on, but the Boks showed there are interesting times ahead - with wing Bryan Habana's sublime display the highlight.
The one major concern will be the Bok restarts, which frankly were a nightmare and certainly the worst aspect of their game.
Jan de Koning rates the South African players!
15 Willie le Roux:
Had a nervous start, but stayed involved and showed some of his creative skills. He was very good in the air, but also kicked the ball too deep on one occasion.
6/10
14 Bryan Habana:
A sublime counter to set up JJ Engelbrecht's try and looked full of running, making plenty of metres every time. Then scored the try that killed off the match and simply did not put a foot wrong.
10/10
13 JJ Engelbrecht:
Ran good angles and caused havoc with the Italian defences. He showed incredible pace and while still raw, he has huge potential.
8/10
12 Jean de Villiers (captain):
Ran hard and straight and made plenty of tackles - missing only one. Deserved his try.
6/10
11 Bjorn Basson:
The ball didn't flow much his way in the first half and was yellow carded for a high tackle. Then made amends with a great run and off-load for Jean de Villiers' try and then an intercept.
6/10
10 Morné Steyn:
May be known for his boot, but showed he has a good distribution and running game as well.
7/10
9 Jano Vermaak:
His service was crisp, but was caught at the base a number of times. It was a satisfactory debut, but a hamstring injury means he is unlikely to feature in the rest of series.
6/10
8 Pierre Spies:
Early knock in a good attacking position, just outside Italian 22. He was strong with ball in hand, especially off the back of scrums, but the restarts not the greatest.
5/10
7 Arno Botha:
Huge physical presence and his work on defence when the Italians looked to get back into the game after the break was invaluable - made 13 tackles.
7/10
6 Francois Louw:
Won an early penalty for Boks' first points and had a huge workload on defence - topping the tackle count with 16.
7/10
5 Juandré Kruger:
Huge presence in the line-outs, but faded in the second half and missed a tackle.
5/10
4 Eben Etzebeth:
Was a monster on defence and had a few good carries. Can improve his workrate.
6/10
3 Jannie du Plessis:
Was powerful in the tackle and while he stood firm in the scrums for most part, got turned inside out late in the first half. After the break again struggled and missed a couple of tackles.
5/10
2 Adriaan Strauss:
Often got over the advantage line with ball in hand and worked hard on defence and his visionary off-load that sent Habana clear for his try was sublime.
7/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira:
Had a good scrumming game in the first half and his usual batch of Beeaaasts. Struggled when Martin Castrogiovanni came on and was penalised a couple of times, but made some good tackles.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (on for Strauss, 75):
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Trevor Nyakane (on for Mtawarira, 74):
Not enough time to be rated.
18 Coenie Oosthuizen (on for Du Plessis, 67):
Not enough time to be rated.
19 Flip van der Merwe (on for Kruger, 59):
Was very quiet and also missed a tackle.
5/10
20 Marcell Coetzee (on for Coetzee, 55 , blood replacement, and then on for Botha, 67):
His workrate was disappointing and he missed a tackle.
5/10
21 Ruan Pienaar (on for Vermaak, 60):
Did the basics well and made no mistakes.
6/10
22 Pat Lambie (on for Steyn, 77):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Jan Serfontein (on for Habana, 72):
Not enough time to be rated
Pro2,471 posts
08 Jun 2013, 22:23
#1
08 Jun 2013, 22:23#1
