Captain49,914 posts
04 Oct 2014, 20:09
#1
04 Oct 2014, 20:09#1
The Springboks managed to topple the mighty All Blacks at Ellis Park with a entertaining 27-25 victory on Saturday. It was a game that the Springboks dominated with ball in hand, scoring three tries in the first half and looking deadily in their attack. The All Blacks still proved they have a lot of class by comming back and scoring two tries to snatch the lead back with only minutes to go. It took a late, long range Pat Lambie penalty to snatch the lead and the game. We rate the Springboks: 15 Willie le RouxLooked very lively once again and sparked plenty of attacking opportunities as he is famed for.7/10 14 Cornal HendricksShowed good pace when he got the ball in hand but missed double the amount of tackles he made7/10 13 Jan SerfonteinAgain showed his impressive defensive capabilities but was also an important link in the midfield, a great all round performance.8/10 12 Jean de Villiers (captain)Tried to keep the ball alive wherever possible and was needed to make tackles in the midfield, but slipped three.7/10 11 Bryan HabanaTried to get involved early on and looked superb when he got a chance to run the ball in space, still has masses of pace7/10 10 Handré PollardSeemed happy to attack the line and seem to do it with ease as he scored two tries with off first phase ball a brilliant attacking master class.9/10 9 Francois Hougaardlooked to run the ball in close against the rucks, great backing up for his try and even looked strong in defence - a player that is steadily rising.8/10 8 Duane VermeulenAnother strong and dynamic performance for arguably the world's best No.8, did not look affected by his injury at all.9/10 7 Teboho MohojéWorked hard off the ball, was used in the line-outs and effected a good steal or two but nothing spectacular.6/10 6 Marcell CoetzeeGot some harsh decisions when he went for the ball at the breakdown but was busy throughout regardless.6/10 5 Victor MatfieldA fairly quit game, but when he did get the ball he looked to move it through a number of good short pop passes and of course was instrumental in the line-out.7/10 4 Eben EtzebethPlayed a bit like a battering ram, hard and straight to wear down the All Blacks' defence.7/10 3 Jannie du PlessisGave away a vital penalty when the Boks were sure to score and slipped a number of tackles4/10 2 Bismarck du PlessisHis throwing still looked to be an issue as a few line-outs were poached but was a good aggressive force.7/10 1 Tendai MtawariraGot in a few more runs than he has for some time and made good yards.7/10 Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss (on for B. Du Plessis, 52 mins)Came on and got straight into it, keeping the intensity alive.7/10 17 Trevor Nyakane (on for Mtawarira, 71 mins)not enough time to be rated. 18 Marcel van der Merwe (on for J. Du Plessis, 62 mins)Did not do much with the time he had but did work at the breakdown.5/10 19 Bakkies Botha (on for Etzebeth, 62 mins)Provided the grunt at the breakdowns when he came on and made a few carries himself.6/10 20 Schalk Burger (on for Mohojé, 50 mins)Came on and added to the tackle count straight away7/10 21 Cobus Reinach (on for Hougaard, 65 mins)Showing he is a good attacking option with a few good snipes 7/10 22 Pat Lambie (on for Pollard, 63 mins)Put in the match winning kick from beyond the halfway-line and is showing that he deserves more time on the field.6/10 23 JP Pietersen (on for Hendricks, 57 mins)Showed his class and experience with some good field placement and a devastating charge down on Kerr-Barlow.7/10
