Rugby 365 ratings ...

Heyneke Meyer suffered his first loss in the Northern Hemisphere when a lackluster Springboks lost to Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

A below-average performance for 99 percent of the match saw them being brought back down to earth and scratching their heads after they suffered a 15-29 loss.

The two-week break seemed to have caused more harm than good as the Springboks looked like a gun without any ammunition.

Tauriq Ebrahim rates the South African players!

15 Willie le Roux:
Excellent under the high ball and always posed a threat on the counter-attack while putting in a good kicking effort. Fell apart in the second half.
6/10

14 Cornal Hendricks:
Never had an attacking opportunity but had the best seat in the house for the 50 minutes he was on the field.
3/10

13 Jan Serfontein:
Looked out of his depth and hid himself in the field.
3/10

12 Jean de Villers (captain):
Attempted to straighten the attacking lines. Other than that, was only seen when speaking to the referee.
4/10

11 Bryan Habana:
Posed no threat in the game. A mere passenger on the side of the field.
3/10

10 Handré Pollard:
Missed his first kick of the match and never recovered. Was a shadow of his recent self.
4/10

9 Francois Hougaard:
The less said, the better. Looked out of sorts and left much to be desired.
3/10

8 Duane Vermeulen:
Must have felt like the lone ranger with yet another monumental effort. Had a chance to have a throw-in when Adriaan Strauss was in the sin bin.
8/10

7 Teboho Mohoje:
Taking off early in the second half after a workman-like effort in the first 40 minutes. Made life hard for the Irish at the breakdown.
6/10

6 Marcell Coetzee:
A warrior-like effort in defence was rewarded with a try in the second half.
6/10

5 Victor Matfield:
The veteran showed he is still one of the best line-out jumpers in the world.
5/10

4 Eben Etzebeth:
Made a nuisance of himself by stealing some line-out ball. Had some good carries and made plenty of tackles.
6/10

3 Jannie du Plessis:
Gave a much improved performance and dominated his opponent in the scrums.
6/10

2 Bismarck du Plessis:
Gave away needless penalties in the first half but turned that around by winning some in the second half. Accurate with his line-out throws.
4/10

1 Tendai Mtawarira:
Massive effort in the scrums and always there to clean out at the breakdown.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Adriaan Strauss (on for Bismarck du Plessis, 51st min):
Didn't do anything to catch the eye but received a dubious yellow card for tackling a player in the air in the 67th minute.
3/10

17 Trevor Nyakane (on for Tendai Mtawarira, 67th min):
Not enough time to be rated.

18 Coenie Oosthuizen (on for Jannie du Plessis, 71st min):
Not enough time to be rated.

19 Bakkies Botha (on for Eben Etsabeth, 65th min):
Came on, ran around but had no impact whatsoever.
4/10

20 Schalk Burger (on for Teboho Mohoje, 47th min):
Ran around and attempted to make a difference but, for the most part, looked lost.
5/10

21 Cobus Reinach (on for Francois Hougaard, 56th min):
Looked better but Hougaard but did had no impact on the game.
5/10

22 Pat Lambie (on for Pollard, 67th min):
Not enough time to be rated.

23 JP Pietersen (on for Cornal Hendricks, 50th min):
Scored a consolation try but was in the wilde

 and Mozart when you take that TV aided win at Ellis Park into perspective the result does not surprise me at all.

 Mozart
At last you have appeared on the site.   Your favourites have been under heavy attack - especially the geriatrics.  Now for what it is worth - letslook at the ratings as provided and especially where things went wrong:-
Cornal Hendricks
Rating maybe 1 point too high - did squat on the field of play.   I think Meyer miscalculated that he would be a success - but he is not up to standard.
Bryan Habana 
id he in fact play - he ws totally invisible .   did squat on the field of play - Maybe over-rated by 1 point.
Jan Serfontein and Jean de Villiers
Sorry - but both played like they were playing at no 12.    They consequently botched the midfield play and one of them should be on the bench.    I do believe that the ratings should be turned around.
Pollard
Not a good enough game - but the service he got from Hougaard was terrible.
Hougaard
Was back to his worst performances over the past two years.   Lets say he deserves 2/10 - 3/10 is very liberal.
Mohoje
This rating is a joke - he deserves nothing more than 4/10.
Matfield
Poor Victor - hecan still jump in line-outs -he is so light that it is easy to lift him - but forthe rest was utterly useless - and he is weakening teh Tight 5.  In my book he has been shown up badly in that commponent of the game  and derserve nothing more than 4/10 with a bit of luck.
Jannie du Plessis
First two scrums was horribly poor - but then improved.   His work outside of scrumming is non-existent - so a rating of 4/10 is more appropraite.   By the way - with even a player carded - the scrumming of Nyakane and Coenie was solid. 
Bakkies Botha 
A nice holiday breakin Dublin - did squat on the field of play.    This one should get nothing more than 2/10 - Too lazy to justify more.
Schalk Burger
Very ineffective and the Irish treated himwith disdain - 3/10 is more appropriate.
JP Pietersen 
When a cross-kick was made itis expected that players at least try to cover the ball - he looked like a scared rabbit in the eadlights in that case.
Now what is to be done?   I think the geriatrics should be phased out.   They are not worth it anymore - in the longer run they are liabilities.
Meyer should play preferably Serfntein at 12 and give De Villiers a rest - he was not up to standard this year.   Problem is the ball was wasted in the mid-field.  Both have been rather ineffective in attack - because both played like 12's and makes no space for other players to operate in.   
Time for a change and time to get rid of at least Matfield and Bakkies from that squad - while Jannie, Schalk and De Villiers being on borrowed time.    
  
 

Actually at 10/2 Jannie was our most prolific tackler. "His work outside the scrum is non existent" you say. Did you miss the 10 tackles OOm? Or just ignore them because it didn't suit your plot line?

 There is no plot line - I did not ignore the stats - matter of fact i quoted them.   OK give Jannie - desp[ite theinitial two mishaps 5/10 - but I would not rely on him to make tackles - he routinely missed them.