Springbok Ratings - Averaged over the course of the whole World Cup

1. Beast = 8/10

Initially, he was in the bomb squad, but it was clear that he is a better starter with Kitshoff the impact player. Beast is the best loosehead prop in world rugby, and he has had a fantastic career. 

2. Bongi = 7.5/10 

Started the tournament excellent, but levelled out a bit from the quarters onwards, and Marx slowly got his form back and made more impact in the finals

3. Malherbe = 9/10

Proved himself as the best tighthead scrummager in the tournament. He is the type of player that takes long to get back into form after an injury, but he got better and better as the tournament progressed. Lots of tackling around the fringes, and overall high work rate in the tight phases for a prop. 

4. Eztebeth = 7.5/10

Solid starting player in the tight exchanges, and even varied his game doing a good offload in the final.

5.Lood    = 8/10

Enhanced his reputation by delivering good performances against the top test teams, and not just the minnows. The lineouts looked like a Matfield lineout when he was on the pitch. 

6. Kolisi    = 6.5/10

Good player that makes a solid contribution. Subbing him with a specialist fetcher proved as a workable system. 

7.  Steph Dutoit = 8.5/10

A high work rate player, than epitomizes what it is to be a Springbok. He is everywhere. 

8.Vermeulen   = 9/10

Arguably South Africas best player of the tournament. His kick-off takes summarize his physicality. He competed well on the ground, and must have been a candidate for the most steals. An allround loosie that can adapt his game based on the situation.

9. Faff    = 8/10

Other than his box kicks, he is the form scrum-half in world rugby. 

His tackling is ferocious. 

10. Pollard   = 8/10

Started the tournament slow, but got better in the business end. 

Excellent pole kicking as well as up and unders. 

11. Mapimipi    = 9/10

Rassie proved he knows his stuff. Most of us called him to be on the bench- but he is now arguably the best finisher in world rugby. His all-round game has improved in leaps and bounds. Mastered the rush defence, and competed well on up and under's. 

12. Delande   = 9/10

A few years ago he forgot how to play rugby. It goes to show what playing under a good coach does.

He was the most consistent backline player for the Boks, and maybe the most physical backline player in world rugby. Lots of turnovers as well. The biggest improvement to his game is his tackling technique and understanding of defence management. 

13. AM = 7.5/10

Excellent defence, and had a good attacking game in the final.

14. Kolbe = 9/10

Lethal finisher and great under the high ball. His step makes him the most dangerous player out wide, and he could sidestep people in a phone booth. A fan favourite and everyone's favourite foreign player. At only 5.7 he is all guts and glory. 

15. Leroux = 8/10

Made lots of mistakes, but he was involved as a playmaker in most of the best-attacking movements. Saved his best game for the final, where he was exceptional. 

Bomb Squad:

Kitshoff= 6.5/10 

Solid if not exceptional or in his very best form. 

Marx= 7.5/10 

Got better as the tournament progressed, and made the setup draw and pass for Mapimpi

Koch = 7/10

Played well after being called into the system as an injury replacement.

Mostert = 7.5/10  

Dropped from starting lineup, but high work rate as an impact player. 

Snyman = 7.5      

Some good matches - fitted into the system seamlessly from the bench

Francios Louw = 8.5 /10

Still one of the best fetchers in world rugby. 

Jantjies = 7/10

Played less due to Faff being on the pitch most of the game. However, he was solid and looked very confident in the final for the last 10 minutes. He has a good future ahead of him, and can continue within a good coaching set up to improve. 

Frans Steyn = 8/10 

Ideal player off the bench. Was unfortunate to get a limited time on the pitch, but he is still world class - even if he has lost some pace. Looked good at fullback where he could use his boot to play the game in the opposition half. 

I have seen Kitshoff play much better than what he did in this tournament. 6.5 is probably a bit low, but can play better. Beast did outperform him in scrummaging , and Kitshoffs contribution in the loose was not as good as say 2 years ago

Kits was well off the pace in the group stages. His shocker against New Zealand was alarming to say the least. He and Malherbe were very slow, ponderous and lacked any physical presence. But, they both stepped up as the tournament progressed. Beast was our premier loosehead throughout though. We do have great depth in the front row. Probably the best since 2007-2011. 

Some of these rankings are far too high though. The emotional high of a world cup victory needs to be tempered. We didn't play great rugby for all but one game. There was a reason for that. 

If we are weighing up the entire campaign, it's as follows. 

1. Beast (8.0) 
2. Bongi (7.0) 
3. Malherbe (6.0)
4. Eztebeth (7.0) 
5. Lood (6.0) 
6. Kolisi (5.0)
7. du Toit (6.0)
8. Vermeulen (8.0)
9. Faff (9.0)
10. Pollard (7.0)
11. Mapimipi (7.0)
12. Delande (6.0)
13. AM (6.5)
14. Kolbe (5.7)
15. Leroux (5.5)

Bomb Squad:

1. Kitshoff (6.5)
2. Marx (7.0)
3. Koch (6.7)
4. Mostert (7.0)  
5. Snyman (6.8)      
6. Louw (8.0)
7. Jantjies (6.0)
8. Steyn (6.5)

There are a few I'd give hgher grades for the final. The entire front row gets an 8, Pollard an 8, Kolbe a 7 etc. 

LMAO

That's about right Augie....I'd give the Beast an 8.5 though, he was so huge today and today's game has to  carry a much higher weighting.

I can settle for that. He was immense. Those scrum penalties knocked the stuffing out of them. 

Aug and Moz, I have never really liked De Allende, but for you to rate his performance at this world cup a 6 just smacks of prejudice. He got over the advantage line with just about every carry, regardless of the opposition. He scored vital tries. His defense, my biggest problem with him in the past, has improved massively. And before you point out one or two missed tackles, please show me any starting player, in any team that didn't slip off a couple of tackles. I am not saying he was player of the tournament or anything, but he was one of our best and most consistent players. 

Aug, please tell me your rating of Kolbe is just a typo....else I"m gonna track you down and slap you!

No man, I just reviewed all your ratings and I can summarise as follows. You typed this before the world cup kicked off and you actually didn't even watch one game. 

Bluebok, were I to post another video review of Damian, you'd see differently. His carries in the final were tame. It was more of the same. Nothing changed. His saving grace was the run to the line where no Welshman laid a tackle on him. Hardly the definitive proof of a quality player. You could have achieved the very same thing. 

As per Kolbe? He had his moments, but was largely eye-candy. The final was his best and most meaningful game. 

No Blue, this is devoid of the over-emotional content that is shielding many fro the truth. Our backplay was poor in this world cup, but we must award 8s for most of those backs? This doesn't make sense. If we are weighing up the entire campaign, only a couple of Bok backs were effective. 

Aug, look, I know you pay a lot of attention to the little things that other people overlook, and I have always respected you for that, but I just find it suspect that all your non favoured players prior to the world cup, have scored poorly according to your ratings. Even though many of them have played very well. PSDT has been on your shitlist forever, please explain to me his nomination for WORLD player of the year? That is not the dumbassed posters here, that is not our gullible media, that is not our selectors or coaches. That is world rugby. Weather he wins it or not does not matter, the point is he is in the conversation, yet according to you, he is a weak link, average player...and has been all year. I know your rating above is just for the RWC, but you quite clearly don't rate Kolbe either. Again world rugby is shitting on your opinion. I don't know man, maybe its time to honestly have a look at yourself and question weather or not your opinions are tainted by prior prejudice?

How can a player with 1.8m per carry - close to 1m if we omit his free run from an undefended All Black ruck - be considered a world class ball carrier? In fact, Rassie moved te emphasis from Steph to Lood as a primary ball carrier, yet even then, Thor out-produced both of them. Does that not make you wonder where the over-elaborate pr aise comes from? He gets beaten in every game of the tournament in the same situations, yet we must consider him our best defender? Does that not sound odd to you? These awards are popularity contests, sometimes consolation prizes for teams who didn't win the big prizes - such as McCaw in 2009 when he only had 2 good games all year, none in the Tri Nations! Was he better than Brussow and the nominated French loosie of the time? No. There are tangible reasons to refute the laughable assertion that Steph is the best player in the world. Think about that. BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD. Are you seriously telling me he is the best player in the world? He isn't even the best Bok, much less the best player in the World Cup! It's ludicrous. Compare the numbers between Schalk in 2015 to Steph in 2019. One a dynamic playmaking dynamo, the other a carthorse who dies with the ball and is a defensive liability. The one mercilessly hounded for his age, and being flyhalf; the other "the best in the world", yet with less than half the production. It's this level of bias that retards our game. I particularly love this: Steph gets the ball in a POD and, sometimes distributes it back to a playmaking back: Rassie is a tactical genius. Schalk takes the ball in a POD and very often generates attacking movement with passes, offloads and penetrative running: He is playing flyhalf and Meyer is the worst coach in history. 

Do you see now? 

The lunatic syndrome is there for all to see.   Mozart and AO has develop Idiot Speak to a fi ne art.   LOL    

"Idiot speak"

Well, that is quite a compelling case you make Lügnerin! How can I possibly resist? 

Now Idiot Speak is a language developed by rugby ignorance like you and Mozart has displayed for years.  LMAO  

"like you and Mozart has have displayed for years.  LMAO"

Orhan Huffer you rating are hilarious such rampant bias. Dr Moz's poor form continues alas!

Then provide something of a retort. Show some stats, provide some references. 

IRB Player of year nomination who lead the Bok tackle count prior to the England game and wS superb throughout gets a measly 6.

S ay no more. Case closed. 

1.8m per carry. Very far from best in the world. Too many defensive lapses. What was the standout feature? He wasn't the best Bok. Not the best flanker. There is simply no means to justify such lofty praise aside from popularity. You should know better Sitzsack, being against MSM and all that! 

Organhuffer versus the rugby world. Not going well for the Huffer! 

Beeno

Remember lunatics think they are sane and the rest of mankind is mad.   AO suffers b adly from that syndrome.  LMAO 

“   Posted by: clevermike (38557 posts)

Nov 03, 2019, 09:24

The lunatic syndrome is there for all to see.   Mozart and AO has develop Idiot Speak to a fine art.   LOL    “

Mike, I would love for you to dismantle his arguments one by one instead of just charging in head first, attacking his person. Come on. Just once so we can see if you really know what you’re talking about. 

Although I know il be waiting in vain. Not going to happen. Sigh. 

Now that would be something Vlag. He grows lazier as time goes by, becoming more repetitive. So long as it's brief, I don't mind. 

Duplicate BS. 

Ceradyne

It will take a book to write where Mozart and AO have been wrong and disprove it,   It was clear in a  number of cases that their arguments are basically based on prejudice bordering on hatred against some players as well as Erasmus and that they lied about incidents.  There is a long list of those where they wrote and then were proven wrong and stop repeating the BS under the thread - kept quiet for a while and then repeat the nonsense on site.   

One cannot continuously just keep proving them wrong and they keep repeating the nonsense.  I will give you on example.   It comes to scoring of tries in games in which Meyer was involved in 2012 and 2015 and 2018 and 2019 respectively, as well as games won and games lost.   In the try scoring stakes the fact is that under Erasmus the Springboks scored up to near double the number of tries scored under Meyer.   In world cup years the record was as follows:-

Meyer - 2015

Games played   -       11

Games won       -         6

Games lost        -         5

Erasmus - 2019

Games played   -         11

Games won       -          9

Games drawn    -          1

Games lost        -          1

According to AO the Springboks performed better in 2015 compared to 2019.   How he got there only he could explain - and it is his explanation that is farcical.          

My word Lügies, how many times? I honestly cannot believe you return to the very same fallacy I have debunked twenty-two times now. Shall it be twenty-three for old times sake? 

Here, I already debunked your garbage here: https://www.ruckersforum.com/forum/rugby/rugby-championship-2012--2018/28065/

What AO regarded as debunked in fact is the repeat of the BS he spouts on site.  

Oh yes? Prove it. I posted the link, so have at it. If you can.

Ceradyne

Take the following example:-

"Rassie moved the emphasis from Steph to Lood as a primary ball carrier,"

First of all loosies are not primary ball carriers in traffic - tight 5 players are,  Secondly Erasmus replace Mostert as a lock with De Jager - Du Toit had nothing to do with it. 

 "He gets beaten in every game of the tournament in the same situations" 

I assume the ignoramus referred to Du Toit.   How many more tackles had Du Toit made this year than any other loosies and what was his missed tackle ratio.  In the WC Du Toit had the highest tackle count as a loosie  in all games played.   He makes many open field tackles as well.  So again a spout of BS spreading by AO.       

"It's this level of bias that retards our game."

Blaas my siel - the man does not realize he is totally biased and looney/  LMAO

You haven't been doing your research Lügnerin. Very sloppy. 

"First of all loosies are not primary ball carriers in traffic"

Well, that is interesting. Now, according to coach Lügies blindsiders run out wide. You've been reading too much from Rassie's Coaching 101 pamphlet entitled "Park The Tractor, Set Up The Tram". 

Fuck - but you are dim.  First of all Erasmus replaced Mostert with De Jager for very obvious reasons.   It is only in the mind of nitwits that the primary role of loosies are ball carries in traffic, The foolishness is what Meyer believed in and ended up in disaster in games against stronger opposition - when the loosies made minimal tackles in traffic and no open-field tackles - but missed too many as well.   

Loosies may carry balls in traffic and may make tackles in traffic - but what is even more important in open field tackles and ball carries as well as linking up with backline player. .   That is why the idiots on site rates Alberts so highly.   He did squat in real ball carries and was a total flop in tackling as well and his ball protection and recovery as well.   He is the ideal loosie according to AO - but instead he was a total flop as a loosie.  The latter is also why they ignore Du Toit in the try scored by Kolbe yesterday,    

There main problem is player hatred and falsified incident description is the norm with them.  LMAO.          .      

No blindsider failed under Meyer quite like Steph, aside from Coetzee. Alberts was the last test quality, Bok compatible blindsider. Steph, the best player in the world, ranked 17th among all flanks in this year's SXV. His pitiful carries and possession percentages per game - correlating with his test production - was a sad sight. How many tackles does Steph miss? Quite a lot. his cleanly beaten frame doesn't turn up in the stats though, not unless he gets a hand on them. Tragic. You may run along now, to your bedroom/basement shrine and weep at the feet of your crudely etched deity... El-Shaddai Ha'Steph.

Alberts never was a loosie - he was a slow prop not capable of playing as a loosie.   No ball protection, no ball recoveries at breakdowns, no open-field tackles and oodles of missed tackles. , no linking with backline players.   Zilch as a loosie - maybe 2% as a line-out jumper.   Making an average of 2,2 meters in ball carries in traffic.  Slow and  extremely poor as a loosie.

Where did you get that myth about Du Toit in Super 15 from?  Cooked up yourself he?   You had that BS before on site, but it was total hogwash.           

PSDT world player of the year. Rassie Erasmus world coach of the year. Just saying.

.

All the answer that is necessary to Mozart and AO.  

Here's some facts for you Sharkbok. Our three biggest games.

New Zealand. Defensively vulnerable. Officially missing 3 tackles and not much of a presence as a ball carrier. Film review actually magnifies his defensive vulnerability. 

Wales. 5m in 3 runs. Still missing tackles as before. Loves to rush the line, but recklessly and inaccurately.

England. 2m in 4 runs. A more secure defensive performance, yet still far from the Schalk he is made out to be. Needed some support when lacking physi cality.

These aren't opinions. These are tangible facts. Where was Steph the standout Bok? He wasn't. He was not a key Bok. Lood was another very poor ball carrier and immobile defender. The film doesn't lie. 

As per Damian? Still the same issue as always. Our back play wasn't poor throughout the WC for nothing. He runs through space without a tackle being put on him and he has now figured it all out? Very far from the truth. 

We had passengers carried by the real Boks the front rowers, Even, Thor, and when played Louw and Mostert. The latter proving an upgrade over Lood in the final.

No, Steph, Lood and Damian and expendable. We have better players who can do a better job than all of them. Look at Snhman's mighty presence to close out the game. Where do we see that from Steph or Lood? We don't.