SOUTH AFRICA
15. Willie Le Roux: 6
Looked threatening as he persistently tried to attack but seemed to close down the space for the man outside him rather than create a hole for him.
14. JP Pietersen: 6
Hungry for work but made some basic errors and was never really afforded space to attack.
13. Lionel Mapoe: 5
Selected ahead of Jesse Kriel and this performance didn’t justify it. His hands let him down considerably.
12. Damian de Allende: 5.5
Short of confidence from Super Rugby, De Allende tried to attack the outside shoulder but that’s not his natural game, so just ended up closing down space for the outside men.
11. Lwazi Mvovo: 7
A good game. His kick chase is something the Boks should look at utilising more in the next test.
10. Patrick Lambie: 6
Difficult to score as he was poleaxed by CJ Stander just 20 minutes into the first half and carried off.
9. Francois de Klerk: 7.5
Fantastic debut. Lively, intelligent defence with crisp clean service. Came out of the game with credit.
1. Tendai Mtawarira: 7
Solid scrum and the best he has been in the loose for many a test match.
2. Adrian Strauss: 5
Maybe the burden of captaincy got to him. Always seemed to be a yard or two off the pace in the loose. The skipper needs to give more.
3. Frans Malherbe: 5
Scrummaged well but loses marks purely for the two ridiculously amateurish penalties he conceded late on which allowed Ireland six easy points.
4. Eben Etzebeth: 6
Showed all of his class and power as usual but made some very basic errors when trying to link the play. One knock on butchered a very good chance for seven points.
5. Lood de Jager: 5.5
Not too dissimilar to Etzebeth but he added a very strange period of the game where he just seemed to disappear as if saving himself for the last 20 minutes.
6. Francois Louw: 5.5
Quiet from Louw as the Irish back row didn’t give him a sniff at the breakdown, an area he usually causes so much damage at.
7. Siyamthanda Kolisi: 7
Another that can hold his head up high. Powerful performance and made some good, hard yards.
8. Duane Vermeulen: 5.5
Sluggish and rusty. Vermeulen was off the pace and never looked like threatening the gain line with ball in hand which is exactly what his team needed him to do.
Substitutes: 6.5
A good show from the subs. Pieter-Steph du Toit and Warren Whiteley will be pushing for starts next weekend whilst Elton Jantjies let nobody down with his show at fly-half.
IRELAND
15. Jared Payne: 9
Solid under the high ball, scared the Bok defence when on the attack and took his try very well. Varied his play well.
14. Andrew Trimble: 7
Industrious from Trimble. Never posed a threat but never let anyone down.
13. Robbie Henshaw: 7.5
Has become one of the most important cogs in the Irish wheel but took a bit of adjusting in defence to playing at outside. Cynical challenge on Jantjies cost his side a man in the bin at worst possible time.
12. Luke Marshall: 8
A great comeback to the international fray and mixed physicality with classy touches as his deft kick set up Payne for his try.
11. Keith Earls: 8
More attack minded than Trimble and the hard ground suited him. Good showing from the Munster man.
10. Paddy Jackson: 9
Varied attack, kicked well and other than one wayward intercept he hardly put a foot wrong. Game management was superb.
9. Conor Murray: 8.5
Partnership with Jackson is very exciting and his box kicking was exemplary. Took his try well considering Etzebeth almost took his head off his shoulders.
1. Jack McGrath: 8
Worked his socks off and to last the full game as a prop is testament to his fitness work
2. Rory Best: 8.5
Best game as captain to date. Ripping ball off the opposition at the breakdown and generally being a nuisance. Carried like a Gladiator.
3. Mike Ross: 7
‘The Beast’ targeted him and probably had the upper hand in the scrum, but he made a very decent contribution around the field.
4. Iain Henderson: 9
Welcome to the big time. Best second row on the field by a long way. His work rate and 14 tackles were imperious.
5. Devin Toner: 8
Born leader and managed the lineout extremely well.
6. CJ Stander: 4
Whether it was a red card or not, there was malice in the challenge and Stander let his emotions of playing in his country of birth get to him.
7. Jordi Murphy: 7.5
Has had his critics in the past but this was an all action performance from Murphy. His best to date.
8. Jamie Heaslip: 8.5
Back to form and back to being so influential on the park. His leadership was palpable and would have run through a brick wall if asked.
Replacements: 7
No one let this side down from the bench, especially Ultan Dillane and Tadhg Furlong who both showed grit and determination.
By Andy Daniel
Follow Andy on Twitter (@scrum5ive)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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Strange ratings. The only reason SA were in that game at the end was because Jackson threw an intercept pass and you gave him a 9! Like Earls, Jackson’s flaws eclipse anything good he does, except that Jackson was lucky enough that Peterson didn’t back himself in the last play on this occasion.
Very little mentioned of Ireland’s defence even though that was the dominant feature of Ireland’s play with 14 men for 60 minutes. Little credit given to Ireland and more of a debit against SA which is fair enough but still cynical of the mammoth defensive effort put in by Ireland across the park.
What was Conor Murray doing box-kickiing with just 40 seconds to go?? I was convinced that SA would score and god they were close!
Excellent point! I saw that and cringed. I think he was out on his feet and didn’t notice the clock. If he consciously did that at the death, he needs his head examined. He played well throughout otherwise and was a key component in the attack. We always seem to fare better against SA than NZ or Aus – a lot better, at home at least and this away win was coming. Every team has their bogie side. I think it’s because Ireland are nothing if not competitive at the breakdown and pretty incisive in agile attacks which just doesn’t suit these enormous man giants. The series is certainly there for the taking. They’re rocked. Why not next week?
How can you tell there was malice in CJ’s challenge?