Springboks Player Ratings vs. Ireland: World Player Of The Year Dominates
Springboks Player Ratings vs. Ireland: World Player Of The Year Dominates
South Africa beat Ireland 24-13 in Dublin with scrum dominance and brutal physicality. Here are the Springboks player ratings from a ruthless display.
Rassie Erasmus's Springboks secured a first win in Dublin since 2012 with a suffocating 24-13 victory over Ireland.
Camping inside the Irish 22 for the bulk of the match, the Boks scrummed Ireland into the ground. Hammering home the visitor's dominance, referee Matthew Carley brandished Ireland with four yellow cards and a red card.
Playing against 12 men at one point, South Africa couldn't quite crack the Irish defense, but eventually, the pressure would tell, as the Springboks outscored the hosts three tries to one.
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On a night that will be remembered for perhaps the most dominant forward display of all time, RG Snyman won his 50th cap at his adopted home stadium to add to the South African's jubilation.
Here is how the South African players fared:
1. Boan Venter – 8
Put in a rock-solid 40-minute shift to lay the platform for the Boks to continue their onslaught in the second half.
Certainly, he is not at the punishing level of Ox Nche, or perhaps even Gerhard Steenekamp, but the Edinburgh prop is a rock-solid option in the ever-expanding depth of South African looseheads.
There were moments upon a re-watch that he was perhaps fortunate having set up on an angle that the match officials missed, but nonetheless, the Boks pack was so dominant, he got away with it.
2. Malcolm Marx – 9
Putting in a performance befitting his World Player Of The Year title, man of the match Marx was head and shoulders above the rest as the most impactful player at the Aviva Stadium.
Battering the Irish looseheads time and again, marshaling a solid line-out and barreling into breakdowns, Marx was immense.
3. Thomas du Toit – 9
This makes two solid stints by the big Bath tighthead, who now feels nailed down as the co-first choice alongside Wilco Louw.
His demolition of Andrew Porter, and laterally Paddy McCarthy, was central to the Boks setting up camp inside the Irish 5-meter line.
In open play, du Toit was the Boks’ top tackler with 15 to go with a well-executed turnover.
4. Eben Etzebeth - 7.5
Six line-outs secured, six tackles made and, more importantly, a relentless shunt at scrum time and physicality at the breakdown.
Dump trucking players out of the way at the ruck, Etzebeth stopped Ireland from ever securing quick ball.
Continuing his menacing performance, he routinely hassled the Irish kickers, namely Jamison Gibson-Park.
5. Ruan Nortje – 8.5
The latest South African line-out guru from a long line of Vodacom Bulls’ aerial assailants, Nortje has slotted into the role as a near like-for-like replacement to Franco Mostert.
Plucking six line-outs, completing 14 tackles, carrying seven times and pulling off a sweet offload all were par for the course for the impressive 27-year-old.
6. Siya Kolisi – 8
Held his nerve when other captains may have grown in frustration, Kolisi kept communication lines open with Matthew Carley. This clearly played a role in Carley’s trigger-happy approach to the yellow cards and ensured the Boks were rewarded for their dominance.
7. Pieter Steph du Toit – 9
From one World Player Of The Year to the next, PSDT would’ve been unbelievably happy for his teammate Marx to win the award. That is just the type of guy the Boks backrow is.
It is this humble, hardworking approach that has seen him already hit legendary status.
Once again on the big stage, du Toit was a key cog in the Boks machine, topping the carry charts with 11, making nine tackles, winning six line-outs and making a searing linebreak that led to Willemse’s try.
If you track du Toit in that play alone, he emerges from a breakdown as Damian de Allende is making a break and then hits top gear to race to the other touchline to get into position to deliver the try-scoring pass. Pure class.
8. Jasper Wiese – 9
Controlling a ball at the back of a dominant scrum is an underrated skill, given the movement around the ball. On every occasion, Wiese handled the pressure with aplomb.
Joining PSDT as the top carrier with 11 and beating the most defenders with four was a strong performance from the No. 8.
9. Cobus Reinach – 9
Scampered over for an opportunistic try that could’ve been called back for crossing, and Siya Kolisi cleared Sam Prendergast past the ruck, albeit there is every chance he still would’ve wriggled free.
The veteran halfback was the general of the Springboks onslaught and pulled the trigger at the right moment to ensure his side capitalized when the moment presented itself.
10. Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu – 8
Had the match officials had more gumption, the fly-half would’ve been in the sin bin for his shot on Tommy O’Brien.
There is no doubting his class; in fact, we would argue he already is the best fly-half in the world with generational talent.
At this stage of his career, he needs to avoid incidents such as this one, as the Boks are significantly better with him on the pitch than off it.
This being said, his performance away from this moment was sensational, hitting the afterburners for yet another test try highlighted the biggest difference between him and every other No. 10 in professional rugby.
Combining his power, vision and pace with his elite rugby intellect, Feinberg-Mngomezulu gives the world champions a star to build around for the next decade plus.
11. Cheslin Kolbe – 4
Far from a vintage night for Kolbe, who topped the tackles missed charts with three and was flattened by James Lowe in a one-on-one situation.
In truth, the normally energetic winger could not get into the match and rarely popped up as an attacking threat.
This could well have been part of the strategy for him to hold back and defuse high kicks, but ultimately, he didn’t win the aerial battle on the few occasions they occurred.
12. Damian de Allende – 8
Back to his monstrous best as a first-phase carrier, de Allende targeted Prendergast’s channel and generally made good yardage in the carry.
He pulled off a line break, beat three defenders on his eight carries and was a solid return.
13. Jesse Kriel – 7.5
Mirrored his center partner as a powerhouse carrier with nine attempts and was noticeably physical in defense with two dominant tackles amongst his nine total tackles.
On the whole, it was a solid showing in a match that didn’t require a huge amount of flair to get the job done.
14. Canan Moodie – 8.5
Amongst all the talk of Henry Pollock, Joseph Sua’ali’I and Sam Prendergast in this world, the Boks have the two of the most exciting young talents in Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Moodie.
Joining Kriel atop the dominant tackle charts with two, making good yardage on his six carries and competing hard in the air, Moodie proved once again that he is a necessity to have in the Boks back line, whether in the centers or on the wing.
15. Damian Willemse – 9
Started the match like a house on fire with the opening try and continued this hot run of form by marshaling the Boks attack as a second distributor (two offloads) and strike runner.
In the aerial contest, he was dominant, both defensively and offensively.
While we still believe his best position is inside center, on nights like this one, he might just be the best fullback in the world.
Substitutes
16. Johan Grobbelaar – N/A
Only played for seven minutes, so not possible to accurately rate.
17. Gerhard Steenekamp – 8.5
Came on and upped the ante at scrum time in replacement of Boan Venter at the end of the first half.
Steenekamp is a frightening option at 6-foot-4, and given Rassie’s track record, if the Boks were to put on another scrum clinic like the one we saw at the Aviva, could we see him packing down in the second row?
18. Wilco Louw – 9
See above and remove the second row comment… It is as simple as this: the 145kg tighthead is an immovable force at scrum time. Using all of his power and experience, Louw ensured that both Porter and McCarthy left the pitch for 0 minutes.
19. RG Snyman – 8
On the occasion of his 50th test cap at his adopted home stadium, Snyman brought the impact we have come to associate with him. It feels fair to say that he is the most impactful replacement in professional rugby and actually feels purpose-built for the role rather than being a starter.
Slipping one of his trademark offloads, winning two line-outs and generally fronting up to the Irish pack, Snyman had a night to remember in Dublin.
20. Andre Esterhuizen – 5
Facing a genuinely top-quality back row in the Irish trio, Esterhuizen did not have the impact we have seen to date in this experiment.
Still, he played a role in getting his side over the line, but perhaps in a clash of this level, he is more suited to being a center first and backrow second.
21. Kwagga Smith – 8.5
Fizzing like a stick of TNT ready to blow, Smith instantly brought another level of punch to the Boks’ attack in the 52nd minute.
Carrying seven times, beating a defender, making 10 tackles and pulling off a big time turnover, Smith remains alongside Snyman as the key "Bomb Squad" operators.
22. Grant Williams – 3
Came on in the 67th minute and was sin-binned in the 78th minute. It wasn’t quite the impact the livewire Sharks’ scrumhalf would’ve hoped to deliver.
23. Manie Libbok – 5
Not quite clearly fighting it out with Handre Pollard for the back-up role behind Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Libbok had a few nice kicks, but on the whole, he tended to overcook them, making it tough for his chasers to compete.
In short, contests like this don’t quite fit his skillset, given the chances of the game opening up were close to zero, and he didn’t match the standard set by the starters.
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