The best players in the Super 14 came through stronger in this test against Wales in Cardiff. Form and understanding made the local players outshine the European contingent. The players who made the difference for South Africa was , Victor Matfield, Dewald Potgieter, Danie Roussouw, Ruan Pienaar John Smit and Juan de Jongh.
Rate your players in the poll below.
The Poll closed at 18:00 on Sunday 6 June.
Bok Player ratings by SA Rugby dot com.
Steyn – 6
Made a few wrong options and seemed to be trying a bit hard at times, but far from a bad game.
Aplon – 7
The little man put his heart into things and gave the Boks much needed pace throughout the game. A tiger on defence and dangerous on attack. A solid debut.
Fourie – 7
Fourie won’t rate this as one of his greatest Bok games, but he was solid enough on both attack and defence.
De Jongh – 7.5
An outstanding debut for de Jongh in midfield. Took his try brilliantly, saved one with a brilliant tackle late in the game and did everything with pace and purpose.
Ndungane – 7
We didn’t see too much of the Sharks winger, but he took his try well before limping off injured.
Pienaar – 8
All eyes were on the Bok flyhalf and he stood up well to the challenge. He’s a player who can move between the sublime and the ridiculous, but today he was more the former than the latter. A composed performance with some good kicking and a well timed pass to put Potgieter into space in the first half.
Januarie – 6.5
The Stormers number 9 will always divide opinions and this was a performance to give both sides things to talk about. He was nuggety at times, but also a bit slow and not quite up to international standards.
Van Niekerk – 5
His chance to force his way into the Springbok mix and unfortunately he didn’t take it. A little off the pace and he didn’t offer anything that Vermuelen, Spies, Kankowski or a number of others don’t bring to the party.
Potgieter – 8.5
Our man of the match. He gave his all throughout and was rewarded with a try before being injured. A performance that showed his true potential.
Louw – 6.5
A solid debut for the Stormers man, but nowhere near as strong on defence or attack as we saw in the Super 14.
Matfield – 8
Supreme performance from the Bulls lock. Stole vital ball and put his hands on the ball to great effect.
Rossouw – 8
Started the game poorly, but slowly worked his way back into the game and impressed with his work rate. A strong game from the enforcer.
Botha – 5
Botha gets a lot of praise when he plays well, but we must criticise him when he is average. A very average performance from the man trying to make the number three jersey his own.
Smit – 7
Blotted his copy book with a telegraphed intercept pass, but otherwise a good showing from the Bok captain. His lineout work is beyond reproach and he’s still one of the most physical players in the Bok pack.
Van der Linde – 7
The best of the Bok front row. A couple of handy left shoulders provided by the loosehead prop and he also put himself around the park.
Reserves:
Kankowski – 7
The Sharks speedster will get great satisfaction from his physical outing.
Basson – 6
Dropped in a bit out of his deph, but looked willing. Some good speed and few mistakes, but still needs to prove himself.
SA rugby are crazy. These points dont even make sense. Compiled by Muir and Gold i think.
Why doesn’t de jong get a rating? Rugby-talk unprofessional as always.
I just laugh at all the ratings thrown around today. It’s pretty funny if you look at the ratings you’d swear everyone watched a different game…
Good try by de Jongh but he’ll get caught out because he is simply too small.
@ Wezwp:
Go to SARugby dot com and ask them yourself, it was stated that it is their rating. So go there and watch if we deleted something.
comments on their site
By skoembs – Castle Braai recommendations: 0
What about De Jongh?
| Parent
By Rqd2 – Castle Braai recommendations: 0
Yeah, you forgot de jongh…
| Parent
By guns – Castle Braai recommendations: 0
Yes no de Jongh!! how could you forget his debt performance! lol
Potgieter was superb!
| Parent
De Jongh, Aplon (en Joe P) is goeie spelers, met harte van leeus. ‘n Span kan bekostig om een so outjie in die span te hê, maar nie meer nie, veral nie teen groter teenstanders nie.
Die rede waarom Roberts nie meer oor De Jongh gehardloop het nie, is omdat Louw en Potgieter so goed dekverdediging gedoen het.
Hopelik sal Snorre vir WO inbring teen Franse. Sal selfs daaraan dink om JDV op vleuel te speel, as hy heeltemal reg is, alhoewel FH seker sal reg wees vir die 3N.
Jan de Koning rates the Springbok players!
15 Frans Steyn:
He was the usual mixed bag, some great moments and a collection of errors. Slotted a crucial long-range penalty midway through the second half.
6/10
14 Gio Aplon:
Good debut, chased hard and did not do much wrong. Not too many chances on attack.
6/10
13 Jaque Fourie:
Again showed his value and experience, especially on defence, where he kept the big Welsh runners in check.
7/10
12 Juan de Jongh:
Awesome debut. Did nothing wrong on defence and scored a great try. Great future await this young man.
8/10
11 Odwa Ndungane:
He lasted 30-odd minutes and was injured in a ridiculously cheap shot while scoring the Boks’ first try.
5/10
10 Ruan Pienaar:
He looked more at ease in the No.10 jersey than in previous games in Green and Gold. Maybe he is growing into the role.
6/10
9 Ricky Januarie:
A real mixed bag – some good steals, strong defence and a string of silly penalties – which detracted from what was otherwise a good performance.
5/10
8 Joe van Niekerk:
Clearly enjoyed being back in the Bok fold and produced an accomplished performance.
6/10
7 Dewald Potgieter:
Showed what a great future he has ahead of him with a really strong performance.
7/10
6 François Louw:
Another class loose forward that shows the incredible depth South Africa has in this department.
6/10
5 Victor Matfield:
Still the world’s premier line-out forward. Looked a little jaded in the second half.
6/10
4 Danie Rossouw:
Masterful performance, certainly his best-ever showing as a Bok lock – strong carriers and good defence. Incredible workrate.
8/10
3 BJ Botha:
Was penalised early in the game at the scrums – but there were a number of strange calls by the referee. Became more forceful as the game wore on.
6/10
2 John Smit (captain):
Another accomplished performance, but spoiled his day by throwing a silly intercept pass.
5/10
1 CJ van der Linde:
Really strong in the scrums and a rock on defence. Showed how much he has gained from playing in Ireland.
7/10
Replacements:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (on for van der Linde, 74th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Jannie du Plessis (on got Botha, 58th min):
Continued the strong work in the scrum and did not shirk his duties outside the set pieces.
6/10
18 Alistair Hargreaves (on for Rossouw, 76th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
19 Ryan Kankowski (on for Potgieter, 56th min):
Worked hard on defence and had one decent run.
6/10
20 Meyer Bosman:
Not used.
21 Zane Kirchner (on for Steyn, 76th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Bjorn Basson (on for Ndungane, 34th min):
Very satisfactory debut. Some really good chasing and stood strong on defence.
6/10
It is quite simple:
Steyn, Januarie, Big Joke and Louw were crap
De Jongh, Pienaar, Matfield, Danie, Potgieter and Smit were very good.
The rest were ok.
Keo rates Louw 8/10. Madness.
Yeah,I saw that LooseHead,who ever wrote that article is obviously a Stormers supporter and has blinkers on.
Jeeper, SA rugby talk nonsense there. Those ratings are totally out.
@ Loosehead:9
Loosehead, sort of agree with you there buddy. I also thought Flo was not as great as everyone on other blogs are making out to be. He was good but not great. I would have given him a 7 tops.
Super have not clicked on to see your photos in a long time. Just done it.
That walk with the Lions looked awesome. Are those Lions tame or what?
That Leopard in the first photo is a beauty.
Morning guys, isnt it just amazing how powerful our prejudices are? Player A has one average game and suddenly e.g. he is too small, too old, too slowt etc. Yet, Player A along with the player we would prefer to see play in his place played against the same opposition in S14. If Player A more than held his own in S14 and as a result is rewarded with a Bok cap, how can he be too slow, too old or too small particularly if Player A again held his own yesterday and this time at intermational level? Prejudice is so powerful it can make clever people look like fools.
@ fender:
Boet, you are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to deep and intelligent for me.
Hehe, Loosehead!! I always get like that when I skip breakfast. Feel a lot better now…. 😉
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