Springboks player ratings: ‘Daft’ Jasper Wiese costs Rassie’s men as Bomb Squad lacks knock-out punch

Springboks back Manie Libbok and an inset of Jasper Wiese.

Following the Springboks’ 21-19 defeat to France in the Nations Championship, here is how we rated Rassie Erasmus’ men.

15 Damian Willemse: Error-ridden night for the full-back, a very out-of-character performance. He still had moments where he showed off his dazzling footwork and aerial prowess, but he was wasteful in possession. 4

14 Kurt-Lee Arendse: A luckless night for the Springboks flyer, who will cop the blame for the penalty after Antoine Dupont’s 50:22, leading to Aaron Grandidier Nkanang’s try, but frankly, it was an outrageous decision from Andrea Piardi. He was unfortunate to have his try chalked off too, with the officials judging that he was offside. A real competitor, though, and he trucked on. 4

13 Jesse Kriel: France had to work insanely hard to break down South Africa’s defence and even needed a bit of luck to do so, which is a credit to Kriel’s performance. It wasn’t just on defence where he impressed, though, as he made a stunning break in the 48th minute and regularly linked up well with the backline. 8

12 Damian de Allende: A match-defining carry led to a crucial try at a crucial time as he carried Dupont and a few with him before Cobus Reinach scored. Before that, he was sublime on defence, aggressive at the breakdown. Notched up his 50th start alongside Kriel and it’s easy to see why the pairing is the go-to for the big matches. De Allende flies under the radar; today was right in the thick of it as a brutally effective battering ram. 8

11 Ethan Hooker: His efforts weren’t rewarded as the in-form back made several key interventions in defence, was good under the high ball, and was a handful whenever he touched the ball. With Cheslin Kolbe out, he is invaluable to the Boks. 7

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: Lacked the cutting edge that the Springboks required to slice through the French defence and, like Willemse, his shift was error-ridden and inaccurate. His overcooked kick to touch before half-time was a coach killer, and it wasn’t helped by Arendse’s try being chalked off too. Just not his night. 4

9 Morne van den Berg: Not quite the man of the match performance that he produced last weekend and in Baltimore, but the scrum-half was strong again. He kicked well, got the attack firing at times, with those around him wasting opportunities and weighed in with a pair of turnovers. 7

8 Jasper Wiese: Another combative and aggressive display, but the latter cost him dearly as he was red-carded yet again for a daft moment. He panicked when Kalvin Gourgues went over the ball, and when he tucked his shoulder, there was only one outcome. In a game of tight margins, Wiese’s actions were the difference between winning and losing. 3

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7 Pieter-Steph du Toit: Needed to be lower in contact later in the game and the French defence was sharp to hold him up. That was a rare mistake in his game tonight as he carried strongly, claimed lineout steals and was a real threat in the wide channels. Tireless as per usual, but being held up over the line was a huge moment in the game, even if he won the penalty to give the Boks another crack at a late winner. 7

6 Siya Kolisi (c): Some strong captaincy moments and carried with some real venom, racking up over 50 metres with ball in hand. Solid on the other side of the ball too. An excellent 56 minutes. 6

5 Ruan Nortje: Like Du Toit, Nortje has an incredible engine and flexed it today as he charged up and down the pitch relentlessly. However, he lacked accuracy at times, spilling the ball twice in the French 22. Still, he ran the lineout well, was a great support runner and hit countless rucks. 7

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4 Lood de Jager: A hit-and-miss shift from the lock who was yellow-carded yet again for a high tackle, arguably unfairly so but he really could have dipped lower into contact. Before spending 10 minutes in the bin, he made a vital lineout steal but also missed the tackle on Peato Mauvaka, which led to Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s try. Some good moments with ball in hand too. 5

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18 Thomas du Toit: Battered Jean-Baptiste Gros in the scrum, won a pair of turnovers, made his tackles, and was all-round strong in his shift before the tactical changes before half-time. Du Toit did what was required of him and some. 7

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels: Needed a big performance in a big game at hooker this month, and this was his chance after Erasmus made the late alteration and he snatched it. He scored a try at the back of a rolling maul, was lively around the park, and was part of a dominant scrum. He only put one foot wrong, literally failing to provide the brakefoot for one scrum. 7

17 Gerhard Steenekamp: Part of a dominant scrum and was tidy around the park. Pretty much as you’d expect from the loosehead prop. The late ploy from Erasmus was successful at the start, as it was not the front rows’ fault for the half-time deficit. 6

Replacements: Erasmus repeated the late change trick that he deployed against the All Blacks in Cape Town, dropping his starting front-row to the bench and to be fair, that was effective. The Bomb Squad exploded, particularly up front with Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Wilco Louw destroying the French scrum and were equally effective around the park. Franco Mostert, Cameron Hanekom and Paul de Villiers were lively too whilst Reinach picked up from where Van den Berg left off. Manie Libbok was perhaps the worst of a fantastic lot from the bench, missing a conversion to tie up the game and throwing a few loose passes as he tried to force things. The Bomb Squad truly fired for the Boks but the bang was fierce enough. 8

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