South African player ratings vs Italy At Loftus Versfeld
South African player ratings vs Italy At Loftus Versfeld
South Africa opened their season with a 42–24 win over Italy, but a shaky second half and standout Bok performances leave plenty for Rassie to ponder.
South Africa got their international season off in earnest with a hard-fought 42 – 24 victory over a young Italian side at Loftus Versfeld.
Despite missing ten of their front-line players, the Azzurri worked their way back from a 28 – 3 halftime deficit to close right to within 11 points with ten minutes left to play.
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Undoubtedly, the Italians will be the happier of the two sides, with the Boks falling victim to complacency, which will frustrate Rassie Erasmus.
Here is how the Springboks fared today.
1. Ox Nche – 9
Undeniably, the best scrummaging loosehead in the game today was at it once again. Cork screwing Italian tighthead Simone Ferrari. Part physique and part technique, Nche gets into a perfect, low position that allows him to drive tightheads up and in. Around the breakdown, Nche’s ability to generate power and pace from a standing start is remarkable and was key to the Boks’ being able to up the tempo when needed.
2. Malcolm Marx – 8.5
Mightily impressive in his return to the starting role, Marx is so consistently good at all the basics of hooker play. Replaced eight minutes into the second half for the Bomb Squad, Marx closed his account with 8 carries, 9 tackles and a huge amount of ruck involvement.
3. Wilco Louw – 8
Linking perfectly with Nche, Louw’s ability to drive straight had the Italians backpedalling at a rate of knots. Similar to his front row compatriots, Louw was ever present at the breakdown and his departure directly corelated with the Italians getting ascendancy in that area.
4. Eben Etzebeth - 6
Living right on the line, Etzebeth start the match with a charge down on the first clearance kick from the Italians. Playing 47 minutes, the Bok vice-captain got through piles of work, making 11 tackles, winning 3 line-outs, one line break and 8 carries. Away from his general play, every cut to the Springbok huddle saw Etzebeth leading the charge in laying down the law to his teammates.
5. Lood de Jager - 6
One of the Boks’ busiest defenders through his 47 minutes on the pitch with 11 tackles with just one missed. At line-out time, de Jager nabbed two balls and, in open play, had 7 carries. Overall, it was an understated but effective showing from the Bok lock.
6. Marco van Staden -6.5
Subtly went about his business as the top tackler and a constant workhorse in the close exchanges, in particular at the breakdown. This performance was rewarded with a well-taken late try to put some gloss on the scoreline.
7. Vincent Tshituka - 7
It is little wonder why Rassie was so keen to get the Sharks’ backrow into the squad when he became eligible. Denied a debut test try to go with his two scores from the Barbarians match due to obstruction earlier in play. The DRC-born Tshituka had an effective and busy performance, with the only knock being the two penalties he conceded.
8. Jasper Wiese – 7.5
Nigh on impossible to stop in one-on-one situations, the powerhouse number eight controlled proceedings perfectly at the base of a dominant scrum that was racing forward. Leading the charge in terms of carries made during the 54 minutes he was in the park, Wiese made 44 meters from 11 carries, most of which were into heavy traffic.
9. Morne van den Berg - 9
Cool, calm and composed, the Lions’ scrumhalf controlled the tempo of the Bok attack with a precision that belies his experience at the test level. Stepping aside when necessary to allow the Bok pack to get their pick’n’go game rolling, whipping the ball away effectively with 59 passes and netting two tries as part of his 9 carries was a mightily impressive showing from the nine.
10. Handre Pollard - 7
Early knock-on aside, this was a typical solid Pollard performance with a sprinkling of added running, which most people have underrated throughout his career. Physically, Pollard's ability to dominate in the tackle and take the ball to the line was on point for the first fifty minutes, but mirroring his team's performance, he dipped a touch as the Italians came back into the contest. From the kicking tee, he was his usual top-class self.
11. Kurt-Lee Arendse – 8.5
Blasting through the Italian defence from a nice little piece of interplay, KLA still had plenty of work to do when he broke free. Stepping the covering Alessandro Fusco at full pace was just so impressive. His balance, pace and what appears to be an added few kilos of power.
12. Damian de Allende - 7
Noticeably becoming more adept at finding grass with his clever kicking game, de Allende set up his skipper for the opening try with a kick right at the point of contact. Minutes later, he pinned Italy back with Cheslin Kolbe chasing. Doing his best work as a link player that set up his teammates for success with an offload, defender beaten and a try assist.
13. Jesse Kriel – 7
Was it? Wasn’t it? Well, it doesn’t matter; the skipper scored the opening try on the back of a well-weighted grubber kick by his centre partner. Timing his dive to perfection and controlling the ball despite the attentions of the Italian cover defence was top-notch. What makes Kriel so impressive, howeve,r is his work rate, whenever a break was made or a kick needed to be chased
14. Cheslin Kolbe – 5
Plenty of action but not quite the impact we are used to from the elite winger who made 37 meters from 10 carries. Defensively, he missed 3 tackles from his 10 attempts, which is often a tricky stat to assess with the Boks, given their blitz defence. However, these tackles were noticeable as the Italians wriggled free and made yards. He did beat 4 defenders but was generally well-marshalled by the Italian defence.
15. Damian Willemse – 7.5
Grew with every minute on the pitch, the Stormers fullback slotted back in seamlessly in his first test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final. Returning the ball with interest, both with his running game and long-range kicking game. His ability to ride a tackle and get the ball away opens up the wide channels for the Boks in a way few other players can. Overall, Willemse served as a clear reminder that he is still the Boks’ best option at fullback.
Substitutes:
16. Bongi Mbonambi - 4
At 34-years-old the Sharks hooker lacks the punch he used to bring in contact and generally looked off the pace when he replaced Marx.
17. Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Scrum time aside, the Bulls’ versatile front-rower struggled to assert himself in this contest. Away from the grunt work around the ruck, he didn’t have any major impact on proceedings.
18. Vincent Koch - 7
Powered his way over for a rare test try in the 56th minute, the hard-working tighthead continues to ignore father time. Now 35-years-old, the Sharks prop remains an elite operator in the tight exchanges and fits perfectly into the Bok system that relies on their front row getting through tons of work around the breakdown.
19. RG Snyman - 5
Pulled off his trademark offloads, with one in particular playing a key role in the build-up to Koch’s try. This aside, it was a relatively quiet showing from Snyman, who carried 5 times for 8 meters, made 6 tackles and won 2 line-outs.
20. Franco Mostert – 5
He got through plenty of work but struggled to have the impact he usually does; in some part, this was down to the Italian’s work at the breakdown, which frustrated the Boks.
21. Kwagga Smith – 4
Another quiet bomb squad stalwart, Smith was quite some way off the standard set by Wiese, making just 3 carries and 5 tackles (1 missed).
22. Faf de Klerk – 4
Another victim of Italy’s ability to make the breakdown a war zone, the veteran scrumhalf made just 21 passes and 2 carries. Worryingly, he was unable to wrestle control of the match tempo when his team needed him to settle into a conservative kicking game.
23. Willie Le Roux - 4
Replaced Damian de Allende, which pushed Willemse into the centres, continuing his out-of-character struggles from the URC final, it was one of the less eventful showings of his Bok career.
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