Eben Etzebeth of South Africa and Beauden Barrett of New Zealand during the New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa Springboks rugby union match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Eben Etzebeth of South Africa and Beauden Barrett of New Zealand during the New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa Springboks rugby union match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
How the players rated in the All Blacks' 26-10 loss to South Africa this morning.
All Blacks
1. George Bower: With honours even in the tally of mystery scrum penalties, the prop continues to be one of the more effective of the All Blacks big men in open play. However:The Big Men Are All Responsible For Stopping The Bok Maul. 4
2. Samisoni Taukei'aho: Hit his marks in the lineout. But like the rest of us, he could only look on as his opposite number delivered a masterclass in how modern hookers can dominate a match. 5
3. Angus Ta'avao: The Boks hammered his side of the scrum hard and the whistle follows him, but he got a couple of decisions in his favour, too. Bagged a nice turnover to launch an attack. 4
4. Sam Whitelock: Soared in some keenly contested lineouts, but wasn't as notable around the park as the Bok second rowers. Pulled into brutal defensive work. 5
5. Scott Barrett: Defended heartily, and is clearly uniquely skilful for a big unit. 5
6. Akira Ioane: Was visible in early stages, but the Boks soon pulled him into areas of the game where they could nullify his ball-carrying threat. The tombola of All Blacks blindside selection policy might tumble again for next week. 4
7. Sam Cane: At least Foster didn't sub him off. With his side beaten in the breakdowns and humbled by the Bok maul, the captain and opensider could make little impact. Out-played by the Bok loosies, his lowest point was probably taking out his own fullback under a highball at the start of the second half. 5
New Zealand Coach Ian Foster and Sam Cane (C) of New Zealand at the press conference after losing the match during the New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
8. Ardie Savea: The go-to guy for getting over the advantage line in early defensive plays, the No 8 is unrelenting and one of the better breakdown operators, evidenced by the 28th-minute ruck penalty he bagged under his own posts. Notable that the Hurricanes skipper had a lot to say to the referee late in the match. 7
9. Aaron Smith: Not one of his better days. Summed up by the blind pass in the 38th minute which went to ground, letting the Boks sneak out from a rare moment of rising pressure. 5
10. Beauden Barrett: The All Blacks' first five-eighths often looks like the best counter-attacking fullback in the world. He dazzled when running with space from the back, but found few opportunities when operating closer to the pack. He was also beaten in the air by teeny-tiny Arendse for the opening try. We saw more of Barrett than we did of his opposite number, yet the bloke in green was the one controlling the match. 7
11. Caleb Clarke: A lovely late break and burst of gas raised hearts – he had to be smart and coolheaded in the resulting tackle to keep the try-scoring chance alive. In a game of little space, the big winger had to work hard to get involved, bringing grunt to collisions. 7
12. David Havili: Carted the ball into the green wall and defended stoutly. His boot is useful, but there were a couple of pressure-releasing handling errors. 5
Dejected All Black players after losing the match during the New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa Springboks rugby union match at Mbombela Stadium. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
13. Rieko Ioane: Most notable deed was a poor, no-look intercept pass as his side threatened a breakout. A few seconds later the Boks were adding a dropgoal to their tally. 3
14. Will Jordan: A grim show. Looked panicked and error prone. The one bright light was a link up with Savea reminiscent of that which brought a try against Ireland. Expect that channel to be blocked next week. 3
15. Jordie Barrett: Needed to do a better job of commanding the Bok high balls. That ankle injury looked nasty, and filling the No 15 jersey next week could be a headache. 4
Dejected All Blacks David Havili and Akira Ioane after losing the match during the New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa Springboks rugby union match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
South Africa
1. Trevor Nyakane: Got some reward for targeting Angus Ta'avao in the scrums, but neither side could really claim set-piece dominance. 6
2. Malcolm Marx: The best of the Boks. Playing in his 50th test, the Japan-based man was every inch the modern hooker, carrying, bustling and jackaling the visitors out of the game in a display of brutal efficiency. It's been a long time since an All Blacks No 2 managed to dominate a test match like this. 9
3. Frans Malherbe: Toiled well and was often the ignition point to start the drive on those successful Bok mauls. 6
4. Eben Etzebeth: The heart of the Bok tight five. He was into everything and nabbed a straight-up lineout steal from out of Whitelock's mitts in the 61st minute. 7
5. Lood de Jager: The giant bruiser attacked the All Blacks lineout with little reward in the air, but got good return when gleefully piling into the contact areas around the park. 7
6. Siya Kolisi: The Springboks' mana man is no shining star, but his relentless toil brought more reward at the breakdown than the All Black loosies could manage and he's a hell of a leader. 7
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit: Shifted bodies at the breakdown, tackled like a beast and carried the ball with power. The lineage of rawboned Bok flankers is in safe hands. 7
Eben Etzebeth of South Africa and Beauden Barrett of New Zealand during the New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa Springboks rugby union match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
8. Jasper Wiese: A very direct player who brought bustle and menace to all he did, moving bodies at the breakdown and hitting the gainline hard. He looked out for the replacement halfback. 7
9. Faf de Klerk: Gone in 40 seconds after unfortunate encounter with Caleb Clarke's thigh. His replacement Jaden Hendrikse performed admirably in the role of Faux Faf. N/A
10. Handre Pollard: Ran the show, kicked magnificently for points, territory and pressure. Had the advantage of playing behind the better of the two packs, and made the most of it. 8
11. Makazole Mapimpi: The order of the day was to kick, chase and harass. He delivered. 6
12. Damian de Allende: Carted the ball up with gusto, continuing the rich tradition of modern Bok midfield battering rams. 6
13. Lukhanyo Am: Seldom seen with ball in hand. But his effort to win a three-point ruck penalty in the 69th minute, snaffling the ball singlehandedly against three All Blacks (one of whom was the open-side flanker), pretty much summed up the day. 6
14. Kurt-Lee Arendse: A busy, bustling display that started with a well-deserved try and ended with a well-deserved red card. Between those moments, he was into everything, and could have been in trouble earlier for taking out the All Blacks No 15 in the air. 7
15. Damian Willemse: Bustle and energy throughout the match, was largely unthreatened by All Black aerial attacks. 6
