Dylbull says...

@Sandal, first of all, do you not remember how the English were slowing the ball down in the first half, ref still warned them about it... the ball was not coming quick enough for Hougaard.

Pienaar, in my opinion, stood over the ball way too long in the closing stages of the game when things had opened up, I counted at least 10 occasions when Pienaar took the momentum away because he was looking around too much.

Maybe he got the pass right and maybe his kicking is better, but I do not believe he is a better option than Hougaard.

Hougaard tackles better, spots a gap better, doesn't have to llok up to know where his ball carriers are and gets through alot more work than Pienaar.

He just needs to improve his kicking.

Potgieter wasn't great but wasn't terrible, was anyone else impressed by Kankowski? Looks like he has bulked up a bit too. I thought Coetzee was outstanding, reminded me of Reuben Kruger, got through alot of work, tackled and carried all game... he needs to get better at the breakdown, or get there faster.

Olivier didn't miss a tackle and made one or two breaks, but didn't do enough to warrant a place ahead of F Steyn.

Morne Steyn was horrid and he should be looking over his shoulder.

Aplon did well and if Lambie is at flyhalf or injured, Aplon should be our fullback.

Worrying areas for me are the depth of the front row and the lack of a hard man in the back row, we are missing a Bakkies type player and we need bekker.

Posted 12:05 25th June 2012

letsgoboks says...

From #1-20 they should all be given the rating of 1/10 for not finishing this series off properly.

Posted 11:12 24th June 2012

sandal says...

I haven't watched the full 240 minutes of these tests, but I cannot understand why SA is persisting with Francois Hougaard as its starting halfback. From what I have seen, Ruan Pienaar has got the backline functioning much more smoothly, and the forward runners much more effectively -- not least because he doesn't stand over the ball for 30 seconds at a time. Why does Hougaard do that? So everyone has their eyes on him? Anyway, wouldn't Hougaard be the better impact player?

Posted 06:14 24th June 2012

Sharkyzulu says...

Morne Steyn must be getting close to his sell-by date... As has been mentioned by Carpelone, if he's not kicking goals at 85%+, then he's a passenger in the side. What worries me is how long he's been given by PDV first and now Meyer. He was crap in the S15 last year, poor in the RWC (remember he ended up at 15 to accommodate Lambie?) and has been very average in this year's S15. To be capped off by this series where his misses gave England a draw and much closer losses in the 1st 2 tests than should really have been the case. He's pathetic on defence and when you have Meisiekind next to him at 12, SA's options are minimal - either Steyn kicks or Meisiekind crashes. Not the toughest options to read and defend against...

Pienaar was a revelation today - one of his few good games at 9 for the Boks and he really did make a difference. Hougaard is a great player to have because he's storng defensively and a real terrier in broken play. But his box kicking is about as electric as Kobus Wiese's interviewing and proving to be well short of test standard.

I think the ratings for JPP, Spies and Dismarck were a bit harsh. JPP was good on defence, had some good runs and was arguably the most effective wing on the pitch. Spies had a few good runs and was reaosnable in defence (by his standards anyway). Bismarck did a lot of donkey work - so he missed a few lineout throws. Do you think England would picked Hartley over him today given the choice?

Potgieter's rating was a bit harsh - he was not picked as a ball-carrier a la Willem "The Buffalo" Alberts, he was picked for defence and playing the tight loose. I thought he made some good tackles and was industrious. Sure, he didn't catch the eye much but 4/10? He didn't make many (any?) howlers and did what was expected of him.

Posted 22:30 23rd June 2012

JayStarr says...

Aplon was my man-of-the-match for the Springboks - glad you saw it the same way. Pity the rest of them couldn't play with his attitude. But hopefully it is now clear to HM that Aplon is a better player than Zane Kirchner!

Posted 20:24 23rd June 2012