Barbarians player ratings v Springboks: ‘Incredibly annoying’ All Blacks great has flashes of brilliance as Scott Robertson’s side are ‘outclassed’
TJ Perenara and an inset of Warrick Gelant
Following an entertaining 80-31 defeat to the Springboks, here is how we rated Scott Robertson’s Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Barbarians player ratings v Springboks
15 Warrick Gelant: A great long pass led to Andrew Kellaway’s first try as the Springbok full-back attempted to weave his magic whenever he touched the ball. He made two line breaks and threatened his fellow countrymen’s defence but also missed four tackles, struggled under the high ball and conceded possession twice. 6
14 Andrew Kellaway: Made four carries and scored two tries, hardly a poor return, but the snubbed Wallabies back was regularly beaten in the air and on the ground by the brilliant Edwill van der Merwe. 5
13 Virimi Vakatawa: A joy to watch as per usual. The former French international brilliantly skinned Cheslin Kolbe en route to his try and assisted another. Sure, he was caught out often in defence with the Baa-Baas backtracking, but he certainly embraced the spirit of the invitational team. 7
12 Alex Nankivell: Superbly skipped past Quan Horn and linked up with his midfield partner to set up the first Barbarians’ try. He made some good metres through that channel and defended bravely. 6
11 Duhan van der Merwe: Chopped down by Siya Kolisi near the try-line early when he looked threatening but hit back with a great scramble defence cover tackle on Kolbe. Like Kellaway, he struggled under the high ball but did make some good ground with ball in hand. 5
10 Tomás Albornoz: Always looking to create and did so with some success as he proved to be a great half-back partner for TJ Perenara. His clearance in the first minute of the game was simply superb. The Argentine was good value for 55 minutes and showed why he is one of the best number 10s in the business. 7
9 TJ Perenara (c): It’s a good thing that Robertson made the former All Black captain or else he would have certainly been carded for his constant complaining in the referee’s ear. He did visit the bin for a poor upright tackle on Riley Norton in the 13th minute but returned to score a stunning try before half-time. That period before the break was perhaps the Baa-Baas’ best and Perenara was central throughout. Incredibly annoying but still world-class. 7
The forwards
8 Miracle Fai’ilagi: Flattened Kolbe, a real size mismatch, and beat the Springboks winger soon after. He made a fantastic cover tackle on Siya Kolisi but failed to roll away and was deemed to have been cynical and spent 10 minutes in the sin bin. The Moana Pasifika captain was one of the few Barbarians who really muscled up to the Boks’ physicality. 7
7 Lachlan Boshier: The top tackler in the match but that took its toll on the ex-Chiefs back-rower, who was shunted to the ground by Andre Esterhuizen in the latter stages. 6
6 Guido Petti: A busy shift from the Los Pumas forward who contested well in the lineouts, cleared out rucks and toiled with the Bok pack reasonably well for 75 minutes. 6
5 Izack Rodda: Ditto for the former Wallaby who played 53 minutes before trotting to the sidelines. He was part of a pack that was largely overpowered. 6
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4 Franco Molina: The Baas-Baas did manage to cause some troubles for the Boks’ lineout and much of the credit lies with Molina for that. The Los Puma was relentless in the tight too. 7
3 D’Arcy Rae: Battered in the scrum, an area the Barbarians were never really going to have a chance. Rather anonymous in the loose too. Not a great afternoon for the Scotsman. 3
2 Elliot Dee: Gifted Jasper Wiese a try with his overthrown lineout and was part of a faltering scrummaging effort. Missed a couple of tackles too. 3
1 Mayco Vivas: A tough day overall for the Baa-Baas front-row as Vivas was dominated by Carlu Sadie in the scrum but did get around the park better than Rae. 4
Replacements: The Barbarians needed energy from their bench and to some extent they did get it through Harry Plummer and Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, while there was a slight reprieve in the scrums when Oli Kebble came on. However, the invitational team was simply outclassed and outmuscled in the final quarter. 4