Springboks player ratings from Perth, where Etzebeth’s 147th Test ended in a 42-38 defeat. The lowest mark goes to the play after the siren.
The Springboks were 42-17 down in Perth with 16 minutes to play. André Esterhuizen, captain for the first time, did not dress it up. The Wallabies “capitalised on all our errors and I think discipline let us down, especially in that first half,” he told Nine.
Australia won 42-38 at Optus Stadium on Sunday 27 September and took the Mandela Challenge Plate. Rassie Erasmus had made 13 changes after the series win over New Zealand, then sent all eight replacements on at once on 47. Four Wallabies yellow cards in seven minutes set up the comeback.
The Guardian called 42 the most points South Africa had conceded since 2017. Paul de Villiers, on his fifth cap, gets the top mark.
Who’s your Springboks man of the match? Say so below.
Springboks player ratings: outcarried 134 to 92
| Australia | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries | 5 | 5 |
| Kicks at goal | 7 of 8 | 5 of 5 |
| Carries | 134 | 92 |
| Tackles made | 110 | 163 |
| Lineouts won | 11 of 12 | 11 of 14 |
| Penalties conceded | 12 | 11 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 0 |
Kicking record from Rugby Australia’s match report. Other figures are Opta’s, from the RugbyPass match centre.
15. Aphelele Fassi – 5/10
Drew the last man for Edwill van der Merwe’s try on 30. The errors cost more. Suaalii beat him in the air on 27 and Ikitau scored off the drop. Three turnovers lost, the most on the pitch.
14. Edwill van der Merwe – 6/10
Finished the try on 30 with pace nobody in gold could live with. Three carries all night. With the line open on 72, Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s cross-kick hit his hands and went down.
13. Canan Moodie – 6/10
Dumped Ben Donaldson in the second minute, and de Villiers won the penalty off the tackle. Went through an outside gap on 30 to make the try. The Guardian and ABC both had Jorgensen’s try on 64 coming off his loose pass.
12. André Esterhuizen – 6/10
Carried 12 times in his first Test as captain, the most of any Springboks player. Captains wear the penalty count, though. South Africa gave away 11, and Ryan Lonergan kicked three goals off them. “We let them in too many times and that really hurt us,” he said.
11. Ethan Hooker – 6.5/10
The sharpest Springboks back: two line breaks, and a run on 18 that took Rob Valetini’s ankle tap to stop. The head clash with Donaldson on 37 looked harsh. It still led to a try.
10. Handré Pollard – 6.5/10
Landed a long-range penalty on 4. On 9 he kicked for the corner instead of three, and the maul scored. Three from three off the tee, and the flat pass that put Moodie through on 30. The pass behind Fassi on 35 wasted a chance.
9. Herschel Jantjies – 5.5/10
Box-kicked cleanly and made one clean break, on 43. That was about it. One carry, and South Africa had a quarter of the ball in the last ten minutes of the first half.
Read also: the Springboks scrum explained, the set piece that scored 14 points in four minutes here.
1. Jan-Hendrik Wessels – 5.5/10
Drove in the maul that scored on 10, which beat a set defence by swinging inside instead of going straight. The starting scrum never went forward, and won nothing until the replacements arrived.
2. Johan Grobbelaar – 6.5/10
Scored off the maul on 10 and made 12 tackles. The throwing wobbled: a lineout spilled on halfway on 18, and Jeremy Williams stole another on 44.
3. Zachary Porthen – 5/10
Two tackles that drove the carrier back, joint most in the match. But he was penalised at a ruck on 22, and Ikitau scored off the lineout that followed.
4. Eben Etzebeth – 5/10
Penalised twice at the breakdown early in the second half, and RugbyPass had Lonergan kicking goals off both. Hurt a finger with the bench already spent and played on, taking the lineout for the maul on 69. Off on 76, in his 147th Test.
5. Franco Mostert – 5/10
First Test since Wales last November. Went off his feet over the ball on 21, and the penalty sent the Wallabies to an attacking lineout. Four carries. Off on 47, then back on twice for Etzebeth.
6. Paul de Villiers – 7.5/10
The best Springboks player on the field. Won three breakdown penalties, the second of them for Pollard’s opening goal, and his three turnovers matched Fraser McReight’s for the most in the match. Picked off a pass on 36. Eighty minutes on his fifth cap.
7. Elrigh Louw – 7/10
Fifteen tackles, the most by anyone, in a side that had to make 163 to Australia’s 110. Two carries, and barely a mention in either live blog.
8. Marco van Staden – 5/10
Started at No 8 and gave away a penalty in the second minute for handling the ball in a ruck. Three carries in 47 minutes is short of a Test No 8’s workload.
Replacements: 21-0 in the last 16 minutes
Erasmus sent all eight on together on 47, at 27-17 down, and by the end they faced as few as 11 men. The bomb squad had stopped winning last quarters at Ellis Park and Cape Town. It won this one and still fell a score short.
16. Malcolm Marx – 7/10
Six carries in 33 minutes, and the one on 69 drew Wilson’s shoulder and the first yellow card. Hooked for both late scrum tries. South Africa lost a lineout on his throw on 62.
17. Ox Nché – 7/10
Stole a ball on 57 and knocked it on. Australia scored off the scrum. Then the set piece turned: the first Springboks scrum penalty came on his side, and he scored the last try with seconds left.
18. Wilco Louw – 7/10
The tighthead in the scrum that walked the Wallabies backwards for the penalty try on 71 and put van den Berg over on 74. Two carries.
19. Lood de Jager – 5/10
Two tackles that drove carriers back, but two attacks died in his hands. He knocked on at a lineout on 51. On 64, with South Africa finally inside the 22, he spilled in contact.
20. Jasper Wiese – 6/10
Won the 50th cap he had agreed to win from the bench. Tapped and went on 69 from the wrong spot and was called back. On 71 Lonergan stopped him from an offside position, and the penalty try followed. Three carries.
21. Morné van den Berg – 7/10
Baltimore’s man of the match won his own high kick back on 49 and carried seven times in 33 minutes. Lost the ball grounding it off the scrum on 70. Made no mistake off another scrum four minutes later.
22. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 7/10
Found touch five metres out on 50. Broke the line on 72 and put the cross-kick into van der Merwe’s hands. Kicked both late conversions, and Paisami’s yellow card on 77 was for the high shot on him.
23. Quan Horn – 4.5/10
The lowest mark, so it gets its reasons. Replacements are marked on what they change. In 33 minutes at fullback, Horn carried twice, and Jorgensen got up ahead of him for a high ball on 56.
Then the last play. South Africa were running from deep after the siren, and News24 had Horn getting in Esterhuizen’s way. Obstruction, ball in touch, Test over. It was his third cap.
Springboks player ratings by WeTalkRugby from the live broadcast, with minutes from the Guardian, ABC and News24 blogs.
Your turn
Was this a second string found out, or a bench that nearly stole a Test Australia had already won? The marks say the first. Horn’s 4.5 and Etzebeth’s 5 are where the argument starts. Make it below.
Frequently asked
What was the score in Wallabies v Springboks in Perth? Australia 42-38 South Africa, at Optus Stadium on Sunday 27 September. It was 24-17 at half-time and 42-17 on 64 minutes.
Who scored South Africa’s tries? Johan Grobbelaar, Edwill van der Merwe, a penalty try, Morné van den Berg and Ox Nché. Handré Pollard kicked seven points and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu four.
Why were Australia down to 11 men? Harry Wilson, Ryan Lonergan, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Hunter Paisami were all sin-binned between the 70th and 77th minutes. Wilson was back on for the last restart.
