Smit, Jacobs feel the heat
21 Nov 2009
John Smit and Adi Jacobs were the big losers in keo.co.za’s Bok player ratings.
15. Zane Kirchner (6)
Continues to blow hot and cold at Test level, but kicked well out of hand.
14. JP Pietersen (5)
Was all but anonymous apart from one kick-and-chase in the last minute of the game.
13. Jaque Fourie (8)
Named the official Man of the Match. Made a couple of strong runs in the first quarter before scoring a simple try after good work from Bryan Habana. Solid on defence.
12. Adi Jacobs (4)
Got over the advantage line a couple of times early on, but was embarrassed on defence when Sergio Parisse ran straight over him. His failure to hold his line also resulted in Italy’s try and he threw a poor pass behind Fourie that allowed Italy to get back inside Bok territory.
11. Bryan Habana (8)
Scored an easy try after Ryan Kankowksi’s break, and played a key role in both Fourie and Fourie du Preez’s tries. Looked for work when the ball didn’t come his way and was good defensively.
10. Morné Steyn (5)
Had an average day with the boot, missing two first-half penalties and a conversion before finding his radar in the second half. His pin-point up-and-unders put Italy under pressure but he missed one kick for touch.
9. Fourie du Preez (8)
Rounded off a good Bok try in the second half that all but sealed the win and then sent Wynand Olivier over late in the game. His tactical kicking was, as usual, superb.
8. Ryan Kankowski (7)
Made the step inside and offload that sent Habana away for his try and was good in the loose, although he could have made more of a contribution at scrum time.
7. Danie Rossouw (7)
Had a quiet first half, knocking on inside Italy’s 22 when the Boks were on the attack. Made far more of an impact in the second, giving a brilliant under-the-arm pass that led to Du Preez’s try. Like Kankowski, he could have scrummed a bit harder rather than hanging off on occasion.
6. Heinrich Brüssow (8)
Was his usual self at the breakdown, making a crucial steal in the second quarter when Alessandro Zanni broke away from a scrum and was tackled just short of the Bok tryline.
5. Andries Bekker (7)
A solid lineout option for the Boks and competed well on Italy’s ball, stealing one against the throw. Made his presence felt in the loose, too.
4. Bakkies Botha (6)
A quiet game by his high standards.
3. John Smit (4)
Was outscrummed badly on four occasions (he popped out twice) and was mercifully moved to hooker when BJ Botha came on in the second half.
2. Adriaan Strauss (7)
Threw accurately at the lineouts and made a good contribution in the loose, but struggled at scrum time along with Smit and Wian du Preez.
1. Wian du Preez (6)
The Test debutant held his own against the highly-rated Martin Castrogiovanni (who was replaced at half-time) apart from one poor scrum, but went backwards twice in the second half.
Substitutes:
16. Beast Mtawarira (6)
The Bok scrum looked solid when he was on the park, although his arrival did coincide with that of BJ Botha.
17. BJ Botha (8)
Made an immediate impact when he was brought on in the second half, with the Bok scrum walking Italy backwards on one occasion. Surely he has to be a regular part of the Bok squad in 2010?
18. Victor Matfield (7)
Did well at lineout time after coming on for Botha, but nothing special.
19. Jean Deysel (7)
Gave a strong performance after replacing Kankowski.
20. Francois Hougaard (-)
Not on long enough to be rated.
21. Ruan Pienaar (6)
Made a good run with his first touch, but didn’t do much after that.
22. Wynand Olivier (7)
Scored his first Test try and did enough to put pressure on Jacobs.
By Simon Borchardt
157 Comments
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21 Nov 2009, 21:24 pm
Hondo
Beast with Smit and BJ will not be so bad, I dont think.
21 Nov 2009, 21:25 pm
#98 nama1:
It’s not much better
Wiam held on nicely against the mother of all THS currently on offer at test rugby, to put his score at 5?!
Kirshner scored 7?! makes me wonder
Habana: the ball now has to pass via Adi Jacobs which is bad enough, then Fourie not usually releases the ball on tackle, Hab produces miracles with very little!!!
The Beast scored 6, WOW, should have faced Castrogiovanni then, imagine! LOL
21 Nov 2009, 21:32 pm
#101 WP_:
Sure,
That after the match was 60 minutes or so old and Castro G gone
Smit imptoved at Hooker but what if he started there? he wasn’t even acceptable at No. 3 first 50 minutes.
The Beast will be reinstated for Ireland and Adi might be dropped, the Irish scrum is not bad but not as good as the French so the Beast might survive for another day
21 Nov 2009, 21:41 pm
Castro came back on when Beast came on…
Beast held his own… I think JS will do well starting at 2.
WO must start at 12
21 Nov 2009, 21:48 pm
#103 Hondo:
When Beast and BJ came on, one of the Italian props went down and Castro came back on. Scrum looked pretty impressive with Beast, Smit and BJ. I think it was in the first scrum that they came off worse in the hit and still managed to regain control and shove the Italians back.
21 Nov 2009, 22:12 pm
NEWSFLASH…the beast is boning Hondo’s woman stukkend!
21 Nov 2009, 22:17 pm
I’d keep the team very much the same. BUT include BJ in starting line up & I’d move Smit back to hooker, and bring on Bissie half way through.
21 Nov 2009, 22:20 pm
Funny how most of Adi’s fans are a-holes.
21 Nov 2009, 22:23 pm
Ja thanx and a PDV supporter
21 Nov 2009, 22:35 pm
#108 Die_Valk:
What’s up with this comment, Valkman?
21 Nov 2009, 22:35 pm
Just saw the Italian try, that was of an obstruction by 13 taking out Morne Steyn
21 Nov 2009, 22:41 pm
#110 nama1:
Just read through the first 50 comments. Amusing stuff.
Kirschner a 7???
Wian did as well as can be expected with Smittie at 3.
What a pass from Russouw!
And that hit from Chabal against Samoa…
21 Nov 2009, 22:42 pm
I’m all for Juan de Jong. Looks a great prospect.
21 Nov 2009, 22:44 pm
When people can’t admit that a player messed up you should never take them seriously.
21 Nov 2009, 22:45 pm
#111 Charlie: Yeah, but the SuperSport crew didn’t want to sound like whingers. Not that it matters, but the entire build up to that try should never have occured – Habana kept that ball in play, it should never have been an Italian line-out. That TJ who reffed the Sarries game is either clueless or doesn’t like us much.
For the first time in a long, long time I actually agreed with Owen “Rightly So” Nkumane. It’s so rare that he speaks sense. Keep it up Owen, it’s a nice change!
21 Nov 2009, 22:49 pm
The same happened last week with the French try that was not legal
21 Nov 2009, 22:55 pm
i will begrudgingly admit that 2 of my favourite players didn’t play well tonight.
adi jacobs – out of position in my estimation – is a 13 through and through.
ryan kankowski – there justrugby – i said it … lol
kanko is more suited to an open game when the forwards are on top. pity he went off before we really turned on the pressure – he would have excelled
21 Nov 2009, 22:58 pm
We should not be dropping Jacobs yet. Just like Jake, PDV needs to build a team that he has faith in and have faith in him. That said, I do believe Jacobs is best as an impact player.
I have no concerns about Jacobs next week. BoD will not tear him up at all. Jacobs struggles with big guys in his channel not with slippery people. Besides, if BoD makes a break, he will not be able to do anything with it, unless he is 10 meters out. In some ways it is good that side target Adi, it takes the pressure off Morne & allows the cover more time to get across.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why JF doesn’t take on the crash ball role. He is better suited for it & does it so often, just not off first phase…
As for the rest, I think Kanko will have some more confidence from this game & should be on the bench for the Irish as they game is likely to open up in the last 30 minutes.
I don’t think the Irish front row is nearly as impressive as the last two we have faced so we can hopefully focus on the full 8 man performance.
21 Nov 2009, 23:00 pm
#117 charo:
He showded glimpses of what he is capable of, needs a huge S14 to re-establish himself !!
21 Nov 2009, 23:10 pm
#119 justrugby:
yes, seems to have lost confidence.
mind you, spies has improved to such a degree it’s hard for any other 8th man to even consider having a chance.
was never a fan before but the guy is now a phenomenal player
21 Nov 2009, 23:29 pm
My 2 cents worth: G10 was right Bj at 3 JS at 2. Could not believe it is the same scrum. AJ/JF understanding not there yet. Simon’s 4 is merely to create comment or he is just plain dof. How FDP got 8 with a number of wild passes is beyond me. One break is equal to 8 FFS get real. HB truly phenomenal. JD a shoe in for 7. DR at 8 with RK off wood. DR pass to JF down left flank just pure magic. These are the sort of touches that lead to tries, the sort of touches Spies can only dream of. JF was there in support and his running lines are that of a wing. I actually thought BH deserved the MOM. MS was off his kicking best but I think that has to do with not playing with the Gilbert ball. Let’s hope that PDV saw these moments above and select correctly then I say bring on the Irish.
21 Nov 2009, 23:35 pm
I cant wait to see which players PdV picks for next weeks game against Ireland
21 Nov 2009, 23:39 pm
#102 Hondo: he did face him… and we all know what happened. 3-1 to Beast
21 Nov 2009, 23:42 pm
#104 WP_: he did more than hold his own…just ask his team mates, Smit, JP & Brussouw…they were cheering and clapping as the Beast bested Castro
21 Nov 2009, 23:48 pm
Its amazing how the scrums all went against the NH teams after the Dickenson fiasco… Did all the refs opt out of the “agreement” on interpretation… BTW the agreement: Call it for the weaker team and make a few thousand for the bookies
21 Nov 2009, 23:56 pm
The scrum is a system of pressure or forces with the point being at TH… If your TH fail the system fails with the pressure then transfered to the LH next and ultimatley the whole scrum collapses… Castro did well in the Leicester game because Jannie Failed rather than Steenkamp..
22 Nov 2009, 00:35 am
Jacobs is kak
22 Nov 2009, 01:08 am
Here’s my problem with these ratings:
I don’t care who you are but unless you’re a blade of grass in Italy there is no way you can judge who was contributing more at any particular time at the scrums. So to say Kankowski and Russouw were’nt contributing is stupid and daft because there’s no way of knowing.
Why are these guys being graded as if they were playing a Tri-nations match? A bit of leniancy should be applied for this tour. This site is beggining to bore me.
And this “hop on the BJ Botha band wagon” thing is starting to piss me off.
22 Nov 2009, 02:25 am
#127 Balletjies:
Jy’s seker maar dronk. Ons vergewe jou.
22 Nov 2009, 04:15 am
Refrence to the Italian front row as being worn down by the time BJ and Beast came on is only partly true. Their big number 3 had been off the park since half-time and so had had a rest. Their is obviously a synergy with the old sharks front three being reunited. I recall watching those three play against the Waratahs, one of the strongest scrums around, and Beast,Smit and BJ held their own in the scrums. I think Deysel at 7 and Danie at 8 are also more inclined to keep their heads down and push at scrum time than Kanko at 8. That helps too.
On the subject of 8th men, the one player who played well and was highly visible behind a consistently losing pack in the super 14 two years ago was Joe v Niekerk – he looked good even behind a pack that was losing all the time, don’t think kanko or spies manage that – they tend to disappear when the pack is being walloped.
22 Nov 2009, 04:52 am
Adi Jacobs is powderpuff.
“Best bok player against France” they said last week…please!
Try to think of one good thing this guys done – ever. And he’s had a lot of chances by now. I’m not talking about a bustling little run that looks promising for a second and then ends in a turn over (as they do more often than not). When has the promising move by Jacobs actually ended in something substantial? He’s small and he’s not fast. And we haven’t even gone into his defensice weakness.
Check out Jacobs’ role in the try conceded in the CC semi-final by the Sharks – he literally stood still as the ball bobbled about after Pienaars loose pass and was a revolving door for the Cheetah player who did go for the ball.
Where’s the controversy guys? Oh yes! And he’s ‘creative’ too I hear. What a joke…
If he gets selected again against Ireland – and PDV’s love is blind so he probably will – it won’t be no joke seeing BOD rip him to shreds…
Adi Jacobs – powderpuff
22 Nov 2009, 06:47 am
#131 lungburner:
Sadly, your correct observation is not going to make any effect, Jon C. or Simon B. wrote 3 timees last week that Adi was brilliant, you may bet that 95% here said the same!
Adi turned over the ball 5 times against France, I lost counts how many time the French ran thru him, he is pretty good in faking tackles ala Paulse
I wouldn’t bother with his performance against the Italians because I don’t hold them a viable Test opposition but from what I watched on and off, Adi was Adi: missed, faked, turned over, didn’t pass the ball timely.
22 Nov 2009, 08:15 am
#132 Hondo: “faking tackles ala Paulse”???? it’s clear from the way you talk that you’ve never played top level, possibly even club level rugby before….how does a player fake tackles? why would a player WANT to fake tackles??? And though Paulse never took anyone backwards in the tackle he had very solid defence for his size. You’re a cancer on this blog and I for one see straight through your racist **** and so did many others when you gave yourself away by that “white forwards” comment a few days ago
22 Nov 2009, 08:18 am
I must say WO needs to start next week, Adi has been given his chance and it’s only fair WO gets his since neither are really ‘incumbents’
22 Nov 2009, 08:45 am
#134 flanka: WO hasn’t been good in the club games but JDV wasn’t much better before that. Inside centre is the real problem position for SA.
22 Nov 2009, 09:08 am
Dude. Breytie is one of the legends of SA rugby!
How dare you disrespect him… He was a small guy but he held his own on defence and was a better all round defender that adi will ever be or ever has been
22 Nov 2009, 09:50 am
#136 WP_: here here
22 Nov 2009, 09:53 am
#135 Big Hit: yeah adi and WO are really there on default simply coz there’s nobody any better playing local rugby….but JDV has a pretty short contract and holds a mortgage on the 12 jersey. we just have to take it on the chin the same way NZ did when Carter went on his “sabatical”
22 Nov 2009, 09:55 am
#133 flanka: hondo is pietman’s illegitimate son. The b@stard!
22 Nov 2009, 10:06 am
#138 flanka: JDV had his moments but the Bok backine never looked great even when he was there. There’s a problem with the attack.
22 Nov 2009, 10:18 am
#136 WP_: errrm no, there were long periods in his career when his defence went awol.
22 Nov 2009, 10:19 am
I must say that Bekker is developing into a class lock. His international experience is starting to show. Now we need to keep blooding other locks.
22 Nov 2009, 11:27 am
CANADIAN VIAGRA IS DA BEST!
22 Nov 2009, 11:50 am
#143 Cal:
I take it “CALLETJIE” awoke from a Rip van Winkel kind of sleep last night.
22 Nov 2009, 11:51 am
Can we have ex-rugby players give ratings?
And no not the ones quoted in Rapport please.
22 Nov 2009, 12:28 pm
Adi can and will handle BOD
Adi has problems handling big and strong-running players
Bod is great but he’s hardly physical
Adi or WO, both will do fine vs Ireland
22 Nov 2009, 13:13 pm
#146 The_Green_Machine_is_a_Mean_Machine:
Look at the 63rd minute of the 2nd B&ILs Test in Pretoria
You’ll see how BOD and Robertson ran thru Adi as if he was a transparent media
22 Nov 2009, 14:00 pm
Well Jacobs not the only one in the BIL series that it happened to but nothing said, what I do like about Adi’s character is no matter the negative side from the media and the public he just go on with playing
22 Nov 2009, 14:15 pm
Wow that Raynog arsehole has the rock of Gibraltar on his shoulder.
22 Nov 2009, 15:07 pm
118. The Bill, let’s not underestimate BOD, one of the best players of the last decade, and still an incredible force.
I think Adi can play, but not at 12 at this level. A 12 needs to have the option of crashing for one, which Adi doesn’t.
I was impressed with Danie on the weekend, as always he was reliable. I also think JP gets an unfair wrap, it’s mentioned that Henidrich made that steal near our line, but there’s no mention of the ‘anonymous’ JP yet again making a try saving tackle
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