Well, that was ugly.
Normally I try and rewatch the game before doing player ratings. However, it’s the long weekend and I am trying to maintain a cheerful, relaxed vibe. Thus I am going nowhere near that abomination again. In short, we were out-muscled, out-enthused, out-thought. The scoreline was probably generous to us. So with that in mind I have dished out a few hard scores, despite the fact that no one had an absolute shocker.
Have a look and see what you think:
15 Berrick Barnes 3 Failed to make an impact on the game before being subbed off with a chest injury at the half hour mark.
14 Dom Shipperley 4 Had plenty of opportunities but struggled in the face of the committed Springbok defence. Is yet to prove his 'flyer' credentials at the top level, though his defence is solid.
13 Adam Ashley-Cooper 5 As usual cannot fault him for effort, though he battled to find space. Was subbed just before half time after putting his head in harms way one too many times, although he saved a try in the process.
12 Pat McCabe 4 Unusually quiet game. Crashed the ball up a few times, made a few good tackles. But this was a physical slogfest and he should've been more prominent.
11 Digby Ioane 4 Like Shipperley he had plenty of ball but didn't do much with it. I don't think I've ever seen Digby so well contained. Succumbed to injury with 20 to go.
10 Kurtley Beale 7 Was a one-man band in the backs, a clear standout. Looked dangerous almost every time he had the ball, however was let down by a lack of good go-forward momentum. Defence still needs a bit of work, some of his tackle attempts were Cooper-esque.
9 Nick Phipps 5 Battled away without making many errors. Speed and quality of service was good, especially considering we were going backwards.
8 Radike Samo 3 Not his best. Made a few big hits but not much more. Too often ran away from his support and isolated himself. We needed more impact from him.
7 Michael Hooper 8 The shining light of the evening. Did it all- runs, tackles, turnovers. Was the only Aussie forward to really stand up, and as a result he takes out the G&GR Man of the Match.
6 Dave Dennis 3 Did he even play? Was really disappointed with his performance. No impact with the ball or in defence. He has had his chance at the top level, think it's time to try someone else.
5 Nathan Sharpe 6 The old warhorse put in his usual effort. Trucked the ball up continuously, and got around the field OK. If we had a few more like him it would have been closer.
4 Kane Douglas 3 A bad case of second-game syndrome sadly. Barely touched the ball, and I don't think Clarkie called his name once. This was a game taylor-made for his style, and he faultered. We missed Timani.
3 Ben Alexander 5 The scrum held up OK, and he played almost the full 80. Little impact around the park though.
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau 6 Was one of the few forwards who kept fighting right until the final whistle (well, almost). Struggled to make ground, but kept trying and trying. Lineout was OK.
1 Benn Robinson 5 OK for the 30 or so minutes he was on, ans when he made his return right at the end.
16 Saia Faingaa n/a
17 James Slipper 3 Although harshly sin-binned (in my opinion) there is no doubt this cost the Wallabies dearly.
18 Rob Simmons 5 Had a few nice touches off the bench, was hardly an 'impact sub' though.
19 Liam Gill 5 Serviceable from the bench.
20 Mike Harris 5 Scored a nice try, however like all the backs he struggled to make inroads.
21 Brett Sheehan 5 Didn't let the side down in his 15 minutes.
22 Anthony Faingaa 5 Solid but not brilliant. Typical A Faingaa display.
G&GR Patented Player ratings scale
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all-round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho-hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking, pal
1 – A complete joke
What do you think?
