Player Ratings: England vs. South Africa

Player Ratings: England vs. South Africa

England claimed their second win over the Springboks in 2018 beating the men from the Republic 12-11.

Here are our Player Ratings from the encounter at Twickenham:

  

England

15 Elliot Daly - 5


Daly was targetted by the Springboks' kickers and was beaten in the air a number of times by Nkosi and Dyantyi. His kicking game was on point and nailed a long range penalty that proved to be a vital three points.

He offered little on the counter attack but did rack up over 60 running metres.


14 Jack Nowell - 6

Popped up in great areas for England throughout at the game linking up well with his fellow winger. He was defensively solid against Dyantyi but overall he failed to make the most of the space gifted to him by the Boks defence.

13 Henry Slade - 5

Solid defensively but offered little on attack. He made a number off good decisions on defence and comminicated well with Nowell in particular. 

12 Ben Te’o - 4

Te'o was unable to provide his side with the front foot ball needed to kick start the attack. He gained just 12 metres from his 8 carries and was marked brilliantly by de Allende.

On defence he struggled to deal with de Allende who got the better of the England centre throughout the game.

11 Jonny May - 8

May struggled to deal with Sbu Nkosi in the opening stages of the game but bounced back to put in a fantastic performance.

He was all over the pitch and sparked a number of promising counterattacks that came to nothing. 

10 Owen Farrell - 7

Excellent day from the boot from the England playmaker playing in his preferred position. His defence was on point and he knocked over 9 points from the tee missing just one that came off the post.

He threw some lovely dummies creating a few holes in the Springbok defensive line but England were just unable to capitalise on their opportunities.

9 Ben Youngs - 7

Youngs, like Farrell, enjoyed an excellent kicking game and his passes were also on point throughout the game.

He also made some important one on one tackles.

8 Mark Wilson - 8.5

Wilson well and truly emptied the tank against the Springboks and repaid Eddie Jones' faith in him with an outstanding performance.

He made more carries than any other England forward and finished the match with a joint game high of 13 tackles.

7 Tom Curry - 7

Another great outing for the young English openside as he continues to make the #7 jersey his own.

He fronted up to the big Springbok back and made metres with just about every carry he made. His absence at ruck time was noticable after he left the field injured.

6 Brad Shields - 6

Shields was busy throughout the game but shown up by his fellow back rowers. He got stuck in with the Springbok pack that he knows quite well from his days in Super Rugby.

Overall a solid game despite his howler of an offload in the final 10 minutes of the game.

5 George Kruis - 6.5

A good game at the lineout and busy around the park. Kruis certainly put his hand up for further selections without being overly impressing.

4 Maro Itoje - 5 

Itoje gave away a number of penalties that put England under pressure in the early stages of the game. He did save a certain try for England but had to spend 10 minutes in the bin in doing so.

He did improve once he returned to play and caused a few issues for the Boks at ruck time and carried well.

3 Kyle Sinckler - 6

Sinckler was strong around the park with his tackles and carries but struggled at scrum time against a powerful Steven Kitshoff.

2 Dylan Hartley - 6 

A few early penalties but overall Hartley had a solid game for England. Did a lot of the dirty work for his side and his lineouts were on point.

1 Alec Hepburn - 4

Busy around the park making 10 tackles during the 40 minutes on the park but the Chiefs loosehead had a tough day at the office at scrum time and was replaced at halftime.

South Africa

15 Damian Willemse - 6

Willemse showed flashes of brilliance but like most young playmakers he made a few costly errors including a kick straight into touch.

14 S’bu Nkosi - 8

A fantastic return to test rugby for the young flyer who missed the entire Rugby Championship. He was excellent in the air and timed his tackles superbly.

He also did extremely well fend Ben Te'o off to score the only try of the game. 

13 Jesse Kriel -5 

Largely ineffective on attack but made a few sharp decision on defence. Not the best performance by the versatile back in a Green and Gold jersey.

12 Damian de Allende - 7.5

Made metres with relative ease every time he got the ball finishing the game with a match high of 72 running metres.

His work on defence was solid missing just one tackle with his only fault being that he could have spread the ball a few more times rather than carrying it up.

11 Aphiwe Dyantyi - 6

Was marked well by Nowell but the rookie Springbok still managed to gain 58 running metres. Like Nkosi he competed well in the air and is starting to become more and more of a complete winger.

10 Handré Pollard - 6.5

Excellent kicking game out of hand but Pollard's goal-kicking will come under the spotlight once again after he missed two crucial kicks today. 

He made good metres with his carries and put the Boks in good positions with his penalty kicks to touch that his forwards weren't able to make the most of.

9 Ivan van Zyl - 7 

A fine performance by van Zyl in only his 2nd start for his country. His box kicks were contestable and well-weighted and his pass and decision making was top notch.

8 Warren Whiteley - 7.5

Made 12 tackles in 80 minutes, with a number of them being crucial ones that could have proved costly. He linked up well on attack and showed some lovely handly in the build up to Nkosi's try.

7 Duane Vermeulen - 7 

A solid game on the side of the scrum for Vermeulen. He wasn't as destructive as he was in June but was effective nonetheless. 

He also made some excellent catches from high balls.

6 Siya Kolisi - 5

Kolisi got stuck into the rucks but was shut down on attack struggling to make metres. He made 6 tackles missing two.

5 Pieter-Steph du Toit - 8

Busy as ever hitting double digits in both the tackles and carries made catergories. He missed just one his 14 attempted tackles and continues his fine year in the Green jersey.

4 Eben Etzebeth - 6

Industrious and aggressive during his 41 minutes on the pitch before injury struck. The Springboks will be hoping the injury is not serious as Etzebeth has been impressive since returning from injury.



3 Frans Malherbe - 7.5

Dominant at scrum time forcing Eddie Jones into making changes at the break. He made 7 tackles and was difficult to bring down. 

2 Malcolm Marx - 6.5

Excellent around the park and at scrum time but his struggles at lineout time means that he can not get a higher rating. Marx was expectional at the breakdown and won a number of turnovers and made it difficult for England to attack.

1 Steven Kitshoff - 7.5

Another excellent game for Kitshoff who filled in for veteran Tendai Mtwarira. He dominated at scrum time and was excellent in all facets of the game

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