Job done against the plucky Scots, says Tank Lanning, who reckons that while it was not always pretty, it was mostly pretty effective. Take in the big man’s Bok ratings.
If last week was about going back to the basics, then this week could be compared to heading toward the cave from which we crawled. Said with due respect, of course, because it worked a treat. Whether it will work against sides that are more adept at shutting down the more basic game plan remains to be seen though.
Damien de Allende passed just once, while Jesse Kriel did not pass at all. Nope, it was all about the big men running off Du Preez, and astute use of the boot.
Coach Heyneke Meyer has quite clearly headed the warning that came in the form of a loss to Japan in that first game, and thus reverted to the “Traditional” Bok power game. As said, not always pretty, but often pretty effective.
The lineout was again solid with both Lood de Jager and Duane Vermeulen pinching balls on Scottish feeds, but the difference this week is that the scrum also played it’s part, the Boks managing two tightheads.
The hard work was done up front, though, where all of De Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Vermeulen and Schalk Burger made multiple carries that resulted in meters made over the gain line. And for that, they deserve the higher ratings.
For me, I can understand why Meyer has chosen this path, but as a slight change up, it would be nice to see these big boys running off Handre Pollard or even De Allende, thus having the option of going either left or right and choosing the depth from which they come, instead of just bashing off a Du Preez pass in front of Pollard. It was often difficult to tell who had been selected as flyhalf, Burger or Pollard!
Solid stuff, and difficult to be tough on any of the players. But also tricky to single out a specific man of the match.
How I rated the Boks against Scotland:
Willie le Roux – 7
JP Pietersen – 7
Jesse Kriel – 7
Damian De Allende – 7.5
Bryan Habana – 7.5
Handré Pollard – 8
Fourie du Preez – 8.5
Duane Vermeulen – 8
Schalk Burger – 7
Francois Louw – 7.5
Lood de Jager – 8.5
Eben Etzebeth – 8.5
Jannie du Plessis – 6.5
Bismarck du Plessis – 6
Tendai Mtawarira – 7.5
Bench:
Adriaan Strauss – 7
Trevor Nyakane – 7
Frans Malherbe – 7
Willem Alberts – 6
Pieter-Steph du Toit – 6
Ruan Pienaar – 6
Pat Lambie – 6
Jan Serfontein – 6
Coach:
Heyneke Meyer – 8
Referee:
Nigel Owens – 8
Disagree? Brilliant, because now you can do your own Bok ratings and stand a chance of winning one of two Samsung Galaxy A3 phones. Add your own ratings on the “Rate the Boks” section of the new Vodacom Rugby website. Your player ratings will then influence the overall community ratings and allow you to compare your ratings with those of the experts and other sectors of the community.
Ever wondered if the fans in Joburg rate the players differently to those in Cape Town, or if perhaps the fairer sex enjoy a varied take on the game to the manne who think they know it all? Have a little fun by comparing your ratings with any other 2 sets of ratings by choosing them from the drop down menus at the top of each column.
