15. Zane Kirchner: 4
Started brightly but soon faded under pressure. His kicking out of hand was poor and was one of the main reasons that Japan could build pressure. He kicked one out on the full and sliced another that gained no territory for an already retreating pack.
14. Bryan Habana: 4
A complete passenger for this encounter. He was starved of ball but at the same time he didn’t come and look for work like he usually does. Also looked vulnerable and off the pace in defence.
13. Jesse Kriel: 4
Not the electric start to the World Cup that was expected of him. Looked isolated with ball in hand and his weak tackle in the move that produced the match-winning try will haunt him for a long time. With ball in hand, Kriel was abject and will need to improve dramatically if he is selected against Samoa.
12. Jean de Villiers: 5
It was reported before the match that since De Villiers broke his jaw in The Rugby Championship he has lost 6kg in weight and it showed. He played with his heart on his sleeve and tackled everything that moved but when he carried at the gainline, he was knocked back persistently. He only made 23m compared to his opposite number’s 52m.
11. Lwazi Mvovo: 3
If ever somebody got stage fright at a World Cup then it was Mvovo. Looked worried under the high ball and offered absolutely nothing in attack. At times he looked like he was watching the match rather than playing in it.
10. Pat Lambie: 4
He only missed one kick at goal but had no chance of moving his backline forward with the sort of ball that he was getting from the forwards. Also set the tone for the abject second half Springbok performance with a terrible slice that put his team on the back foot just a minute into the half.
9. Ruan Pienaar: 5
His service was fine and he even managed to snipe a few times around the fringes to gain some valuable yards but he couldn’t gain any control of the game behind a pack that were hardly dishing up any quick ball.
1. Tendai Mtawarira: 3.5
Out-scrummaged and out-played. Kensuke Hatakeyama made mincemeat of the Beast up front and when the Springboks needed one of their biggest ball carriers to do some damage he seemed to go into hiding.
2. Bismarck du Plessis: 6
Another player that didn’t offer much solidity at scrum time. That said, he never shied away from contact and carried the ball in his usual bullish way. Grabbed a try and a 100% record in the lineout.
3. Jannie du Plessis: 4
Looked off the pace and when he was needed to put his hand up and do the dirty work as the pressure started building he started missing tackles – three in total.
4. Lodewyk de Jager: 6
All in all he will be one of the only players to take some pride out of this performance. His try showed his incredible athleticism and his work at the lineout was effective and tidy.
5. Victor Matfield: 6.5
He led by example from the first minute but he couldn’t drag the rest of his team mates up to his level. His lineout ability is still second to none and in the loose he carried with passion and ferocity. This result will have hurt Matfield more than anyone and will surely be the lowest point of such a decorated and illustrious international career.
6. Francois Louw: 5
Started brightly and was the recipient of a gift-wrapped try from a catch and drive at the lineout. After the try though, he couldn’t get to grips with his main job of disrupting Japanese ball at the breakdown and securing his own. He is a master technician in this area but Japan managed to completely nullify him.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit: 4.5
A late replacement for Willem Alberts and it looked as though Du Toit didn’t quite have time to get his head ready for the challenge ahead. One big carry that gave him a clean line break but stood on the fringes of too many rucks to make any impact. Alberts was sorely missed.
8. Schalk Burger: 7.5
Easily South Africa’s best player. Turned over the ball on numerous occasions whilst also linking the play in the midfield more times than his compatriots in the centres. Carried like a man possessed in the loose and tackled like a demon but he can’t do everything on his own!
Replacements: 4
Adrian Strauss made an immediate impact with his side-stepping run to the line minutes after coming on and Fourie de Preez added a little bit of spark to the backline but no one else added any real value and Coenie Oosthuizen’s last minute yellow card summed up the Springboks’ day perfectly.
By Andy Daniel (@scrum5ive)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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Incredible game… if this isn’t still the highlight of the tournament by the end of the final then it will be an incredible few weeks!
No doubt SA were very poor, but credit where it is due to Japan, they were incredibly well disciplined, played brilliantly as a team and right at the end as brave as you like, looking to take the win rather than bank the draw. I was jumping out of my seat and biting my nails in those last ten minutes. Incredible advert for rugby and the RWC.
Haven’t read any of the players scores as it has no reflection on the simple fact that South Africa where not good enough and Japan was. No messing about at scrum time looking for a penalty, clean hooks; ball at 8’s feet and away in less than a blink of an eye, same with the rucks and mauls. Great, Great Game :-)
Being an adopted South African and having watched the boks lift the cup twice in my since my arrival 20 years ago … this was so painful to watch. Credit where it is due though and they really did not deserve to win … the best players definitely won at the end of the day. Hopefully this is not the end of the road already though .. they just wanted to give everyone a fright!
Beware a wounded springbok, the real test is in the reaction.
I hate how low rated they are, if find it completely discredits Japan’s effort. They lost yes but they weren’t 3/10!
Completely agree…. beware a wounded springbok!!! Well said. Let’s hope this has got them angry and hungrier than ever to play a better game next time round
Don’t be too disheartened. Yes they didn’t deserve to win, but it’s how they react to that defeat that’s the important thing. A long way to go in the tournament yet!