With just Jantjies to call on, Coetzee’s flyhalf options are thin
Andries Coetzee 7/10: Beautifully read Francois Trinh-Duc’s kick early on and followed it up with a good run. His defensive alignment leading up to the first try by the French was a bit shaky. Fantastic work when he snatched the ball from French hands and popped it to Siya Kolisi (a few centimetres from the touchline, I should add). Great off-the-ground offload to Courtnall Skosan in the third quarter. Didn’t have too many opportunities, but he, pictured right, got the basics right. Raymond Rhule 7/10: Went looking for work. Looked dangerous early on with a sniping run and great offload to Coetzee. Did well on defence – that driving-back tackle on the big Virimi Vakatawa was superb. His intercept on own five relieved some good pressure for the Boks. Lionel Mapoe 6/10: Great work on defence and produced a few nice runs, including a beautiful line early on. He was guilty of one or two handling errors, but an overall solid performance. Jan Serfontein 7/10: Did well to finish off the Boks’ first try. His defensive organisation was good, and he produced a few nice touches. Courtnall Skosan 6/10: Fantastic offload to Siya Kolisi in the build-up to Serfontein’s try. Nowhere pass just before Kolisi’s out-of-this-world intercept and run to score. A few nice runs, but he wasn’t as active with the ball as he would have liked. Elton Jantjies 7/10: He handled the game with composure again and his goal-kicking was spot on (he missed only one penalty). Nice work leading up to the last try. And he even had time to smile after that woerwoer drop (he knew there was a penalty advantage). Ross Cronje 7/10: That try-saving tackle on Damian Penaud deserves an A for effort. Cronje’s service was quick and his game management was tops. Warren Whiteley 7/10: I feel I need a separate rating just for that interplay between him and Malcolm Marx in the last quarter... that overhead pass by Marx, the offload and run by Whiteley…that was just superb. He did well to snatch the ball up after Skosan couldn’t secure the high ball. He produced a few lovely runs and was ever-present at the breakdowns. Oh, and I just love how he always chases kicks. And the way he runs onto the ball at pace. And his ball-handling. And now I’ll stop. Oupa Mohoje: Not enough time to be rated. Siya Kolisi 9/10: All he had to do was kick for posts in Durban and he would have done it all. Spectacular performance – nothing I can say can paint a clear-enough picture. That is all. Franco Mostert 8/10: Just like Eben Etzebeth, he was right up there when it came to making tackles. He was good at the lineouts and produced great work at the breakdowns that just did not stop. Eben Etzebeth 7/10: Great performance. Top effort to take Scott Spedding into touch before he scored. He was a monster on defence and made a LOT of good tackles. He didn’t terrorise opposition defence with his rampaging runs, but he had a good game overall. Frans Malherbe 7/10: He showed that he does in fact offer more than just his scrummaging ability (he just made it quite easy to forget with his recent Super Rugby showings). He was aggressive at close quarters and made an impressive steal. Also, his setpiece performance couldn’t be faulted. Malcolm Marx 7/10: He didn’t emulate his performance of last week, but how could he? He looked good again and I have to say his lineout throws are starting to look like less of an issue, which is great for obvious reasons, but also because that will mean that rugby traditionalists can no longer moan “it’s no use having a hooker that plays like a No 8 if he can’t hit his targets.” Tendai Mtawarira 6/10: He looked a bit more involved in open play than last week, but that involvement also saw him concede a penalty for tackling a player without the ball. Also conceded a scrum penalty, but he won one as well. DURBAN: A quick glance down the list of out-and-out flyhalves in the current Bok set up would see a short list being drawn up. Elton Jantjies is the only man who is a flyhalf before any other position, and although that seems to be no problem as it stands, with the Lions pivot running the show with aplomb, coach Allister Coetzee is still looking to bolster this key position.
Jantjies was the “go to” man last year, as well as again being the first choice for 2017, under similar circumstances. Pat Lambie opened up last year’s incoming series at No 10 against Ireland, before being knocked out cold thanks to CJ Stander’s hip. This left the door open for Jantjies to make his mark, which he did not really do.
Questions were asked about the form Super Rugby flyhalf ’s ability to transition to Test match rugby after a stuttery Bok season in 2016, and with Handre Pollard and Lambie again injured when June rolled around this year, it was Jantjies who the mantle fell upon.
However, the response from the mercurial flyhalf has been much improved as he has been able to emulate his Super Rugby form to the Test arena. But, Jantjies does remains the only fully fledged flyhalf in the team, leaving the Boks very exposed should he be injured.
“I don’t focus on being the only stand-alone flyhalf in the team,” Jantjies said after the Test in Durban.
“For me it is much more process driven and just making sure my game management as a flyhalf, or a leader, in the team is on par.
“Then it is just making sure I am doing my job well and inspiring my teammates, and making sure I am making the right decisions at the right time.”
Coetzee is hopeful that Pollard, who was a late draft into the SA ‘A’ side, will get some national representative gametime this week on his return from injury, and hopefully do enough to warrant an immediate segway into the Bok team ahead of the rugby Championship.
Lambie, in the meantime, is being left well alone by the Boks as he continues to recover from another concussion. He is on another lengthy “return to play” protocol, and Coetzee has stated that there is no reason to burden the Sharks man with Bok responsibilities at this stage.