Bok MVP played off the bench!

Aug 31 • General News, International, Springboks • 1813 Views • Comments Off on Bok MVP played off the bench!

South Africa’s first loss in Argentina might have had something to do with the decision to leave their Most Valuable Player on the bench.

Pieter-Steph du Toit replaced Lood de Jager six minutes into the second half of the Springboks’ 26-24 loss in Salta, and the rangy forward put in a 34-minute shift that earned the highest grade on the Vodacom Player Ratings.

The Vodacom Stats show that the hard-running Bok lock made five carries, scored one try, completed six tackles, fielded one kick, and took one lineout ball to earn a 5.7 from Joe Rater.

It’s far from an impressive mark out of 10; the sober ratings reflect the unanimous disappointment after a historic loss. Raters used 126.5 points to grade the matchday squad and coach Allister Coetzee after a scrappy win in Nelspruit, and that figure dropped to 106.5 this week.

Faf de Klerk was again the highest-rated player in the starting lineup, though his 5.6 was still two full points down from an MVP-worthy 7.6 in Nelspruit.

On the other end of the spectrum, Francois Louw will be happy to hand over the LVP award to Bok skipper, Adriaan Strauss who was tagged with a 3.5. Ouch!

In the space of one match, Coetzee’s rating slipped from a very mediocre 5.0 to a 3.0 as Raters fired up the Bok hotseat.

Du Toit’s MVP award shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. South Africa gave a much better account of themselves in the second half, bouncing back from a 13-3 deficit at the break to “win” the final 40 by a margin of 21-13.

Resident ratings expert, Tank Lanning concurred with Joe Rater. He crowned Du Toit with a 6.5, and gave four other benchwarmers a higher grade than anyone in the run-on side – especially fullback Johan Goosen who got the LVP with a 2.8.

According to Lanning’s ratings, Steven Kitshoff, Lourens Adriaanse, Jaco Kriel (all 6.0) and Jesse Kriel (5.5) sparked the revival and almost saved the Boks from the jaws of defeat.

The gentlemen low-balled Adriaan Strauss with a 3.5, but the ladies really let the Bok captain have it with 1.8 grade bordering on rude! The reverse was true when it came to evaluating the coach as Coetzee got a consoling 4.3 from the fairer sex while the gents voted for a 3.0.

Interestingly enough, Du Toit’s high rating from the fans did not come from Stormers supporters. The Newlands faithful voted for two Lions – Faf de Klerk (5.8) in the starting lineup, and Jaco Kriel (5.9) on the bench.

Fan ratings:

Highest rated run on XV player: Faf de Klerk (5.6)

Highest rated bench player: Pieter-Steph du Toit (5.7)

Lowest rated player: Adriaan Strauss (3.5)

Coach rating: Allister Coetzee (3.0)

Tank’s ratings:

Highest rated run on XV player: Etzebeth, De Jager, Whiteley, Habana, Combrinck (all 5.0)

Highest rated bench player: Pieter-Steph du Toit (6.5)

Lowest rated player: Johan Goosen (2.8)

Coach rating: Allister Coetzee (2.5)

Male vs Female:

Highest rated run on XV player – Male: Faf de Klerk (5.6), Female: Warren Whiteley (6.5)

Lowest rated player – Male: Adriaan Strauss (3.5), Female: Strauss (1.8)

Coach Allister Coetzee – Male: 3.0, Female: 4.3

Lions vs Stormers fans:

Highest rated run on XV player – Lions: De Klerk, Whiteley (5.6), Stormers: De Klerk (5.8)

Lowest rated player – Lions: Adriaan Strauss (3.1), Stormers: Strauss (3.5)

Coach Allister Coetzee – Lions: 2.9, Stormers: 3.5

Disagree? Excellent – Feel free to rate the players, coach and referee in our “Rate the Boks” section of the site. Your rating not only gets you into the draw to win an LG Leon smartphone each week, but also then influences the overall community Vodacom Player Ratings and allows you to compare your ratings with those of the experts and other sectors of the community.