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South Africa v Argentina player ratings (150)

• Mark Orlovac
• 14 Oct 07, 10:40 PM

Paris - It worked so well on Saturday we're continuing the Orlo/Dirsy blog partnership for the SA v Argentina ratings, but this time with added Fordyce!

Here are our player ratings for the Boks' semi-final win over the Pumas. I have rated South Africa and Ben and Tom are now so inseparable they have jointly rated Argentina.

Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts!

South Africa:

Percy Montgomery - Did not get into the line as much as he would have liked but continued his fine place-kicking form. Claimed 17 points and kept the scoreboard ticking over. 7

JP Pietersen - Quiet game for the Natal Sharks wing. Made the forward pass which prevented Habana claiming a hat-trick of tries. 6

Jaque Fourie - Made a crucial tackle on Mario Ledesma as Argentina threatened the line at the start of the second half. Was involved in the move for Danie Rossouw鈥檚 try. 7

Francois Steyn - Put in his fair share of tackles and his long pass helped set up Bryan Habana鈥檚 opening try. Gave away a penalty in the first half after finding himself isolated and prone to errors. 6

Bryan Habana - Pure box office. Brightened up a desperate game with a superb chip-and-chase for his first-half try. Showed great anticipation for his intercept score late on. Did his work in defence as well. 9

Butch James - Made some nice touches but often his tactical kicking lacked direction. Not his best game for the Boks. 6

Fourie Du Preez - The scrum-half got involved in the aimless kicking fest and his high kick at the start of the second half put his side in trouble. Can be forgiven as his first-half interception try got his side going. 7

Os Du Randt - The veteran prop never stopped tackling but did not have a chance to really punch any holes. Departed for running repairs before being replaced early in the second half. 6

John Smit - Played a massive role in the well-oiled line-out machine - he only missed his jumpers once. A bit of indiscipline in the first half cost his side three points. 7

CJ Van Der Linde - Put under a lot of pressure at scrum-time by the wily Argentine loose-head Rodrigo Roncero. Andrew Sheridan will have taken note. 5

Bakkies Botha - Line-out work was again solid and gave his opposite number plenty to think about. Was his usual aggressive self. 7

Victor Matfield - Made his presence felt in the contact area and jumping at the line-out was as impressive and immaculate as ever. 8

Schalk Burger - The Western Province flanker was again at the heart of South Africa鈥檚 forward efforts. Turned the ball over for Habana's first try and his pass put Rossouw over for his. 7

Juan Smith - Was a complete pain at the Argentine line-out, disrupting two throws to win possession for his side. Blotted his copybook with a sin-binning for a late high tackle - needless. 6

Danie Rossouw - Put in his fair share of tackles but was never explosive with ball in hand. Gave away a silly penalty for a push while chasing a high ball but took his try well. 7

Replacements:

Bismarck Du Plessis - Penalised at the scrum after coming on for Du Randt, but held up OK therafter. 5

Jannie Du Plessis, Johannes Muller, Bobby Skinstad, Ruan Pienaar, Andre Pretorius, Wynand Olivier all took to the field late on with the game already won.

Argentina:

Ignacio Corleto - Made an excellent break from deep inside his own half early on and put through a nice grubber later, but kicked poorly to touch and gave away too much possession too easily. 5

Luca Borges - A nice tidy-up and break to release Corleto, and a good kick ahead won a penalty in the second half. But like all his team-mates in the backs, he was too happy to kick the ball away aimlessly. 6

Manuel Contepomi - Rock solid in defence in all night and scored the Pumas鈥� only try, although extremely lucky to get the decision after appearing to spill the ball before touching it down. 6

Felipe Contepomi - It was his loose pass that was intercepted for the Springboks鈥� first try. Landed two out of four penalty attempts plus the conversion but yellow-carded late on for silly elbow. 5

Horacio Agulla - Always looked lively with the ball in hand and made several impish breaks but took the wrong option on a number of occasions. 6

Juan Martin Hernandez - Not his best match of the tournament despite showing glimpses of his class. Missed with an early drop-goal attempt, and his dropped pass gave away possession for the third South African try. Kicking from hand was not as effective as previously. 5

Agustin Pichot - Not the game the old fighter would have wanted. Two poor passes from the scrum put his side in trouble, with the second leading to a Springboks try. Attempts to get involved from the scrum and ruck stymied by the over-officious Steve Walsh. 5

Rodrigo Roncero - Solid in the scrum, giving Van der Linde plenty of problems, some typical rumbles in the loose and plenty of mongrel at the breakdown. Never takes a backward step. 7

Mario Ledesma - Showed some good bursts in the loose and battled well at the breakdown, but struggled with his delivery in the line-out. 5

Martin Scelzo - Only on the field for 34 minutes and managed to hold his own at the set-piece. Couple of charges in open play too. 6

Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe - Struggled at the line-out and often found himself on the back foot at the breakdown. 5

Patricio Albacete - Too often off the pace and, like Lobbe, struggled to get a handle on the line-out. 5

Lucas Ostiglia - Some good carries early on but was not a match for his opposite number Juan Smith at the breakdown. 5

Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe - One good charge and offload from his own up-and-under among some nice touches in open play. Second best, however, at the breakdown. 6

Gonzalo Longo - Not a great game for Longo - a couple of fumbles, a missed tackle and was made to look cumbersome by opposite number Rossouw. 5

Replacements:

Omar Hasan - Replaced Scelzo after 34 minutes and, while holding his own at scrum-time, did little to impress otherwise. 5

Rimas Alvarez Kairelis - Seemed to add some solidity to the line-out after replacing Lobbe on 53 minutes. 6

Juan Manuel Leguizamon - A couple of good carries after replacing Ostiglia on 65 minutes but had little time to impress as the Springboks ran away with it. 6

Gonzalo Tiesi - Came on for Manuel Contepomi and guilty of the loose pass that put Habana away for his second try. 5

Mark Orlovac is a 主播大秀 Sport journalist based in London. He will be based in Paris for the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup.

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