Lions Vs Sharks - Player Ratings
Not the indisputable performance that Johannesburg was, but the Lions stuck to their work and ran out comfortable winners on Wednesday night. The team performance wasn't a thing of beauty, but there were some excellent individual efforts amongst the 22. Apologies in the delay on getting this online, work has been keeping me busy recently.
1. Gethin Jenkins - 8
Impressive play from the loosehead, as much for his discipline and control in the face of some dodgy referring decisions and an 'interesting' performance from the opposition at scrum time. Du Plessis was crushed by the welshman and it would have shown if Kaplan had got things right in this area. He was twice pinged for going down when the ref was on the far side of the scrum and was forced to bind to Du Plessis' love handles at times as the sharks hooker lifted the shirt so high with his own bind. Crunching tackling around the park, but wasn't as prominent in the loose as against the Golden Lions. Above all showed his maturity as a player and his credentials as a complete prop.
2. Lee Mears - 9
Apart from a few wobbly throws he was his usual solid self at lineout time. Did a great job of cleaning up touch and go ball, particularly with a slightly to high throw to AWJ that he just tapped down. Mears came at pace to gather the throw in an unplanned, but well recovered, one-two manouver. Showed brilliant pace to cut the line cleanly in a move a winger would have been proud of early in the first half and was ruthless in finishing off his opportunity a few minutes later. Like Jenkins, very much a complete hooker. Even played dummy-half with aplomb late in the second. Another impressive game from the Bath cannonball.
3. Adam Jones - 7
A few carriers early on and good work at the breakdown, but the prop wasn't as noticeable as his front row colleagues. Didn't do much wrong and was solid in the tackle, but didn't offer a great deal around the park. Has played better on this tour.
4. Alun-Wyn Jones - 5
Not a great game from AWJ. Aggressive and committed as always, but too many errors. Got a hand to a ball from the restart but never really committed to it and it ended up in touch when it should have been cleanly taken. Despite the mediocre performance, the lock showed his leadership throughout. In the few flashpoints during the match, he was instrumental in keeping his head and talking Lions down from doing anything stupid. He brings the right sort of controlled aggression to the field. Needs to do more at the breakdown, and he also dropped a ball that he'd previously taken at the lineout. Asserted himself well when challenged by Kockott at the breakdown, showing his strength to shrug off the 9's attempt to clear out. Overall however, he will want to improve on this performance next time around, not many standout moments.
5. Paul O'Connell - 8
Has come in for lots of criticism recently, but having watched the game twice, this is mostly unfounded. Excellent game at the lineout and the restart and carries a vast amount of ball. He does what a lock should do well and he is rarely anonymous on the field. A little unlucky at times with touch and go calls at the breakdown, particularly when it looked like he'd made it onto his long pins after the tackle before challenging for the ball. Guilty once of being scragged at the base when the ball really should have been chipped and also needs to be sure to roll away after the tackle. He doesn't offload like a centre, but that isn't his job, he is good at the basics and leads from the front. The Captain is deserving of his place and does what anyone wearing the 5 shirt should. Also shows good decision making from a captaincy standpoint. The decision to apply the pressure early on really showed a mentality to put the opposition away. Positive play.
6. Tom Croft - 7
Far less influential than in the Golden Lions game. Didn't have the impact he would have wanted to have had in the wake of Ferris' departure. A few moments did standout however. Good link play in the build up to Fitzgerald's try to keep the ball moving towards the wide channel. He also carried well early on to setup a decent attacking platform deep in Sharks territory. A few small mistakes, but a fairly average game in general.
7. David Wallace - 8
His best perfomance on tour yet. Did lots of good work in the unseen areas of the breakdown and had a phenomenal work rate all game. Looked like the player his class promises. His presentation of the ball was particularly good throughout the game and he has a great leg-drive going into contact. Provided the opportunity for Phillips try early in the second half with ferocious clearing at the ruck to generate quick ball. Also played the role of link-man well, particularly in a nice interchange between Roberts and O'Connell. Has set the bar for Martyn Williams to try and meet. He looked pleased with his day's work at full-time and deservedly so.
8. Jamie Heaslip - 9
After a rocky opening gambit where he let the KO bounce, the 8 really grew into the game. By full-time, the words 'excellent performance' were entirely justified. Linked well in the lead-up to Mears opening try and while he might not have the sheer pace or brutality of Stephen Ferris, he showed massive strength when carrying the ball. He's a hard man to put down. Good around the fringes also, pouncing on anything loose. Pinged a few times for not rolling away, but just about the entire Lions team suffered in this area. Deserved his flop over try in the dying seconds.
9. Mike Phillips - 9
Another great game from the Welshman. A complete handful for the opposition back-row and number 9 and his brimful confidence is plain as day. A few errors to mar an otherwise good performance including a poor box kick into touch and occasionally guilty of being overly confrontational and running away from support. His try was a supreme solo effort, showing good pace and a nose for the line. Split the defence initially and then sold a gigantic dummy that had Badenhorst doing star jumps in an effort to intercept the ball that never came. Offers huge threat and his physicality is gold dust in South Africa. Really stamped his authority on the game. If being critical, he could be accused of indecision once or twice and should have released the backs a couple of times rather than pondering at the base. Nonetheless the incumbent in the 9 shirt.
10. Ronan O'Gara - 5
A game of two halves really. Superlative kicking display including a couple of really tough efforts from out wide in not insignificant wind. However, with the ball in play, he chose to kick far too often. A real shame, because when he did run the ball he pretty good. The Lions have a nice loop set-move in which the 10 ships it to BOD who steps inside to straighten before throwing a blind pass to the looping 10. They've ran it twice now, once in he Golden Lions game and once in this game. It's an impressive move which generates considerable pace and really checks the defence and while BOD's pass has been pinpoint on both occasions. On Wednesday night O'Gara picked it up well, but the subsequent offload, which was meant for Shane Williams was badly astray. O'Gara looked frustrated and this might have something to with the slightly less familiar 9-10-12 axis than the one we saw in the Golden Lions match. His kicking from hand was poor however and he needs to keep the ball in hand rather than going for the speculative grubber/chip/crossfield so often. Not his best game.
11. Luke Fitzgerald - 8
A sharp performance from Fitzgerald, but not the test shirt banker that has been hailed in some corners. On the ball the winger looks comfortable and balanced and has a running style not unlike Keith Earls who he partnered in the centre last weekend. He looks much more at ease on the wing however. Good tactical play to take a quick throw and to catch the ball with one foot in touch to force the lineout back where the ball was kicked. Basics for a winger you might say, but together with an all round game that had few mistakes, he can be pleased with his performance. Would do well to add a little extra work rate to his game, needs to bring himself into play more often and create rather than just finish.
12. Jamie Roberts - 9
The man's a bloody battering ram in both attack and defence. Incredible ability to stay on his feet. Made two clean breaks and beat 3 defenders for the best offensive stats amongst the team. Roberts seems almost guaranteed to cross the gainline. He has so much more to his game than simply being a crash ball merchant and is always looking for the offload when on the ball and running support/decoy lines when off the ball. We thought he was decent prior to the tour, but he's been a complete revelation so far. World class. Lets hope the best is yet to come.
13. Brian O'Driscoll - 9
Showed his class once again. The centre proved he'd lost a yard of pace when being hauled down by Mvovo after a trademark interception, but his ability to make space for others and do what looks simple, but is in truth fiendishly difficult sets him apart from most other centres on the world stage. His blind pop pass to O'Gara, that I mentioned earlier, is a thing of beauty and hugely hard to read and the way he kept the wing channel alive for Fitzgerald to dot down in the corner was hugely impressive. A few loose passes aside, it was another comprehensive game. Fingers crossed there aren't any silly training ground injuries to rain on the parade, he's a joy to watch.
14. Shane Williams - 5
Try as he might the welshman is just not having a good run of luck on this tour. He's been quoted in the press as being on hot coals about the upcoming test announcement next Tuesday, but in all honesty he's gone from a test certainty 6 months ago to an outside bet at best. Didn't try and force the game quite as much as during the Cheetahs game, and found a nice inside ball to Roberts after a banana run that was beginning to look overly lateral. Ahead of the kicker at a box kick and a number of other silly infringements were unfortunately the order of the day for the welshman and he never looks like he could rebuff a concerted challenge close to the try line. Actually caught O'Gara's second crossfield in the breadbasket, but he ended up loosing the ball under pressure from Terblanche. That's two chances that have gone begging now and he doesn't appear to have the ruthless finishing instinct of a year ago. There's no doubt that he's a real game changer, but his form simply doesn't warrant test selection.
15. Lee Byrne - 8
Byrne continues to impress. Rob Kearney will have to do something seriously impressive to unseat the welshman. Another who we all pray remains fit. He deserves to play a test match in a Lions jersey. He's a player of incredible courage, exemplified by his efforts to ground the ball after Williams spilled it in goal. He ended up taking a flying headbutt from a Shark for his trouble, but was up and ready for more nearly immediately. Cut a great line onto Mike Phillips ball but an uncharacteristic knock on ruined what would have otherwise been a scything break. Gethin Jenkins position somewhat masked his vision of the oncoming pass and this might be a mitigating factor. He's absolutely awesome under the high ball and is like a limpet in the tackle even when utterly bosched. He just doesn't spill the ball. His try was classic Byrne. Brilliant angle, powerful fend and then a "I'm finishing this if it's the last thing I do" mentality to find his way to the line. Once in behind he's a sure bet.
Replacements:
16. Matthew Rees - N/A
On for Mears but was largely anonymous. Not enough impact to be rated, though is close to a low score as he had 12 odd mins to do something and ended up being mostly M.I.A.
17. Phil Vickery - N/A
Came on only to get binned after a few minutes on the field. Kaplan billed it 'reckless' at the breakdown, and this was after he pulled Botes up for 'multiple infringements' but failed to offer anything more than a gentle talking too. In his brief appearance looked rambunctious and added more than Jones had. If he can find the right balance between aggression and discipline he looks somewhere near the Raging Bull of yesteryear.
18. Simon Shaw - 8
A good cameo from the Wasp. Caught well at the lineout. Admittedly at the front, but one particularly nice off-the-top stood out. Also showed his soft hands on the fringes once or twice, carried well and was decent at the breakdown. The competition to be O'Connell's partner is fairly tight which can only be good for the Lions prospects.
19. Joe Worsley - Unused
20. Mike Blair - N/A
Made basically no impact in his short time on the pitch other than to be pinged by Kaplan for an offside which unlike many of the refereeing decisions couldn't be questioned. Decent tackling at times, but remains ratingless as he had very little impact either way on the game during his brief spell.
21. James Hook. - N/A
Slotted a goal from right in front, but came on with just two minutes remaining and had no real time to make an impact.
22. Riki Flutey - 8
The pick of the replacements and looked like a man keen to make up for lost time. Did an incredible amount of work in just 12 minutes. Started out with a near charge-down before going on to tackle his heart out. He's not the biggest man, but he hits like he means it. With ball in hand he has a great step, but crucially he always plays with his head up. Accused of being a little selfish in his first runout, but against the Sharks was always looking for support runners. I look forward to seeing him get a start against Western Province. The tour needs him to remain injury free. BOD and Roberts lead the way undisputably, but behind them, few have really stood up. Hook looks good, but more so at 10, Fitzgerald looks like a man out of position at 12 and Earls may yet wilt under the big match atmosphere despite his undeniable talents.
Tony Hart - Sunday 7th June 03.20AM
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