Matabele
Journey Man
Matabele's player ratings
Excuse me a moment of self-indulgence!
Stewart: Was peppered with plenty of bombs and generally stood firm. A couple of mistakes led to tries but he was also victim to some dud calls and was isolated by team mates on occasion. 7
Donald: Did what was required of him in the form of two tries. Always dangerous in space. 7
Hill: Inspirational in defence and organised his side of the field well. An obvious man of the match. 8.5
Stephenson: Was shaky on occasion and didn’t see much ball. 6
Hopoate: Scored a solid try, took some tough runs when it was needed (playing like a 7th forward) and didn’t commit many errors. 6.5
Witt: Tried hard and came up with some penetrating runs. A solid start. 7.5
Monaghan: Kicked well and organised the side. A few things didn’t come off but it was a solid play making display from the skipper. 8
Kite: Steamrolled forward with monotonous regularity. Didn’t do much wrong. 7
Williamson: Virtually invisible which seems to be his go. Did lots of hard work in defence. 6.5
King: A quiet game where he did nothing of note. Kite was much the better penetrative prop of the starters 5.5
Harris: Started strongly in defence and punched the ball forward well. I didn’t sight him much after that. I’m not sure if that’s because he went missing, was sitting on the bench or was injured. 6
Menzies: Johnny on the spot for the try and a grass cutter in defence. He was inspirational and the best of the back row. 8.5
Kennedy: Was solid in everything that he did without being spectacular. 6.5
Watmough: Kept the brain explosions to one (albeit one that cost a try) and scored a try himself. Put on some big hits. 6.5
Minogue: Very, very solid in defence and kept the opposition looking for him. 7
Dunley: Gave away too many penalties but balanced that with a few penetrating runs and some solid tackling. 7
Heckenberg: Did what he’s there for – strong running in attack making 10 metres every time and solid in defence. The same kind of tireless and selfless performance that characterised his 2004. 7
Excuse me a moment of self-indulgence!
Stewart: Was peppered with plenty of bombs and generally stood firm. A couple of mistakes led to tries but he was also victim to some dud calls and was isolated by team mates on occasion. 7
Donald: Did what was required of him in the form of two tries. Always dangerous in space. 7
Hill: Inspirational in defence and organised his side of the field well. An obvious man of the match. 8.5
Stephenson: Was shaky on occasion and didn’t see much ball. 6
Hopoate: Scored a solid try, took some tough runs when it was needed (playing like a 7th forward) and didn’t commit many errors. 6.5
Witt: Tried hard and came up with some penetrating runs. A solid start. 7.5
Monaghan: Kicked well and organised the side. A few things didn’t come off but it was a solid play making display from the skipper. 8
Kite: Steamrolled forward with monotonous regularity. Didn’t do much wrong. 7
Williamson: Virtually invisible which seems to be his go. Did lots of hard work in defence. 6.5
King: A quiet game where he did nothing of note. Kite was much the better penetrative prop of the starters 5.5
Harris: Started strongly in defence and punched the ball forward well. I didn’t sight him much after that. I’m not sure if that’s because he went missing, was sitting on the bench or was injured. 6
Menzies: Johnny on the spot for the try and a grass cutter in defence. He was inspirational and the best of the back row. 8.5
Kennedy: Was solid in everything that he did without being spectacular. 6.5
Watmough: Kept the brain explosions to one (albeit one that cost a try) and scored a try himself. Put on some big hits. 6.5
Minogue: Very, very solid in defence and kept the opposition looking for him. 7
Dunley: Gave away too many penalties but balanced that with a few penetrating runs and some solid tackling. 7
Heckenberg: Did what he’s there for – strong running in attack making 10 metres every time and solid in defence. The same kind of tireless and selfless performance that characterised his 2004. 7
