How the Springboks players rated in Wellington

The Springboks will be kicking themselves that they did not make their first-half dominance count against the All Blacks. Rassie Erasmus’ side dominated possession and territory in the opening 40 minutes and they rattled the All Blacks with some clever play,  but they only had six points to show for that.

However, it was still a fairly strong performance from the Springboks and they will be happy with the fight they showed to rescue a draw. That makes it one win and one draw from their last two outings in New Zealand. Here is how the Springboks players rated:

15. Willie le Roux - 5/10

He looked very rusty and failed to make any real impact on attack. His play with the ball in hand was below average.

14. Cheslin Kolbe - 8

The best player on the field for the Springboks. He threatened the All Blacks’ defence a few times with the ball in hand and he was a man possessed on defence. His chip kick also led to Herschel Jantjies’ crucial try.

13. Lukhanyo Am - 5 

Slow and predictable in that midfield. His defensive game needs a lot of work as well.

12. Damian de Allende - 6

He is selected to get the Boks over the gain line with his big fame and he did that on a few occasions. However, he is another predictable cog in the Bok backline.

11. Makazole Mapimpi - 4

Missed quite a few tackles out wide and his place in the team is certainly at risk.

10. Handré Pollard - 6 

It was a mixed bag from the flyhalf. His distribution and decision making was questionable, but his overall performance was good enough. He also showed nerves of steel land that last conversion.

9. Faf de Klerk - 7 

While the rest of his backline is predictable, he is certainly not. He caused a lot of problems for the All Blacks in the first half and he was missed later in the game.

1. Steven Kitshoff - 6

Solid enough in the scrums and made his presence felt at the breakdowns.

2. Malcolm Marx - 5 

Not the Malcolm Marx we know. He went missing in open play and struggled to find his jumpers at the beginning of the game.

Dane Coles of the All Blacks gets in a scuffle with RG Snyman of the Springboks in Wellington (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

3. Frans Malherbe - 3

Another lazy performance by the prop. Someone needs to tell him to do more on the field than just scrum.

4. Eben Etzebeth - 7

A powerful presence with ball in hand. Some of the All Blacks players will have headaches after he ran into them.

5. Franco Mostert - 7

He had a high work rate in open play. He was a prominent figure in the physical stuff.  

6. Kwagga Smith - 6

We know what he is capable of, but he was a bit too quiet in open play. He did have a few good carries and some good breakdown work.

7. Pieter-Steph du Toit - 7 

Did a lot of hard work on defence but the Springboks could have used him more with the ball in hand.

8. Duane Vermeulen (capt) - 6

Not the best performance from the No8. He had a few good carries but was not the colossus we expect him to be.

Replacements:

16. Bongi Mbonambi - NR (for Marx, 70th minute)

Not enough time to be rated.

17. Tendai Mtawarira - 6 (for Kitshoff, 58)

Put in a good amount of work on defence and had a couple of carries.

18. Trevor Nyakane - 6 (for Malherbe, 56)

Did some good work on defence and he put some pressure on his opposite number at scrum time.

19. Rudolph Snyman - 4 (for Etzebeth, 50)

Failed to make a real impact when he came on and gave away a stupid penalty late in the game.

20. Francois Louw - NR (for Smith, 67)

Not enough time to be rated.

21. Herschel Jantjies - 7 (for Francois de Klerk, 44)

He probably wasn’t expecting to come on so early, but he handled the pressure well and scored the crucial try at the end. 

22. Frans Steyn - 3 (for de Allende, 56)

He offered nothing on the attack and just made up the numbers in the last 20 minutes.

23. Jesse Kriel - 2 (for Lukhanyo Am, 50)

Missed too many tackles which put his team under pressure.

- @rugby365com

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