South Africa scored three tries. New Zealand scored four. South Africa made four entries into the opposition 22; New Zealand made nine. New Zealand won 111 rucks to 77 and held the ball for 95 per cent of the last ten minutes.
The Springboks won by seven. How that happened is its own story.
That is the afternoon in five numbers, and it is why these Springboks player ratings look nothing like a 33-26 scoreline suggests. This was not a pack grinding a series level. It was Cheslin Kolbe kicking 18 points and Cobus Reinach putting three men over the line while everything behind them held on. The forwards lost the numbers that usually decide these games and won anyway, which is either the most South African thing imaginable or a warning before Johannesburg.
Who’s your Springboks man of the match? Tell us below.
One thing before the marks, because it reframes half of them. Five minutes before kick-off Rassie Erasmus swapped his entire front row, and Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit started instead of Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw. That is a fourth change to the side named at the start of the week.
The front row
1. Gerhard Steenekamp — 6.5.
Handed a Test start with five minutes’ notice, and the scrum did not go backwards in the 35 minutes he had. That was the entire point of picking him.
2. Deon Fourie — 7.
Thirty-nine, first Test since the 2023 World Cup final, and Erasmus started him against New Zealand. South Africa were ten points up when he went on 35. Ask any hooker what a Test throw feels like after three years away.
3. Thomas du Toit — 6.5.
Fifty-six minutes, and South Africa were 30-14 clear when Louw replaced him. The scrum argument that ran all week never got the referee’s attention it was promised.
The second row
4. Eben Etzebeth — 8.
Broke the line on 19 to set up de Allende’s try two minutes later, then stole a New Zealand lineout on 64 with the All Blacks building. Eighty minutes, in his 144th Test.
5. Ruan Nortjé — 6.5.
Sixty-seven quiet minutes. Nothing for a highlights package, nothing that cost anything either, which is most of what a second Test lock is asked for.
The back row
6. Siya Kolisi — 7.5.
Back from a hamstring strain, captained, and scored the try that made it 24-14 with a pick-and-go on 37. Gone at 42, which tells you what the week cost him.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit — 7.5.
His 100th Test, and he played all of it. Almost nobody in that pack did.
8. Jasper Wiese — 7.
He took a 9 in defeat at Ellis Park and could not reach it again, but he was there for 67 minutes of the most physical rugby of the series.
The halves
9. Cobus Reinach — 8.5.
Three try assists. He set up Kriel on the first minute, de Allende on 21 and Kolisi on 37. South Africa’s entire attacking output came through his hands in 56 minutes.
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu — 7.
Third straight start in the 10 jersey, and he only had it because Pollard was withdrawn on Friday morning. His cross-field kick on 34 was chased down by Kolbe and won a penalty.
The centres
12. Damian de Allende — 7.5.
Picked from the base and went over on 21 for the try that took South Africa 17-7 clear. Eighty minutes, in his 101st Test, seven days after his 100th.
13. Jesse Kriel — 7.
Scored inside the first minute from close range, then broke the line again on 25.
The back three
11. Ethan Hooker — 7.
Re-gathered a box kick on 34 to keep a scoring position alive, then found a gap on 68 when South Africa badly needed to be anywhere but their own half. Ten caps and he did not look like it.
14. Cheslin Kolbe — 9.
Eighteen of the 33 points. Three conversions, four penalties, not a miss among them, including a 40-metre kick straight in front on 71 that put the game two scores away. Add a break over the gainline on 53 and an interception on 54 that killed a New Zealand attack.
15. Damian Willemse — 6.
Forty minutes, then Libbok had the shirt. Nothing went obviously wrong. Nothing demanded he stay on either.
The bench
All eight replacements were used.
16. Malcolm Marx — 7.5.
On at 35 for Fourie, and on 48 he made a break the All Blacks defence simply parted for. Forty-five minutes is a long shift for a replacement hooker and he was still carrying at the end of it.
17. Ox Nché — 7.
On at 37. Starting him from the bench was a weapon loaded later rather than a demotion, and the scrum kept its shape once he arrived.
18. Wilco Louw — 6.5.
Twenty-four minutes at tighthead protecting a lead. Exactly the job the substitution was designed for.
19. Lood de Jager — 4.5.
Thirteen minutes, and a yellow card for head-on-head contact on Carter with 79 on the clock. More below.
20. André Esterhuizen — 7.
On at 42 for the captain, asked to hold a midfield together for nearly forty minutes against a team throwing everything wide. It held.
21. Cameron Hanekom — 6.5.
Thirteen minutes in the passage where South Africa were camped in their own half. Survived it.
22. Morné van den Berg — 6.5.
Inherited a scrum-half shirt from a man with three try assists, which is unfair on anyone. Kept the tempo sensible while South Africa killed the clock.
23. Manie Libbok — 6.5.
On at half-time for Willemse, and broke free on 56 before the attack died around him. He was only in the 23 because Pollard’s withdrawal reshuffled the backline on Friday.
Best on ground
Cheslin Kolbe. New Zealand outscored South Africa by a try, made twice as many visits to the 22 and still lost, because Kolbe landed all seven of his kicks at goal. Take his boot out of this match and South Africa lose by eight.
The one who has to improve
Lood de Jager, and the mark is 4.5 rather than anything kinder because of when it happened, not what it was.
He was on for thirteen minutes. Savea had just scored to bring it back to seven, the stadium had turned, and South Africa needed one clean exit. The tackle went high into Carter’s head and Angus Gardner had no decision to make. It handed New Zealand the last play of a one-score Test with an extra man.
South Africa got away with it. That is luck, not mitigation. A lock arriving in the 67th minute is there to be the calm one while everyone else runs on empty, and for twelve of his thirteen minutes he was.
Ratings summary
| # | Player | Position | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Steenekamp | Loosehead prop | 6.5 |
| 2 | Deon Fourie | Hooker | 7 |
| 3 | Thomas du Toit | Tighthead prop | 6.5 |
| 4 | Eben Etzebeth | Lock | 8 |
| 5 | Ruan Nortjé | Lock | 6.5 |
| 6 | Siya Kolisi (c) | Blindside flanker | 7.5 |
| 7 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | Openside flanker | 7.5 |
| 8 | Jasper Wiese | No.8 | 7 |
| 9 | Cobus Reinach | Scrum-half | 8.5 |
| 10 | Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu | Fly-half | 7 |
| 11 | Ethan Hooker | Wing | 7 |
| 12 | Damian de Allende | Inside centre | 7.5 |
| 13 | Jesse Kriel | Outside centre | 7 |
| 14 | Cheslin Kolbe | Wing | 9 |
| 15 | Damian Willemse | Fullback | 6 |
| 16 | Malcolm Marx | Hooker | 7.5 |
| 17 | Ox Nché | Prop | 7 |
| 18 | Wilco Louw | Prop | 6.5 |
| 19 | Lood de Jager | Lock | 4.5 |
| 20 | André Esterhuizen | Centre | 7 |
| 21 | Cameron Hanekom | Loose forward | 6.5 |
| 22 | Morné van den Berg | Scrum-half | 6.5 |
| 23 | Manie Libbok | Fly-half | 6.5 |
Kolbe at 9 is not the argument. Reinach at 8.5, off after 56 minutes, rated above a pack that lost the ruck count 111 to 77 — that is the one worth having. Name the forward who beats him, and the reasoning had better include a number.
