The All Blacks’ 24-17 victory at Eden Park was bruising for the Springboks on the field – and in the New Zealand media player ratings.
Two of South Africa’s biggest stars, Cheslin Kolbe and Handré Pollard, copped the harshest assessments from the New Zealand Herald.
Kolbe was handed a 4 after being beaten in the air by Damian McKenzie and buying Emoni Narawa’s dummy for the opening try.
Pollard fared no better, also rated a 4, with the paper noting his errors mounted in the wet conditions after a promising start that included a 50/22.
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By contrast, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende were among the Boks’ standouts, both earning sevens for leading the midfield battle and fronting up physically.
Here’s how every Springbok was rated by the Herald:
15. Willie le Roux – 5
Safe under the high ball but quiet on attack.
14. Cheslin Kolbe – 4
Bought Narawa’s dummy, beaten aerially, guilty of turnovers.
13. Jesse Kriel (c) – 7
Solid with the armband, strong distribution, physical presence.
12. Damian de Allende – 7
Top tackler and carrier, uncompromising as ever.
11. Canan Moodie – 6
Defended well, landed a big hit on Beauden Barrett.
10. Handre Pollard – 4
Mixed night. Early quality but too many errors as conditions worsened.
9. Grant Williams – 4
Handling issues in the wet, costly spill before half time.
8. Siya Kolisi – 6
Adapted well to No 8, brought trademark energy.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 7
Physical and efficient, though less dominant than usual.
6. Marco van Staden – 4
Missed key tackles, patchy contribution despite some hard carries.
5. Ruan Nortje – 6
Strong work at lineout and ruck before being subbed.
4. Eben Etzebeth – 4
Uncharacteristically quiet, guilty of turnovers and ill-discipline.
3. Thomas du Toit – 5
Scrums were a lottery, offered little beyond parity.
2. Malcolm Marx – 3
Poor lineout throwing and exposed defensively, though he did grab a try.
1. Ox Nche – 5
Solid in the scrum, denied by Ioane when close to scoring.
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Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images
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