Ratings: NZL vs RSA (RC 2018)

1. Kitshoff » 7.5
2. Marx » 7.0
3. Malherbe » 8.0
4. Etzebeth » 6.5.
5. Mostert » 7.5
6. Kolisi » 6.5
7. du Toit » 7.0
8. Whiteley » 7.0
9. De Klerk » 8.0
10. Pollard » 7.0
11. Dyantyi » 6.5
12. De Allende » 5.0
13. Am » 7.5
14. Kriel » 6.0
15. Le Roux » 7.0
16. Mbonambi » 6.5
17. Mtawarira » 6.0
18. W Louw » 7.0
19. Snyman » 7.0
20. F Louw » 5.0
21. Cronje » .0
22. Jantjies » 6.5
23. Kolbe » 6.5

Man of Match: This was an exceptionally difficult choice. For me, it's between Faf and Kriel. I have been very hard on Kriel the past few years, so it will probably surprise everyone that I'd mention him. He made some errors on the wing, but overall was actually quite good. We had problems out wide once die Schwarzwelle broke through initially, but Kriel wasn't the problem. His communication and organization was excellent and a big reason why we were able to hold out for so long. Faf pestered the All Blacks all game. He is fearless and brings so much speed to the Bok game. That set the tone for our attack. My choice is Faffy. Whiteley could have been my choice here too. He was everywhere. We would have lost had he not made so many key tackles. He more than redeemed himself for his limp performance against Australia. 
UPDATE: Kriel had a neurotic period in late in the game where he helped the backs organise an absorb attacks, but upon review, the weight of mistakes should drag his rating down. He was very errant for most of the game. 
Who is yours?
Honorable Mentions: Pollard switching to centre was a huge, huge gamble. As soon as I saw Damian go down, I had memories of 2011, when Butch had to come on at 12 and we collapsed. Pollard was courageous, throwing his body on the line time and time again. Jantjies did alot of good out there. Sadly they saw so little ball that we didn't get to see what he could do on attack. However, the way he held his position and setup that try was absolutely fantastic. Snyman was immense. Easily surpassing Mostert's efforts and we barely felt the absence of Eben. Has great hands for such a bruiser and that really got us out for another key try. Willie had a patchy game. It was his least influential game, but he did contribute at key moments. The yellow was almost the end of the Boks though! Malherbe. I have been waiting for this test before I gave my seal approval. I thought he coasted through the Wallaby test, having been excellent against the Pumas. He was terrific on defence, making a couple of key stops. Tireless. I noticed no scrumming issues. I'm officially backing him as our premier tighthead. Kitshoff was a machine out there. He was another that I had concerns about against the All Blacks. He passed with flying colours. I'm still not sure about Marx, he is immense, but sometimes his mistakes make me wonder about Bongi. Some may disagree with me, but Bongi is a very good hooker. Credit to Kolbe for that big stop out wide, but we really missed Mapimpi. He wouldn't have given up that try. That said, his read for the intercept was a big moment in the game. It shook the All Blacks. Eben was brutal, a real leader out there. He often sets the tone and routinely caught All Black runners behind the advantage line. Steph grew into the game, he made some great stops and contributed to that emotional energy which lifted the Boks in the face of adversity. There were errors, but he made so great contributions. Without those errors he may have been my MOM. As it stands, he was a key Bok. That first half is what counts against him. Definitely a tale if two halves. 
Dishonorable Mentions: You guessed it. Damian was nowhere the entire time he was on the field. From a lineout, he got smoked inside and that allowed the All Blacks to score a try. Pollard got the blame by the commentators, but once they broke at the seam through Damian it was over. He was beaten other times as well and did nothing on attack on or off the ball aside from a couple of carries. Kolisi was also anonymous. It was disappointing seeing Eben giving the team talk on the pitch before the game and Kolisi watching on. He is no captain. Louw made at least two big errors and I didn't see anything redeeming. Am is hard to assess with how chaotic our defence broke down. My gut feeling was that the speed of the game was too much for him. I'll have to review this later. Steph's was totally out of his depth in the first half. Beaten every which way on defence and never popping up for anything positive. He did redeem himself with a big 20 minute period in the second half. I didn't notice much wrong in the second. I grade his first half a 5.5, his second a 7.5.

Augie I agree with most of your ratings. I give Wilco huge credit for those scrums at the end under pressure of losing the biggest game in years. I would rate Mostert higher.....and Kriel a bit lower. He never took on the outside gap on one turnover...if that was Dyantyi he was gone. He also missed a few tackles, granted some were on chases which are always difficult.