15 Aphelele Fassi
He looked a bit out of sorts at fullback, and he just didn’t have an impact on the game. There was a bit more excitement when he moved to the wing.
5/10
14 Edwill van der Merwe
He didn’t have many opportunities with the ball in hand, but he applied pressure well when it came to high balls.
5/10
13 Jesse Kriel
The outside centre position is crucial to the defensive system and the Boks were lacking in this area. Of course, Kriel cannot take all the blame, but it was not his best showing with a number of missed tackles. However, there were some nice touches on attack and one of them was his try in the 78th minute when he pounced on Handre Pollard’s grubber before evading defenders.
6.5/10
12 Damian Willemse
He was not good at all in that inside centre position. However, there was a huge spark when he moved back to his familiar role of fullback and the Springboks’ attack just seemed more lethal.
7/10
11 Ethan Hooker
A late inclusion after Canan Moodie was withdrawn. The Scots found plenty of space down his channel, although he did put in some good hits. He hardly had any opportunities on attack before he was replaced.
5.5/10
10 Handré Pollard
The Boks didn’t have the control at flyhalf in the first half. He moved to a wider role when Ethan Hooker departed. He shared the playmaking role with Quan Horn in the second half, and things got better on attack. He was involved in a couple of tries, which included his grubber for Jesse Kriel’s try.
7.5/10
9 Embrose Papier
Showed brilliant vision and speed to go through a gap near a breakdown to score the opening try in the 17th minute. He produced great contestables in the air as well and his decision-making was good.
7.5/10
8 Evan Roos
The big man showed aggression with the ball in his hand and it seemed he was the go-to man in those early physical exchanges. His power was there for all to see when he went over for his try. He was taken off early in the second half.
7/10
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain)
The big man had to shift positions quite a few times during the match, which just shows how versatile and important he is in the Bok team. He didn’t have the big impact as he did in other matches, but he was still a vital cog.
6.5/10
6 Paul de Villiers
Dynamic is one word to describe an excellent performance by the loose forward. He was a weapon on attack and one of those examples was when he produced an excellent weaving run in the build-up to Evan Roos’ try. He was also a nuisance at the breakdowns.
7.5/10
5 Ruan Nortje
The man is an engine that always performs in the Bok pack, and it was no different in this game. It was another great all-round performance with ball in hand and on defence. He also showed his pedigree at the breakdowns.
8/10
4 Cobus Wiese
He only lasted around 32 minutes, but it was an eye-catching display by the big man. The man looked possessed when he gathered the ball from a kick-off before producing a barnstorming run down the field, which eventually led to Evan Roos’ try. He also showed immense physicality on defence.
7.5/10
3 Wilco Louw
It seemed like he had the upper hand over Pierre Schoeman in the first few scrums before he battled a bit. He eventually gave away a scrum penalty in the 34th minute and was replaced early in the second half.
7/10
2 Johan Grobbelaar
His first line-out throw went wayward before he got it right. Produced a great turnover in the 25th minute when Scotland were in a dangerous position. He was busy around the park and he can be proud of his performance.
7/10
1 Boan Venter
Showed his amazing strength when he prevented Cobus Wiese from falling to the ground at a restart before he launched his teammate for a memorable run. He was solid in the scrums, and he had his fair share of work on defence.
7/10
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (On for Boan Venter, 42nd minute)
He can be proud of his showing in the set-pieces. He was also a key figure in the physical exchanges.
7/10
17 Ntuthuko Mchunu (On for Johan Grobbelaar, 62nd minute)
There was power and aggression when he came onto the field.
6.5/10
18 Zach Porthen (On for Wilco Louw, 42nd minute)
The man has a bright future ahead of him. A solid figure in the mauls and set-pieces, and he scored one of his team’s tries.
7/10
19 Ben-Jason Dixon (On for Cobus Wiese, 32nd minute)
The Stormer made a stupid decision with head-on-head contact at a ruck just after the break, which led to a yellow card. There was some redemption with several powerful carries in the second half before a great turnover on the ground in the 64th minute.
6.5/10
20 Vincent Tshituka (On for Paul de Villiers, 68th minute)
Not enough time to be rated
21 Elrigh Louw (On for Evan Roos, 42nd minute)
An important introduction early in the second half. He was a colossus in front of his home crowd, and one of his powerful carries led to a try.
8/10
22 Grant Williams (On for Embrose Papier, 42nd minute)
The game changed when he came onto the field. His speed on attack and with his decision-making were vital and he produced a couple of try assists.
8.5/10
23 Quan Horn (On in the 42nd minute)
He just added something different to the attack. Whether he was at flyhalf or fullback, he was just brilliant, and he had a hand in a few tries.
8/10
Conclusion
When I saw the team I got near to panick about the team as announced - I was horrified by the backline. I actually belIeved that Pollard on ihs own could lose the match for the Springboks. F or th epast year his performancd for Leicester and the Buls was sub-standard. - he ss not the layer he used to be in both attack in defnse,
My feqr got worse as the mach went on I wqas horrified on what I saww, The above rating confirm that on the whole e backline was substandard , The attack wqaqs substadard and defesne was poor,.
What I saw indicate when looking at the rankings it comnviced me that the win was not really deserved and that something should be somne to get he backline funcioning poperly,
.