The Rating of the Springbok Team

Willie le Roux: 6.5

The fullback made some early kicking errors, sometimes overdoing the policy or putting too much weight on his ‘dinks’. But he erased that trend as the game advanced, and was often well-positioned on defence and confident fielding aerial balls.

JP Pietersen: 6.5

Was always going to struggle to match his productive, hat-trick feat against Samoa; there simply weren’t as many attacking opportunities on his side of the park. But no lack of industry, including great, scrambling tackle on Duncan Weir just before Scots got their breakout try. Penalised for one borderline tip-tackle.

Jesse Kriel: 6.5

Not a lot of space to play with in his channel, but one of several youthful Bok players to exhibit healthy ‘BMT’ on the day. Wriggled into a half-gap every now and then. 

Damian de Allende: 7.5

Probably not quite 100 percent after knee injury against Samoa, but that didn’t stop him bossing the inside-centre duel. Particularly sturdy on defence, an area sometimes questioned, and also won a precious turnover under pressure. Strong leg drive in tight spaces.

Bryan Habana: 7.5

Turning into a compelling third World Cup for this 2007 winner. Fantastic sense of opportunism, high work-rate and useful bastion of experience and calmness outside some callow fellow-backs. Fine high-ball claim early on, and deserved his late try.

Handre Pollard: 7.5

Maturing stealthily at this tournament; composed and intelligent display, including sound place-kicking and a deft dropped-goal which made amends soon after throwing intercepted pass that led to Scottish long-range try. Couple of drive-back tackles, too.

Fourie du Preez: 7

Led the Boks with expected unflappability and tactical astuteness. Has brought out so much more in Bok outside backs at RWC with stealth and assuredness of his service.

Duane Vermeulen: 7.5

Scottish forwards were well up for this engrossing game ... but discovered even that’s not always enough when there’s a slab of steel like Vermeulen in enemy ranks. Always at the fulcrum of things in tight-loose. Good lineout steal, though one over-fancy offload thwarted a Bok attack.

Schalk Burger: 8

Let Heyneke Meyer, speaking soon afterwards, explain: “He had an injury ... might not have played. At his age, to play like that ... unbelievable. He’s not just a basher; beautiful hands as well. Total package these days.”

Francois Louw: 7

The open-sider was not overly prominent for turnovers here, but greatly aided Bok pack’s ability to set up speedy, quality possession at breakdowns. Firm tackles, and piloted one awesome, steam-rolling maul.

Lood de Jager: 8.5

According to post-match sheet, 14 tackles and 13 carries ... premier Bok in both departments. Quite phenomenal industry for 74 minutes, even if he leaked a few penalties. Strong at lineout, including firm pressure on Scottish throw.

Eben Etzebeth: 7

Such a fierce shift against Samoa that it would have been hard to emulate it. Came close, though. Got stern competition (and a minor how’s-your-father) from Richie Gray, but fantastic endurance once again, including fierce last-quarter carries as Boks turned screws.

Jannie du Plessis: 6

Still the most endangered first-teamer: gets a reasonable rating on strength of some good Bok scrums, his core task, but yellow card for shoulder-charge will have stretched coach Meyer’s patience.

Bismarck du Plessis: 7

Looked pumped-up at the start, and proceeded to put in brutal shift in his 75th Test. Tons of grunt, but did spill one ball in contact.

Tendai Mtawarira: 7.5

Has had some tough one-on-ones with WP Nel at scrum-time in SA in the past ... but this wiped the slate clean. Imperious left shoulder, and must have regretted there weren’t more scrums. Regular ball-in-hand surges, too. One of his best games in a while.

Standout substitute:

Adriaan Strauss: 7

The mark of a good substitute is his ability to make an impression almost immediately ... and Strauss did that, even after a muscular Du Plessis showing for 56 minutes. Always on hand for a forceful cleanout or support for a carrier when needed.

And this was by a correspondent that was at the game.

and the ratings from Rugby365:

15 Willie le Roux
Read the game well from the back and once again provided the Boks' with an attacking spark when he joined the backline. 
8/10

14 JP Pietersen
Was a thorn in the Scottish side with his eye for the gap and he also got on the scoreboard again with a try. Notched up plenty of metres with his runs and was solid on defence as well. A fantastic performance by the wing.
8/10

13 Jesse Kriel
A very quiet day at the office for the youngster. He did not get much of the ball on attack and when he did get his chances he was well marked out wide.
6/10

12 Damian De Allende
He is a monster with ball in hand and you could sense the fear in Duncan Weir and Matt Scott when he ran at them. He gave his team some good go forward ball and beat defenders with ease.
8/10

11 Bryan Habana
Kept the Scottish on their toes under the high ball and also made a good couple of runs. It was a good outing for the veteran wing who also got a try. 
8/10

10 Handré Pollard
Was brave in attack and gave his backline some great width with his passing. He also put in some big hits on defence. His goal kicking was superb, but his kicking out of hand still needs work.
7/10

9 Fourie du Preez (captain)
Another world-class performance by the veteran and he was one of the best players on the field. He gave his team direction on attack once again with his decision-making and kept the Scottish defence guessing with his quick service at the breakdown.
9/10

8 Duane Vermeulen
Made more metres with ball in hand than any other forward on the park and dominated the collisions as well. He is definitely getting back to his best. 
8/10

7 Schalk Burger
Tackled like a man possessed and crossed the gain line on a number of occasions. He linked well with the players around him with some great offloads on attack. It was another industrious performance by the flank. 
8/10

6 Francois Louw
He won a lot of ball on the ground and also carried the ball well. The flank also showed some nice touches with the ball in open play.
7/10

5 Lood de Jager
The big lock probably played is best game for the Springboks so far. He put his team on the front foot on a number of occasions and it often took about three Scottish players to bring him down. To put it simply, he was the best player on the field.   
9/10

4 Eben Etzebeth
Made a big impact on defence where he stopped a lot of Scottish players in their tracks. His big physical frame also kept the Scots busy on defence. 
8/10

3 Jannie du Plessis
Although he got yellow carded, it was a much improved performance by the prop. He held his own in the scrums and showed still has that grit which is need up front. He still need to do more work around the field.
6/10

2 Bismarck du Plessis
Showed some raw power going forward with ball in hand and made metres every time he got the ball. His line-out throwing was also superb.
8/10

1 Tendai Mtawarira
The prop gave Willem Nel a hard time in the scrums. He was also good in defence, but needs to show more aggression in the tackle. 
7/10

Replacements:

16 Adriaan Strauss (On for B du Plessis, 53 min)
Continued where Bismarck du Plessis left off in the line-outs with some good throwing.
6/10

17 Trevor Nyakane (On for T Mtawarira, 60 min)
Put in some big hits on defence and was solid in the scrums. However, he did not carry the ball once in the 20 minutes he was on the field.
5/10

18 Frans Malherbe (On for J du Plessis, 50 min)
Had another good showing in the scrums when he came on. He only carried the ball once, but it was a good carry. 
6/10

19 Pieter-Steph du Toit (On for L de Jager, 75 min)
Not enough time to be rated.

20 Willem Alberts (On for S Burger, 69 min)
Not enough time to be rated.

21 Ruan Pienaar (On for F du Preez, 77 min)
Not enough time to be rated.

22 Pat Lambie (On for J Pietersen, 70 min)
Not enough time to be rated.

23 Jan Serfontein (On for D de Allende, 75 min)
Not enough time to be rated.