Springboks player ratings vs England | Rugby World Cup 2023

Springboks player ratings: How on earth did they do that? So many of them were terrible. Truly terrible. And yet they found a way. That is the sign of a champion side. Just remarkable.

15  – Damian Willemse – 3
Made the ball look like a bar of soap which is not ideal for a fullback in a game littered with kicks. Covered the ground when asked to field raking English kicks but couldn’t control it once he got there. Also cost his team three points when he threw a reckless pass to Manie Libbok under pressure in his own half which led to a penalty fort England. Replaced by Wille le Roux on 44 minutes.

14 – Kurt-Lee Arendse – 4
Anonymous but chased with great heart throughout. Not a game for wingers. 

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13 – Jesse Kriel – 5
Tackled when required but if this was not a game for wingers then it definitely was not a game for outside centres.

12 – Damian de Allende  – 5
Did anyone notice him on the field? Of course it wasn’t his fault he might as well have been a spectator. This was never going to be a game for hard carrying centres. Did however get stuck into a driving maul that fizzled to nothing.

11 – Cheslin Kolbe – 5
See Arendse’s report. Zipped about in the wet like a Jack Russell retrieving a ball from a lake.

10 – Manie Libbok – 2
It was impossible not to feel anything but sympathy for the maverick 10 who got the shepherd’s crook after just half an hour. It was hardly his fault the team around him served up absolute dross, or that his tight five was dominated. This meant he barely got any front-foot ball to unfurl his attacking flair, though the wet conditions didn’t help either. His brief performance was encapsulated by his final act, a poor kick out of hand after Franco Mostert stole a line-out. Made way for Handre Pollard.

9 – Cobus Reinach – 3
Just like Libbok, his last act was a poor high kick that ignited a chain reaction that led to an England penalty. He hurried and hustled, but couldn’t exert any influence on the match. Hard to think of a single play that he performed at a high level. Replaced by Faf de Klerk two minutes after the break.

1 – Steven Kitshoff  – 5
Gave away a needless penalty when he went in early and skew at the scrum inside England’s red zone and was otherwise unreliable when carrying into contact. Got his hefty frame about but failed to make much of an impact. Subbed for Ox Nche on 49 minutes.,

2 – Bongi Mbonambi – 4
Fair play to him, he found his target from the line-out before RG Snyma’s try, but mostly made a dog’s breakfast of the set-piece. Missed his jumper with his first throw and couldn’t put it in straight with his second. After South Africa’s scrum managed to gain the ascendancy and won a penalty, handing Mbonambi the feed up the field, he once again missed his jumper. To make things worse, he regularly botched the ball at the back of the maul.

3 – Frans Malherbe – 5
Not the only man in green to file one under ‘anonymous’. Would have hoped for more involvement in the scrum in such slippery conditions but was kept at arm’s length from the action.

4 – Eben Etzebeth – 2
Subbed after just five minutes into the second half. Quite possibly his worst game for his country in 118 Tests. Usually the sharpest man on the field, one who finds loopholes in the rulebook and bulldozes through them, he coughed up a needless penalty when he went early around the ruck just as the Boks were starting to pull back momentum in the first half. Switched for RG Snyman.

5 – Franco Mostert – 6
One of only a few players who at least delivered something close to a commendable show. Made 18 tackles, challenged England’s line-out and carried well around the fringe. Still, he knocked on on several occasions in the tackle, proving that even the shining lights for South Africa in the Paris rain were little more than damp squibs.

6 – Siya Kolisi – 4
Lost the love of referee Ben O’Keefe early on. His contributions with ball in hand and in the tackle were fine, but he failed in one of his primary tasks which was winning over the man with the whistle. That’s not to say Kolisi could, or should have convinced O’Keefe to call it differently. But one wonders if Kolisi’s charm

7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit – 4
Lacked his usual zip and menace around the fringe. Couldn’t get anywhere near England’s kickers. Was on the wrong side of the law on a few occasions and was perhaps unlucky at times. After consuming George Ford in the final four years ago, he left this one with an empty stomach.

8 – Duane Vermeulen – 5
Some big carries and meaty tackles, but stood firm when asked. Replaced by Kwagga Smith on 51 minutes.

16 – Deon Fourie – 7
A thundering carry to set up RG Snyman’s try. Made an error when he opted to dart round the blindside from a line-out earlier in the game, but exploded out of a maul with 12 minutes left and hammered the English line.

17 – Ox Nche – 10
It was the scrum that clawed South African back into the contest and it was Nche’s introduction that made the difference. There’s not much to add other than salads don’t win scrums – a famous Nche tag-line – and one hopes he never touches a lettuce leaf for the rest of his life.

18 – Vincent Koch – 10
Similarly mighty in the scrum. A monstrous performance that carried the weight of his nation on his broad shoulders. If any South Africans deserved to win this match it was the two replacement props.

19 – RG Snyman – 8
They call him The Viking and he rampaged over the line to score a try like a berserker wielding enormous axes in both hands. Things seemed to get a bit better for the Springboks when he entered the scene and he deserved to come up with a decisive score

20 – Kwagga Smith – 7
Added sharpness around the breakdown. Definitely played a role.

21 – Faf de Klerk – 7
Brought control to a part of the pitch that was lacking it before him.

22 – Handre Pollard – 9
Build that man a statue and replicate it a thousand times. South Africa did not deserve to win this rugby match bit they did because Pollard’s right boot got them over the line. Wasn’t his most fluent or accurate with ball in hand, but his composure, control and rhythm was the difference. And that kick. Oh wow, that kick. They’ll be talking about for generations.

21 – Willie le Roux – 5
Was he an improvement on Willemse? Perhaps. Was still a touch ropey and struggled to get on top of the kick tennis.