Springboks ratings: Willemse flawless, Bomb Squad unstoppable – but Kolbe’s brilliance ruined by shocking foul play

Following a famous 43-10 Springboks victory over the All Blacks, here is how we rated Rassie Erasmus’ charges in the Rugby Championship win at Sky Stadium in Wellington.

Springboks player ratings v All Blacks

15 Aphelele Fassi: Forced off injured before half-time and seen with a boot on his foot on the touchline, a gutting injury for the full-back. He started the game rather well, dealing with the All Blacks’ high bomb adequately and had some good impacts in attack too. 6

14 Cheslin Kolbe: A thuggish no-arms tackle ended what was shaping up to be an all-time performance from the Springboks flyer, who was sensationally denied a try by Jordie Barrett. He then gave away a penalty but went about turning the tide and replicated his 2018 try at this same ground, his first for the Boks, picking off Billy Proctor’s pass outside his 22 and cantered away untouched to score a marvellous try. His finish early in the second half was not as box-office but by no means less impressive. Again, he was lively, effective and caused all kinds of havoc for the All blacks before Tupou Vaa’i ended his night with an illegal tackle. 8

13 Canan Moodie: A few missed tackles, but he did shoot up and force errors from the All Blacks. He aided the attack well, running sharp lines, distributing well and on the whole, made good decisions. A real asset under the high ball with the tricky midfield bombs that the Boks profited on later in the game. 7

12 Damian Willemse: Forced to shift to full-back following the injury to Fassi after a starring start in the midfield. While Damian de Allende powers through defenders, Willemse’s close-contact skills are insane, and he flexed to great effect and was able to regularly find the weak shoulder. He continued to shine from full-back and produced promising moments, and outside of a handful of errors, it was an incredible performance from the double World Cup winner who looks to have rediscovered his form. He thundered the ball to the ground, an emphatic statement that he is back. Considering the magnitude of the result, his shifting around the backline and his overall influence, a perfect. 10

11 Ethan Hooker: The occasion of earning his first start against South Africa’s fiercest rivals did not get to the 22-year-old who produced a confident, competent and powerful performance, in his less favoured position no less. He competed superbly in the air and more than held his own. Stephen Donald had ‘never heard’ of Hooker before today’s game but the ex-All Black better play catch-up; this is not the last time we will see the youngster at this level. 7

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: Wasted a penalty with a horrible kick. He did have good moments in his short stint before being forced off injured, a real shame for the rising star. 5

9 Cobus Reinach: A somewhat surprising selection call and while it wasn’t the best of starts from the experienced scrum-half, he grew into the game. His kicking got better and better, and so did his attacking play, brilliantly sending Siya Kolisi through a gap. His passing was accurate and his service was speedy to cut open the All Blacks as the game went on. 7

the forwards

8 Jasper Wiese: A hulking performance from the powerhouse forward who thundered into the All Blacks’ defensive wall like a cement trucks with failed breaks. He managed to stay on the right side of the referee’s whistle for the most part in what was an impressive 80 minutes upon his return from suspension. 8

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit: His usual busy self around the park, and was far more potent in the wider channels. He was a real force at the lineout, whether that’d be on South Africa’s throw or New Zealand’s, and he superbly plucked the cross-kick out of the air and managed to get the pass away to assist Kwagga Smith’s try. Wasn’t quite at his best last week, but today, he absolutely was. 8

6 Siya Kolisi (c): Like Du Toit, he benefited from being in the wider channels, while the Springboks skipper was excellent at the breakdown. His break was nothing short of brilliant, while he was also strong defensively. 7

5 Ruan Nortje: A brilliant lineout steal swung the momentum squarely into South Africa’s favour and proved to be the moment that really sealed the result as Willemse danced his way to the try line. Relentless work-rate yet again. If he hadn’t already done so before today, he has cemented his place in the Springboks squad long-term. 8

4 Lood de Jager: Lasted just nine minutes before he was forced off the pitch. The lock really has a tough time with injuries. 5

3 Thomas du Toit: Pinged at scrum time early on but did start to get the upper hand in the set-piece and was strong in the carries yet again. 6

2 Malcolm Marx: Some lineout failings remain but not nearly as bad as seven days ago. Excellent around the park on both sides of the ball which is stock-standard for the classy front-rower. 7

1 Ox Nche: Continued to dominate Tyrel Lomax in the scrums as he did last week and was surprisingly removed shortly after half time. Solid as ever from the loosehead. 7

Replacements: Erasmus was questioned for his decision to select a five-three split on the bench, but that decision was more than vindicated with three backs forced off in the first half and fourth early in the second. Manie Libbok put in a masterful 70-minute shift, inspiring the historic victory as the Springboks thrashed the All Blacks. Similarly, RG Snyman was outrageous as to was Grant Williams who featured at scrum-half and wing, making a clutch try-saving tackle on try-scoring machine Will Jordan. Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Wilco Louw were superb as too was hooker Marnus van der Merwe, while Andre Esterhuizen was destructive. Considering all the injuries, the Boks could have imploded but instead, they produced a classic Bomb Squad shift and exploded, powering South Africa to a famous victory. 10