Springboks player ratings vs Wallabies: Pieter-Steph du Toit outstanding

The Springboks will be delighted after recording only their fourth victory in Brisbane by dispatching the Wallabies 33-7 in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday.

Here is how we rated the world champions’ performances at the Suncorp Stadium ...

Willie le Roux: 7/10

Claimed a difficult high ball in commanding fashion in the very first minute – and a few others. Almost scored when chasing a chip, dotting down on the dead-ball line. Butchered a certain try when cutting inside instead of passing to two unmarked teammates.

Cheslin Kolbe: 7

Fed the first scrum as the scrumhalf in the second minute, and had a go at the defence off a dominant Bok pack. Even threw into the line-out in the second half, and made some classy runs and offloads on attack.

Jesse Kriel: 8

Apart from his usual high work-rate, Kriel showcased his stepping and running skills a bit more, the highlight being his winding line-break to set up Kurt-Lee Arendse’s second try. Got a late yellow card for a deliberate knock-down.

Damian de Allende: 7

Made a couple of big hits, and was a physical presence with ball-in-hand and in defence.

Kurt-Lee Arendse: 8

Kept his width well to make a number of incursions through the Wallaby defence, and was rewarded with two tries – the first of which was a dazzling hot-stepping master-class, where he evaded a few Wallabies.

Kurt-Lee 'The Silent Assassin' Arendse 😤⭐

How good is that step by Jesse Kriel though? 🤯

📺 Stream #TRC2024 live: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/u3RKZ7K4HM

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 10, 2024

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: 8

Was assured throughout in his first Test start, at flyhalf of all places. Produced a superb early touch-finder, but then shanked his first shot at goal. Ran the attack well, including a lovely line-break and some classy offloads, and was accurate at the posts – although missed touch with one penalty.

Cobus Reinach: 7

Was winded by Feinberg-Mngomezulu after claiming a high ball, but still provided a slick service from the base. Was clearly instructed to dish out lots of box-kicks, but needs to be allowed to have a go a bit more to use his pace.

Elrigh Louw: 6

Some powerful runs with ball-in-hand from the Bulls bruiser, and got stuck in physically in his first Test start.

Ben-Jason Dixon: 7

Did a lot of the unseen hard yards, running, tackling, contesting the breakdowns – solid display after being a late replacement following RG Snyman’s absence.

Siya Kolisi (captain): 8

A busy display from the skipper. Controlled the ball well to barge over from a moving maul, carried strongly in the wide channels and won a breakdown penalty.

Pieter-Steph du Toit: 9

Outstanding display after having to move to No.5 in place of the injured RG Snyman. Was commanding in the line-outs – even stealing a few Aussie throw-ins. Powerful presence in getting the Boks over the advantage line, and rounded off a flowing attack in the first half.

Eben Etzebeth: 7

Knocked on inside the Wallaby 22 early on, but soon made up for it with a massive surge to earn a penalty. Dented the defence with ball-in-hand, but was unable to make a couple of offloads.

Frans Malherbe: 6

Made his presence felt early on as the Boks shoved the Wallaby pack backwards, and kept up the pressure throughout.

Bongi Mbonambi: 6

Was part of the strong Bok effort that set the tone early on. Seemed to have taken a knock and was replaced by Malcolm Marx after 27 minutes already, but it was a tactical substitution as he returned in the second half following Marx’s yellow card.

Ox Nche: 7

Got the edge over Wallaby captain Allan Alaalatoa in the scrums, and got more involved in the tight loose as the game went on.

Best off the Bench – Gerhard Steenekamp: 8

Replaced Nche after 53 minutes, and got involved across the pitch. Powerful in the scrums, and even earned a breakdown penalty.