Rating every Springboks back in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry: One ‘super overnight success’ for Rassie Erasmus but ‘plenty of critics’ for player ‘learning on the fly’
Springboks newcomer Morne van den Berg, left, tackling with Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, centre, and Damian de Allende
Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks clinched a 3-1 victory in the Greatest Rivalry series with last Saturday’s fourth Test success in the United States of America, after finishing the South African leg of the tour leading 2-1.
Here is how we rate all 11 Boks backs who took to the field, from the opener in Johannesburg through to the games in Cape Town and Soweto and then the finale in Baltimore.
Outside backs
Ethan Hooker (3 starts, 240 mins): After dusting off the shoulder dislocation suffered on club duty in April in Wales with his July comeback against Scotland, the winger looked fully up to speed when recalled from the Cape Town match onwards. His defence helped to combat the All Blacks’ wide-wide threat, and his stubbornness to win and then intelligently work with scrappy ball was important. 8
Damian Willemse (3 starts, 178 mins): Enhanced his safe hands reputation in a sport becoming more reliant on the battle in the skies. A damaged hamstring meant he missed the second half in Cape Town and the entire match in Soweto, but he still did plenty when fit to highlight that the full-back jersey remains very much his to keep. 8
Kurt-Lee Arendse (3 starts, 170 mins): One of four Springbok players to finish the series with two tries, his fleet footed score settled the outcome in Baltimore. That was quite the development given the frustrating August where he was concussed early at Ellis Park and then pulled from the starting team originally named for the DHL. Slick hands, quick feet and fearless in the air – his full 80-minute contributions in the concluding two Tests were vital in swinging the series victory South Africa’s way. 9
Cheslin Kolbe (3 starts, 147 mins): It was a shame his series was prematurely ended by his fractured jaw in Soweto when filling in at full-back, as the winger had been the matchwinner the previous week in Cape Town, a game he wasn’t due to be involved in until Erasmus reshuffled his team at the 11th hour. Kolbe’s precision kicking off the tee – he contributed 29 points via seven penalties and four conversions – was the series takeaway, as this was a skill hidden away under the carpet until now. His dependability with the boot is now another huge string to the Springboks bow. 8
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Centres
Jesse Kriel (4 starts, 320 mins): One of six Springboks to start every match in the Test series, his value was best illustrated by his momentum-shifting scores. He touched down for the opening try in the series-levelling Cape Town riposte, but most important was his incredible run to the try line from far out with the Boks having just gone behind in the second half in Soweto. Poor Leroy Carter will never live down getting swatted aside so easily by the 32-year-old who is ageing like a fine wine. 9
Damian de Allende (4 starts, 320 mins): Another ever-present in the starting team, his milestone 100th cap was ruined by South Africa’s opening Test defeat at Ellis Park, but his two-try response was terrifically combative and his head-to-head with Jordie Barrett a standout series duel. Like Kriel, he played all 320 minutes in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry and his contribution was immense. 9
Fly-halves
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4 starts, 291 mins): The third of the 11 backs used in the series to start all four matches, but that was something he wasn’t primed to do. Veteran Handre Pollard had been recalled for a start in Cape Town but he got injured at training, providing SFM a late reprieve that he gleefully took with two hands once he overcame the setback that was an early second Test yellow card. There were plenty of critics on his back, some even claiming he is a playmaker with zero X-factor, but the bottom line was he continued to learn on the fly and still came out on the winning side. 6
Manie Libbok (4 runs as sub, 151 mins): Five years older than Feinberg-Mngomezulu, his supporters insist he is the more reliable option, but Erasmus didn’t agree and his role was instead confined to the bomb squad. Lucky him then that early injuries to Willemse in Cape Town and Kolbe in Soweto gave him loads of time to impress and show his worth, a good impression that was endorsed by the final quarter part he contributed in Baltimore. 8
Scrum-halves
Cobus Reinach (2 starts + 2 runs as sub, 132 mins): Promoted to start in Cape Town despite his yellow card off the bench in Johannesburg, he provided the Springboks with the hurry-up they needed to level the series, but his levels dipped in Soweto, a look not helped by his unnecessary dust-up with Cam Roigard, and the 36-year-old finished back on the bench for the series final in the United States. 5
Morne van den Berg (1 start + 2 runs as sub, 139 mins): The find of the series for Erasmus and co. The 28-year-old had been in the form of his life at the Lions in the United Rugby Championship earlier this year, but no one would have expected the rookie to earn a Test debut off the Cape Town bench and then see out the Greatest Rivalry with a start and a man of the match performance in Baltimore. A super overnight success story. 9
Grant Williams (1 start, 80 mins): His July form earned him the opening Test start, but he was left in the Ellis Park shade by Roigard, picked up a niggle and then didn’t feature again in the series, a demotion that has left him with much ground to make up. 5
READ MORE: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Team of the Series: Springboks DOMINATE selection as ‘best player in the world’ orchestrates All Blacks downfall