Springboks v Japan: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus has ‘decision to make’ with Cheslin Kolbe experiment yielding mixed results
Springboks stars Cheslin Kolbe and Jasper Wiese.
Following the Springboks’ 61-7 victory over Japan at Wembley Stadium, here are the key winners and losers from the clash in London.
Winners
Malcolm Marx
With Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ controversial ban and Bongi Mbonambi seemingly being eased out by Rassie Erasmus, there appears to be even more responsibility on Marx’s shoulders, but he revelled in that pressure at Wembley.
The hooker’s throwing has been mixed this year, but the set-piece was far better on Saturday, with Marx far more accurate. However, it was in the loose where the front-rower really shone as he carried with real venom throughout his time on the field and was outstanding at the breakdown.
Jasper Wiese
The Springboks have had their issues at number eight this season, mainly through injury and suspension, but Wiese has made up for lost time since returning. He was of course banned for a stupid headbutt against Italy, but he has been excellent over the past few games and continued that form in this game.
Wiese was magnificent in all facets, whether it was carrying into traffic or putting big hits in on defence and stealing the ball at the contact area as the Springboks physically dominated Japan. His importance almost grew when he was absent, and South African fans are probably appreciating him even more now.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Not his hardest challenge of the year, but it was still a performance full of magic touches and sumptuous tries. Feinberg-Mngomezulu allies that with great control and excellent decision-making to show that he really is a special talent.
The gifted playmaker was then given a rest for the final 27 minutes to enable Manie Libbok to have some game time with Erasmus, knowing that sterner challenges await during this end-of-year series.
Zach Porthen
A first cap for the 21-year-old and, all in all, it went pretty well for the rising star. Porthen became the youngest prop to debut for the Springboks in the professional era, and at times, he showed why Erasmus has decided to fast-track him.
He will face tougher looseheads, but there did not seem to be any sign of nerves as Porthen got stuck in and did his job well. It will be interesting to see if the coaches continue with him over the next month or keep him in reserve ahead of the 2026 Test season.
Kurt-Lee Arendse
Has a remarkable try-scoring record at Test level, 23 in 28 appearances, and ordinarily would be the automatic first choice, but the Springboks have hardly struggled in his absence. Cheslin Kolbe remains their best wing while Ethan Hooker and Canan Moodie have done well when given a chance out wide.
Arendse may have therefore feared for his place when sitting on the sidelines, but this was the ideal game to dust off the cobwebs. Erasmus certainly has a decision to make over the back three combination, with several players putting their hands up.
Gerhard Steenekamp
Playing his first Test match since suffering an injury in March, the loosehead prop looked like he had never been away. It helped that he came on with Bulls team-mate Wilco Louw, but it is still a massive credit to Steenekamp that he fitted back in effortlessly, particularly with Ox Nche suffering an injury.
Springboks v Japan: Five takeaways as Boks ‘bully’ Brave Blossoms into submission
Losers
Ox Nche
Went off in the 18th minute with a concerning injury, and it has since been confirmed that he will miss the rest of the November series in a blow for the Springboks. Quite how big that is will be determined by the performances of his replacements over the next month.
As mentioned, Steenekamp was superb off the bench and Boan Venter has not let them down when called upon, but Nche’s injury, combined with Wessels’ suspension, leaves them slightly short at loosehead. Thomas du Toit, who has been shifted across, has struggled at Test level in the number one jersey.
Eddie Jones
Cameras showed a visibly frustrated Japan head coach early on and we doubt his mood improved much as the game continued. The end result, against a side as powerful as the Springboks, was not a shock, but it was still a pretty meek surrender by the Brave Blossoms.
Remember, they reached the quarter-finals of their home Rugby World Cup in 2019, losing out to eventual champions South Africa in the last-eight, but they have been in decline since then. The JRFU hoped Jones would turn it around, but it hasn’t happened for him or Japan just yet.
Ben Gunter
Not the worst tackle you will ever see, and indeed it was not upgraded, but he was perhaps fortunate not to receive a 20-minute red card for his hit on Siya Kolisi. It was deemed that both players were low in the tackle, but Gunter had time to adjust and he simply didn’t. Japan were already being overpowered, but the flanker’s actions certainly did not help.
Cheslin Kolbe
This feels somewhat harsh but, with Erasmus looking for full-back options following injuries to Aphelele Fassi and Damian Willemse, he probably did not learn anything new from Kolbe’s outing.
Positionally, the speedster covered the backfield well and there was one searing break towards the end of the game, which showed his quality with ball in hand, but he wasn’t really tested by the Japanese. With the huge match against France next up, South Africa probably wanted a bit more of a challenge.
Yoshitaka Yazaki
Kolbe did have a better day than his opposition number, however, with the university player having all sorts of trouble under the high ball. Technically, Yazaki was all at sea as the Springboks preyed on the Japan full-back, leading to errors which the back-to-back world champions continuously pounced upon.