The Springboks’ slow poison got hold of Scotland in the second half to help the South Africans get their Rugby World Cup defence off to a winning start.
IOL Sport’s John Goliath rates the Springboks following the 18-3 win in Marseille.
A massive second-half effort gives the Springboks the win! ✅
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 10, 2023
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Damian Willemse 7/10
Chased the Springboks’ contestable kicks with a lot of venom and precision and put pressure on the Scotland team’s receivers. Was good with ball in hand with little half-breaks.
Kurt-Lee Arendse 8
Set up with a brilliant cross-kick which he gleefully ran in to score to give the Springboks a bit of breathing room. Defended really well with good reads when Scotland found space out wide.
Jesse Kriel 6
Didn’t have a lot of chances with ball in hand, but worked very hard in defence as the Springboks tried to kill Scotland’s attack at the source.
Damian de Allende 6
Was his powerful self in disrupting the Scotland attacks and mopping up loose balls. However, his passing and option-taking weren’t great on the day.
Cheslin Kolbe 7
Had one lung-busting run when he spotted a couple of forwards in front of him. Other than that, he had limited chances, but he tackled and covered well.
Manie Libbok 7
He again missed a few difficult and not so difficult kicks at goal. But it’s his general play and moments of genius that make him such a top player. That no-look cross kick to Arendse was unreal.
Faf de Klerk 8
Celebrated his 50th Test with a top performance. Was all over the park cleaning rucks, and was good on the cover defence. His kicking was also impressive.
Jasper Wiese 8
One of his better Test matches in a Springbok jersey. He carried the ball with a lot of venom and he put a lot of pressure on the opposition breakdown with his counter-rucks.
Pieter-Steph du Toit 9
He is back to his very best. The rangy loose forward looked like he’s rediscovered his form from 2019 as he hounded Finn Russell and carried the ball with force. Scored a top try.
PIETER-STEPH DU TOIT! 🏉
The Springboks have come out firing in this second-half 🇿🇦
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Siya Kolisi 7
The captain had a busy outing and his fitness is looking really good after that miraculous return from a knee injury. Carried strongly and made a crucial turnover.
Franco Mostert 8
What an outing by ‘Sous’. His work-rate was magnificent around the park on on attack and in defence, while he was the king in the line-outs. The man is a lock, and not a loose-forward. And that is that.
Eben Etzebeth N/A
The whole country will be holding its collective breath. Etzebeth is very important to the Springboks’ cause and hopefully his injury isn’t that bad.
Frans Malherbe 5
The big man was pinned at the scrum a few times against Scotland, mostly for over-extending. This is a great concern for South Africa’s premier tighthead.
Malcolm Marx 7
The feisty hooker had a bit of a stop-start match because of a blood injury. But he was still solid with his brutal hits and bullocking runs. Was again a beast at the breakdown.
Steven Kitshoff 6
Held is own in the scrums, and also managed to put in the work around the park. Will have to work with his starting mates to get back that scrum dominance.
Standout substitute:
Ox Nche 8
Came on and completely obliterated the Scotland scrum, which gave the Springboks the platform to land the knock-out punch.
IOL Sport