South Africa won the series 3–1. That does not mean every Springbok won his individual battle.
South Africa lost the first Test and didn’t lose again. They won the series 3-1, scored 14 tries across four Tests, and their scrum took the All Blacks’ front row apart. But winning a series doesn’t mean every player earned his place.
So we did the homework. RugbyRapt collected player ratings from six leading match-review outlets: RugbyPass, Rugby365, WeTalkRugby, Ruck.co.uk, Planet Rugby and KickOff. We averaged the ratings for all 22 Springboks who started a Test, then measured each player against his direct All Black opponent. The result is our interactive Springbok Player Impact Dashboard.
What the numbers say
The front row won this series. Wilco Louw had the biggest edge of any player: on average he was rated 2.83 points higher than the All Black props he faced. Ox Nche wasn’t far behind, and Malcolm Marx scored two tries from mauls.
Kurt-Lee Arendse tops the ratings. His match-defining try in the fourth Test came from 169 metres and eight defenders beaten on just seven carries. Damian de Allende was Player of the Match in that decider. Jasper Wiese was the one Bok who consistently matched Ardie Savea.
It wasn’t all good news. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu started all four Tests but never found his best. He picked up a yellow card in the third Test and lost the goal-kicking duties to Cheslin Kolbe. At scrum-half, Morne van den Berg’s 8.5 rating in his only start makes a strong case for the No. 9 jersey.
Explore it yourself
Sort the scorecard by rating, tries or edge. Filter by forwards or backs. Dig into the head-to-head battles and our full series verdict: who was world-class, who justified a starting role, and who was merely wearing the jersey. The methodology and sources are at the bottom.
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Back Three
- Damian Willemse (7/10): Safe and technically elite, but managed matches rather than imposing his usual game-changing authority against the global standard. World-class talent; muted series.
- Cheslin Kolbe (8.5/10): Defensive nightmare who forces opposition systems to panic. Aerial dominance, lethal acceleration, and game-breaking chaos make him a global superstar.
- Kurt-Lee Arendse (8.5/10): Devastating in Baltimore and closing fast on the absolute elite. No longer chasing world-class status—he owns it.
- Ethan Hooker (8/10): The discovery of the series. Offers a rare big-bodied, mobile wing profile perfectly aligned with where modern Test rugby is heading.
Centres
- Damian de Allende (8.5/10): The most destructive, collision-proof No. 12 alive. Has quietly added footwork and distribution to his brutal power game.
- Jesse Kriel (6.5/10): Flashed athleticism on key tries, but lacked the defensive dominance and spatial control expected of an elite No. 13.
- André Esterhuizen (6.5/10): Useful physical hybrid across multiple roles, but impacts isolated moments rather than dictating matches like a true world-leading inside centre.
Halfbacks & Fly-Halves
- Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (6/10): All the raw tools for world-best status, but Test rugby demands authority over highlights. Over-eager and defensively exposed.
- Manie Libbok (7/10): Unlocks spatial attack and tempo like few others, but still lacks the game management to remove match anxiety.
- Grant Williams (5/10): Breathtaking speed, but a nightmarish opening Test under breakdown pressure crippled his series momentum.
- Cobus Reinach (5.5/10): Erratic execution. Influenced isolated moments rather than controlling Test match rhythm.
- Morné van den Berg (8/10): Injected instant pace and breakdown honesty in Baltimore. Stock is rising faster than any backline competitor.
Front Row
- Ox Nche (9/10): The global benchmark loosehead. Doesn’t just win penalties—he forces opposing coaches to rewrite their entire bench strategy.
- Gerhard Steenekamp (6.5/10): Solid, dependable Test prop living in the shadow of Nche’s game-changing dominance.
- Wilco Louw (9/10): Brutal scrummaging paired with high-volume defensive work. A legitimate contender for the world’s premier tighthead.
- Thomas du Toit (7.5/10): Elite squad value. Combines world-class dual-sided versatility with heavy-duty set-piece power.
- Zachary Porthen (5/10): A brutal debut assignment with minimal opportunity to build a case.
- Jan-Hendrik Wessels (5/10): High raw talent, but a difficult cameo highlighted how much development remains.
- Malcolm Marx (9.5/10): The undisputed best No. 2 on the planet. Open-side breakdown threat, lethal maul finisher, and collision enforcer.
- Deon Fourie (6/10): Breakdown intelligence remains high, but exposed at set-piece when forced into specialist hooker duties.
Locks
- Eben Etzebeth (7.5/10): Still world-class, but lacked his signature sustained destruction outside of a stellar performance in Cape Town.
- Ruan Nortje (7.5/10): The unheralded engine. Unseen work rate in the tight-five that enables everyone else to look brilliant.
- Lood de Jager (5.5/10): Early yellow card set the tone; failed to reassert his historical authority over the second row.
Loose Forwards
- Siya Kolisi (7.5/10): Pure statistics miss the point. Connects play, elevates emotional intensity, and South Africa wins every Test he starts.
- Paul de Villiers (6.5/10): Energetic showing limited by sparse minutes behind Kolisi.
- Pieter-Steph du Toit (7.5/10): High workload, but set such absurdly high standards in World Cup knockouts that a merely “very good” series feels quiet.
- Jasper Wiese (8/10): Pure gainline violence. Lacks Savea-style finesse, but brings purposeful brutality that fuels the Boks’ system.
- Marco van Staden (4/10): A costly yellow card in his lone appearance. A series to forget.
- Cameron Hanekom (8/10): Explosive athlete with breakdown power and high speed. An impending selection problem for the established hierarchy.
The Verdict: South Africa doesn’t need 30 best-in-world players; they win because they possess indisputable standard-setters (Marx, Nche, Louw, De Allende, Kolbe) backed by world-class depth and ruthless young pressure. Winning 3–1 masked individual drops in form, giving Rassie Erasmus the ideal platform to separate global elite performance from mere reputation.
