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 lineout in the second half, and made some classy runs and offloads on attack.
Kolbe putting the ball in 😲
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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.
Kurt-Lee 'The Silent Assassin' Arendse 😤⭐
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 10, 2024
How good is that step by Jesse Kriel though? 🤯
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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.
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.
Single lineout ❌
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 10, 2024
Double lineout ✅✅
The Boks are over for their first try of the 2024 Rugby Championship 🏉💥
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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 lineouts – 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.
Points-Scorers
Wallabies 7 – Try: Hunter Paisami. Conversion: Tom Lynagh (1).
Springboks 33 – Tries: Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Kwagga Smith. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4).