First Lions Test: Springbok player ratings

The British and Irish Lions beat the Springboks 22-17 in the first Test of three at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

This is how The Citizen rated the Bok players, out of 10.

Willie le Roux 7: He was generally good under the high ball, made a few decent runs out of defence, and pulled off an important tackle on Robbie Henshaw who looked headed for the tryline. Left the field in the 65th minute.

Cheslin Kolbe 5: Had almost no attacking opportunities and was found wanting under the high ball after taking a good up-and-under early on. A game he’ll want to put behind him.

Lukhanyo Am 6: Made a big hit early on against Elliot Daly and marshalled the defence well in the first half, but went missing in the second spell.

Damian de Allende 7: Still a real powerhouse at No 12, he made several good carries over the gainline and also put in a number of big tackles. A decent outing.

Makazole Mapimpi 6: Like Kolbe, he never got any proper opportunities; the one he did get he did well to kick the ball ahead, and gather it later on, which led to Faf de Klerk’s try. Knocked on a few high balls.

Handre Pollard 6: The flyhalf had a superb first half; he took several high balls out of the air, kicked all four his goals and ran strongly at the Lions. In the second half, he missed a few kicks, which proved crucial, and lost his way.

Faf de Klerk 6: Put in a few good tackles and scored a try after some good support play, while his over-the-top kicks into space were very decent in the first half. Left the action after an average second half in the 73rd minute.

Kwagga Smith 6: Secured several restarts, was busy at the breakdowns, and made a few good tackles. Gave away a 50/50 penalty and turn-over; left the action after 63 minutes. Decent shift.

Pieter-Steph du Toit 7: Worked tirelessly as always, cleaned hard, made his tackles, but gave away a few penalties as well.

Siya Kolisi 6: The skipper started slowly, but made a good break from a maul, which seemed to fire him up, and was busy in defence. Solid after time out of game.

Franco Mostert 5: The generally busy lock hit a few rucks and pulled off some tackles, but far off his best; was ssubbed after 63 minutes.

Eben Etzebeth 6: Was the banker man in the lineouts, busy in the rucks and mauls, stopping one on his own, and solid defensively. He, however, gave away a few penalties, one for a high shot that resulted in Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try.

Trevor Nyakane 7: Was solid in the scrums, cleaned well, tackled hard and even won a breakdown penalty. Excellent outing. Was replaced at half-time.

Bongi Mbonambi 7: Found his jumpers in the lineouts, clean strongly, and did his bit in defence. Replaced at half-time.

Ox Nche 7: The rookie loose-head enjoyed a fabulous 40 minutes before being replaced; he carried several times over the gainline and scrummed vey well.

Replacements

Malcolm Marx 4: Was solid enough in the scrums and throwing in, but made little impact in the second half.

Steven Kitshoff 4: Didn’t make any difference coming on at half-time, even though he was solid at scrum-time.

Frans Malherbe 4: He came on after the interval and packed down at a few scrums, but never made a telling contribution.

Lood de Jager, Rynhardt Elstadt, Herschel Jantjies, Elton Jantjies, Damian Willemse: All came on after the 63rd minute and deemed to not be on the field long enough to be rated.