Springbok player ratings in win against France

The Springboks beat France 29-28 in one of the most exciting rugby matches ever seen to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

The defending champions from 2019 edged the French in a quarter-final thriller in Paris on Sunday night to advance to a last-four meeting with England.

New Zealand and Argentina will face off in the other semi-final.

Ratings

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

Damian Willemse 7: The fullback wasn’t nearly as influential on attack as he normally is, but he made some big clearance kicks and competed well in the air. Tackled strongly at times.

Kurt-Lee Arendse 8: Scored a fabulous try and looked for work throughout the game. Competed well for the high ball and did his job in defence on more than one occasion.

Jesse Kriel 7: One of his best Tests; he tackled superbly throughout, rushed the French, got stuck in, and put through a great kick for Cheslin Kolbe’s try. Strong outing.

Damian de Allende 8: He was again a powerhouse presence in midfield, always looking to make yards, made a good break in general play to set up his try, tackled well.

Cheslin Kolbe 9: A threat throughout the match thanks to his hard, fast running. He scored a wonderful try, while his charge down of a Ramos conversion proved crucial.

Manie Libbok 6: He kicked a few up-and-unders, and cleared well under pressure, but didn’t do much with attacking ball. Goal-kicking was still iffy, though he slotted an early shot. Missed a few tackles.

Cobus Reinach 7: Played his part in the first half with some good pin-point kicking, was busy in defence but didn’t do much as an attacking threat. Played under pressure a lot of time.

Duane Vermeulen 6: The big man took a few kick-offs and carried on occasion, but he was not nearly as impactful as the coaches would have liked. He hit rucks hard and competed for ball on the ground.

Pieter-Steph du Toit 7: Like Vermeulen, was bossed at times by the fired up French, but was still a powerful tackler, ball-carrier and lineout option. Never stopped working.

Siya Kolisi 6: It was a fairly quiet game by the Bok skipper, though he tried to get stuck in at the rucks. Pulled off some key tackles. Left the action after half-time.

Franco Mostert 7: Played his heart out once again, making a number of tackles, and hitting plenty of rucks, but left the action just after half-time as well. Solid in the lineouts.

Eben Etzebeth 8: A big game … got a hand in the way early to prevent a possible French try (luckily not penalised), scored a stunning try of his own, but also got yellow carded. Overall, a huge shift from the No 4 lock.

Frans Malherbe 7: He scrummed well and got his team a penalty or two, while he also got around the field, making some decent and important tackles.

Bongi Mbonambi 7: His lineout throwing was generally top notch, he made some tackles and won a key turn-over. Didn’t carry too often. His decision to tap a penalty led to Etzebeth’s try.

Steven Kitshoff 6: Not his best day for the Boks, gave away a few penalties, at the scrums and in open play, but made some good tackles and hit rucks hard. Wasn’t quite as involved as he normally is.

Bench 7: Deon Fourie and Kwagga Smith brought energy to proceedings and gave the Boks the impact and spark they needed. Ox Nche won a crucial scrum penalty, while Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard also played well; the latter man kicking a crucial 52m penalty late on to give the Boks the necessary buffer. Vincent Koch, RG Snyman and Willie le Roux also played their parts in the second half.