Springbok player ratings from 32-15 win against Scotland

The Springboks beat Scotland 32-15 in their Test match played at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Sunday.

The world champions were pushed all the way in a nervy, error-ridden performance, but managed to score four tries to none to emerge as victors in their first match of three on this Northern Hemisphere tour.

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

Willie le Roux 7: The veteran fullback didn’t put a foot wrong in a solid outing. He kicked well out of hand, once brilliantly for Makazole Mapimpi’s second try, while he was good under the high ball and added his usual spark in attack.

Canan Moodie 7: He gave away a penalty early on for holding on and once knocked on badly from a pass, but he was excellent in the air, tackled strongly and was dangerous in open play.

Lukhanyo Am 6: Not quite at his best, but he carried nicely on occasion, running in space, tackled well and even got stuck in at the breakdowns, winning a penalty on one occasion.

Andre Esterhuizen 8: A big shift from the inside centre; he was the chief ball-carrier and regularly got the Boks over the gainline with his powerful runs. He tackled strongly, too.

Makazole Mapimpi 8: The wing continues to shine and showed he is far from being done with Test rugby. He got a yellow card, but he worked hard throughout the 80, and scored two tries from cross-kicks.

Handre Pollard 7: He made a good cross-field kick to Mapimpi for the winger’s first try, and kicked well at goal, but he also missed touch on occasion. A solid outing.

Jaden Hendrikse 6: His service was decent, his kicking was okay, but he knocked the ball on at the rucks on a few occasions. Not his best day at the office, was replaced with just over 10 to go.

Kwagga Smith 5: It was a fairly quiet outing by the work-horse who celebrated his 50th Test with a win. No 8 is probably not best suited to him and maybe he really is best off the bench.

Elrigh Louw 6: A decent outing by the Bulls man, who didn’t stop working until he was subbed in the 45th minute. He carried hard, and tackled well, and also played his part in the lineouts.

Marco van Staden 5: It was an unusually quiet game for the flanker, who got a rare chance to start. He made some big tackles, but he was bossed by the Scottish forwards in a number of areas of the game.

Franco Mostert 6: The veteran returned after a long injury layoff and looked a bit rusty. He gave away a few penalties, and also missed a few lineout throws. Only lasted until half-time.

Eben Etzebeth 8: The captain on the day put in a number of tackles, one crucial one on Duhan van der Merwe, he carried hard and cleaned up loose ball, and was strong in the lineouts.

Thomas du Toit 6: He didn’t get too many opportunities to scrum, but the Boks dominated the set-piece, with him at No 3. He gave away a penalty in the scrum on one occasion, but made up for it with a well-taken try.

Bongi Mbonambi 5: Not only his fault, but the Bok lineout again didn’t function too well, with him missing a few throws. Also wasn’t as busy as usual in the loose.

Ox Nche 7: Another Bok player who didn’t ever quite get into the swing of things. He was quiet in general play, did what he had to, but got the better of his opponent in the scrums with another powerful display.

Bench 8: Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch, Gerhard Steenekamp, RG Snyman, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi and Jasper Wiese all came on early in the second half and while it took them a little time to make an impact, they eventually did, with the scrum dominating and winning penalties and the players carrying hard and tackling well, helping the Boks win a tight Test.

Every man played his part, but Snyman was particularly good, while Grant Williams, the only back on the bench, came on with 12 minutes to play.