Springbok player ratings from World Cup final win against All Blacks

The Springboks beat the All Blacks 12-11 in an epic Rugby World Cup final in Paris on Sunday to become the first four-time champions.

The Boks also went back-to-back after winning the tournament in Japan four years ago.

This is how The Citizen rated the performance of the Boks, out of 10.

Damian Willemse 7: The Bok fullback had a solid game and was especially good under the high ball, and kicking from deep. He did miss a few crucial tackles, but it was an otherwise good outing.

Kurt-Lee Arendse 7: Was strong out wide all night long, jumped for the high balls and looked for work; he also nearly scored a great try. Missed a few tackles, but pulled off a try-saver on Rieko Ioane.

Jesse Kriel 7: Was generally good throughout, got few chances on the front foot, but played his part in a strong and at times nervy defensive display. Kicked a shocker towards the end.

Damian de Allende 8: Once again a key man in the backs, he got plenty of go-forward as a carrier and made a number of tackles. Solid outing.

Cheslin Kolbe 7: Like Arendse, he chased everything, competed well and ran hard from the back. Put his body on the line and made some big hits. Yellow carded for a deliberate knock.

Handre Pollard 9: The best injury replacement ever. He kicked well out of hand, ran hard at the All Blacks defensive line and was sound under the high ball. And, he kicked every penalty, for the win!

Faf de Klerk 8: He was a constant menace around the fringes and bar a missed pass here and there, was excellent. He kicked well and made plenty of tackles and even a charge down.

Duane Vermeulen 8: Was solid as the kick-off receiver, carried back strongly and worked hard in the rucks and mauls. A huge shift from the veteran … what a way to end off.

Pieter-Steph du Toit 10: Has there ever been a better performance by a Bok player, anywhere? Tackled and tackled, and tackled again. His biggest and most important outing in a Bok jersey. Huge!

Siya Kolisi 7: He led the team superbly, made good calls, made a number of key tackles and worked hard in every area. One very nice run. Yellow carded for a head clash.

Franco Mostert 8: Like in every game, he worked his butt off and tackled anything that came near him. He was sound in the lineouts and showed just what a valuable member of the squad he is.

Eben Etzebeth 8: Another epic performance from the enforcer; he worked so hard to get the Boks on the front foot in the first half to get the advantage, which proved crucial. Strong lineout play.

Frans Malherbe 7: The Boks scrum didn’t nearly dominate as much as we thought it would; the All Blacks were solid, but there was never any issue in being pushed back. Tackled strongly.

Bongi Mbonambi N/A: Sadly Mbonambi got hurt early in the game and didn’t see five minutes of action. How very unfortunate; thank goodness it was in the last game, with no regular hooker back-up in the squad.

Steven Kitshoff 7: The loosehead enjoyed a good outing for the time he was on the field; got through a ton of work, tackled well and was as solid as ever in the scrums.

Bench 8: Deon Fourie came on early, had a few issues with his lineout throwing, but was a menace at the rucks and mauls. And he made a number of big tackles, too. A sublime effort from the veteran, who’s now a World Cup winner.

Kwagga Smith was again massive in the breakdown and as a tackler and ball stealer.

Ox Nche, RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn played their parts too, while Trevor Nyakane and Willie le Roux came on late, as did Jasper Wiese.