Player ratings: Samurai chopped
At no stage did the South Africans look like winning the match and despite the best efforts of their replacement players, still suffered an embarassing 32-34 defeat.
Their work rate at the breakdowns was pretty average and had no answer to the "in your face" approach employed by the minnows.
Tauriq Ebrahim rates the Springboks players!
15 Zane Kirchner
Made early mistakes and never recovered at all. Added poor decision making to his performance as well.
2/10
14 Bryan Habana
Never had enough of the ball to make a real impact and was forced to come inside to look for work.
5/10
13 Jesse Kriel
Barely saw the ball and had no attacking opportunities, no fault of his own though, so he was forced into defence mode.
4/10
12 Jean de Villiers (captain)
Failed to ignite the speedsters on his outside and took the contact too many times.
4/10
11 Lwazi Mvovo
Looked very dangerous when he had the chance to carry the ball but saw to little of it.
5/10
10 Pat Lambie
Controlled matters nicely and found a good balance between tactical kicking and passing but a few errors crept into his game.
6/10
9 Ruan Pienaar
Was poor on defence and tried to hide himself but his service from the rucks and scrums remains slow. His tactical kicking is nowhere.
4/10
8 Schalk Burger
Attempted to use his brute force to out muscle the Japanese but seemed to be trying too hard at times and it affected him negatively.
5/10
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
Made a big statement as he rose to the occasion with some big hits and a high work rate at the breakdowns.
7/10
6 Francois Louw
Very slow to get to the breakdowns but had some strong carries.
5/10
5 Victor Matfield
Mr Reliable showed all of his experience at the set pieces but failed to make an impact anywhere else on the park.
6/10
4 Lodewyk de Jager
The standout player was a menace in the line-outs, broke the advantage line with some strong carries and kept the Japanese on their toes.
8/10
3 Jannie du Plessis
Absolutely in effective and seemed to hide himself on the field.
3/10
2 Bismarck du Plessis
A massive work rate as usual but was too eager at times and conceded too many penalties.
5/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira
Looked to carry the ball over the advantage line but made no significant metres.
4/10
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss (on for B du Plessis, 54th min)
Made an immediate impact off the bench with some massive carries and determined tackling.
6/10
17 Trevor Nyakane (on for T Mtawarira, 54th min)
His strong carries got him over the advantage line with ease but was unfortunate to pick an injury late in the game.
5/10
18 Coenie Oosthuizen (on for J du Plessis, 54th min)
All brawn and absolutely no brains. Gave away too many penalties and received a yellow card.
1/10
19 Siya Kolisi (on for PS du Toit, 57th min)
Had big shoes to fill and did so admirably. His monster tackle stopped a certain try just before full-time.
6/10
20 Eben Etzebeth (on for L de Jager, 68th min)
Not enough time to be rated
21 Fourie du Preez (on for Pienaar, 58th min)
Brought some spark and life to the attacks while his quick thinking made the Japanese defence second guess themselves.
6/10
22 Handre Pollard (on for Lambie, 58th min)
Attempted to keep the defenders on their toes and did all he could with the little opportunities he got.
5/10
23 JP Pietersen (on for Mvovo, 70th min)
Not enough time to be rated
