Player ratings: Gave it horns
It was a brutal match, as was expected, but a lack of edge and attacking ideas – combined with an inability to exit out of their own half – proved to be the downfall of an otherwise gutsy performance.
The Springboks stood firm in defence and put in plenty of tackles as the All Blacks came at them but when they had the ball, seemed a bit out of sorts in attempting to carve out any real attacking opportunities.
Tactical kicking was another area that the Boks failed to improve on but despite all the negatives, they remained in the contest until the very last minute.
Tauriq Ebrahim rates the Springboks!
15 Willie le Roux
Showed glimpses of why he is a threat under the high ball but his tactical and clearance kicks was shocking.
4/10
14 JP Pietersen
Had very little attacking chances but did his job on defence to force Julian Savea infield.
5/10
13 Jesse Kriel
Forced into defence mode throughout the encounter with very minimal attacking chances.
5/10
12 Damian De Allende
Devastating runner with ball-in-hand when he was given the chance and put in another big effort on defence to show he can stand up to the best in the business.
7/10
11 Bryan Habana
His yellow card may have been a little silly but he showed all of his experience to keep Nehe Milner-Skudder fairly quiet while remaining brilliant in running onto the high ball.
6/10
10 Handré Pollard
His radar was certainly locked but looked to have no ideas or creativity to release his backline to pose any sort of attacking threat.
6/10
9 Fourie du Preez (captain)
Controlled the pace of the game well with excellent service, however, his tactical kicking was inconsistent which killed any potential attacking chances.
7/10
8 Duane Vermeulen
Take a bow Thormeulen! A true warrior who threw his body all over the place and showed how much of a threat he really is.
8/10
7 Schalk Burger
Another game where he thought he was a No.10 and his numerous mistakes at the breakdowns allowed the All Blacks to keep their noses ahead.
4/10
6 Francois Louw
Maintained a high work rate throughout and proved his prowess at the breakdown with numerous turnovers won.
8/10
5 Lodewyk de Jager
Nothing special from the lanky lock and seemed to be in awe of his opposite number in the line-outs.
5/10
4 Eben Etzebeth
A mammoth effort on defence and gave it his all but offered little on attack.
6/10
3 Frans Malherbe
Proved why his name showed be inked onto the team sheet as he was simply amazing at scrum time to help his team gain the upperhand.
8/10
2 Bismarck du Plessis
His work rate was once again of the highest standard and his bulldog approach was great to watch. However, he forgot about executing the basic fundamentals of a hooker.
6/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira
When a scrum has a strong right shoulder, it will flatten any challengers and that is what the Beast gave his side – scrum dominance.
7/10
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss (on for B du Plessis, 53 mins)
Had a huge task to sort things out at line-out time and did that admirably, however, he could not make a real impact off the bench this time.
6/10
17 Trevor Nyakane (on for Mtawarira, 53 mins)
Has big shoes to fill at scrum time and did just that but that was all he was able to do.
5/10
18 Jannie du Plessis (on for Malherbe, 60 mins)
Remains more of a liability than an asset to the team as there was no longer any dominance at the scrums.
3/10
19 Victor Matfield (on for de Jager, 60 mins)
Must have enjoyed the chance to stretch his legs, even though he had a throw-in stolen in front of his eyes.
5/10
20 Willem Alberts (on for Louw, 29 mins – blood – and for Burger, 63 mins)
The bone collector's collection will have to wait for another day as he found himself slipping a tackle.
4/10
21 Ruan Pienaar
Not used.
22 Patrick Lambie (on for Pollard, 65 mins)
Slotted an important penalty to get within two points and did well in the pouring rain to try and spark something.
6/10
23 Jan Serfontein (on for de Allende, 79 mins)
Not enough time to be rated.
