Player Ratings: South Africa

OPINION: The Springboks concluded the July international window with a 64-21 win over Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Despite playing most of the match with 14 men after centre Andre Esterhuizen was sent off for a high tackle, the Springboks scored 10 tries.

Wing Makazole Mapimpi scored a hat-trick during the 80 minutes.

The Springboks were a significantly different team to the side that faced Ireland in the 1-1 drawn series.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus named seven uncapped players in the squad and only retained four players from last weekend’s 24-25 defeat to Ireland.

Check out the player ratings below:

15 Aphelele Fassi
The fullback was faultless on attack. And while he did not score, he produced a sublime cross-field kick to set up Kurt-Lee Arendse for a try. However, he was caught out on defence on a couple of occasions.
6/10

14 Kurt-Lee Arendse
His move from the left wing to the right was seamless. He showed his incredible finishing ability with a marvellous try. He was constantly looking for work, chasing every kick, while his cover defence halted a Portugal try in the fourth minute. At some moments, he was a little overzealous and was also handed a yellow card for a croc roll, leaving the Boks down to 13 men. Fortunately for him, no damage was done during his sinbin.
7/10

13 Lukhanyo Am
Making his first appearance of the Test season, the centre quickly managed to dust off his rustiness and delivered a solid performance. He made some breaks and scored a try – all this while missing a centre partner after Andre Ezterhuizen was handed a red card in the opening minutes.
7.5/10

12 Andre Esterhuizen
Received a yellow card for his tackle in the second minute of the match. The incident was reviewed and the TMO bunker upgraded it to the red, deeming it was a head-on-head collision.  Certainly not the outcome the centre wanted, who is really fighting for a spot in the Boks starting line-up.
0/10

11 Makazole Mapimpi
He kept the Portugal defence on their toes, making the most carries (17) and making three line-breaks. The wing scored a hat-trick of tries for the Springboks
7.5/10

10 Manie Libbok
He showed great awareness on attack- making some sublime runs and managed to put his teammates into space. However, once again his goal-kicking let him down. The flyhalf missed three from five kicks. Off after 44 minutes.
5/10

9 Cobus Reinach
Making his first appearance of the season, the scrumhalf threatened the Portugal defence on a few occasions with his sniping runs. He distributed the ball well, chased hard and was very energetic. Off at 44 minutes.
6/10

8 Evan Roos
He had a fairly quiet start, which included some handling errors. However, the No.8 gradually got into the thick of things, making 10 carries before leaving the field in the 48th minute.
6.5/10

7 Ben-Jason Dixon
The flank was a standout and really, really impressed. His workrate was top class and he was direct and abrasive on attack and defence. He was also a workhorse at the breakdown, slowing down Portugal’s ball. He also celebrated the evening with a try.
9/10

6 Phepsi Buthelezi
Took a little time to get into the swing of things, but eventually found his feet and really disrupted Portugal at the breakdown. He also scored a try in the 18th minute which handed the Springboks the lead.
6/10

5 RG Snyman
He brought the much-needed physicality in the second row. The lock put in big and aggressive hits. He played a vital role in the opening try with a brilliant offload. While he got on the wrong side of referee Hollie Davidson, the lock produced a solid 80-minute performance.
8.5/10

4 Salmaan Moerat (captain)
It was a big day for the 26-year-old lock, who became the 66th Springboks captain and also the first Muslim to hold the position. The job got more challenging when Esternhuizen was handed a yellow card. However, the skipper remained composed. He can improve his workrate.
5.5/10

3 Thomas du Toit
Came out and wanted to show Bloemfontein that South Africa has another world-class tighthead prop. He was solid in the set-piece, winning a scrum penalty.
8/10

2 Johan Grobbelaar
The hooker was industrious and produced a very impressive show, adding his name to South Africa’s options at hooker. He found his jumpers with ease at line-outs – only missing one. He also made a vital turnover inside his own 22 in the 50th minute.
7/10

1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
It was a dream debut for the prop, scoring the Springboks’ first try in his home town Bloemfontein. He also scrum well and a solid performance from the Bulls front row.
8/10

Replacements:

16 Andre-Hugo Venter (on for Grobberlaar, 58th minute)
He kept up the intensity. He also landed his line-out throws and scored a try. Certainly, a debut he can be proud of.
7/10

17 Ntuthuko Mchunu (on for Wessels, 54th minute)
Joined the party when the Boks had a healthy lead. But he had some good defensive moments.
5/10

18 Trevor Nyakane (on for Du Toit, 54th minute)
A very quiet performance by the veteran prop. But did well to close the game
4/10

19 Ruan Venter (on for Buthelezi, 58th minute)
Backed up the physicality of the pack with some strong carries.
6/10

20 Elrigh Louw (on for Roos, 47th minute)
A fairly quiet stint according to his standards. But made eight carries and helped on the defence.
6/10

21 Morné van den Berg (on for Reinach, 45th minute)
At first, he struggled with the pace of the match and was penalised for not taking the ball out quickly enough. He eventually found his feet and his precision pass from the ruck set up his Lions teammate Quan Horn for the try.
6/10

22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (on for Libbok, 45th minute)
Another brilliant performance from the young man. The 22-year-old looked like a seasoned international. He was faultless from the tee, landing five conversions. He also fended off a couple of defenders and set up  Mapimpi for his second try. And what truly made the Bloem crowd happy was his perfectly executed 50-22 from his own 22. Just oozes confidence.
9/10

23 Quan Horn (on for Fassi, 62nd minite)
Slipping onto the field, the Lions back showed his class and scored a try. He was handed a yellow card for tackling a man in the air, which certainly put a damper on his performance.
5/10