Player Ratings: South Africa

OPINION: The Springboks obliterated Italy in the first half on their way to a 66-7 victory in Turin on Saturday.

Erasmus’ side led 45-0 at half-time before things went a bit loose in the second half.

It was the Boks’ fourth win in a row in the Nations Championship ahead of showdowns with France and Ireland on the road,

See below for the Springbok Player Ratings:

15 Damian Willemse
Another solid performance at the back, and on a few occasions, he joined the attacking line with some success. On one occasion, it was great support play on Jasper Wiese’s inside to receive the ball and score a try.
7.5/10

14 Kurt-Lee Arendse
The speedster gave Italy plenty of problems under the high ball, and more often than not he won the ball back for his team. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities in open space, but he did make some metres on attack.
7/10

13 Jesse Kriel
There were a couple of good runs where he showed he still has the pace to trouble opposition defences. He didn’t have much work to do on defence in terms of tackling, but you could still see him barking out orders and marshalling his teammates when they were under the pump. There was also great steal at the breakdown in the 18th minute.
7/10

12 Damian de Allende
A monster in the midfield and the Italians will surely be nursing a few headaches after trying to stop him. The centre made metres every time he ran with the ball, and he often took several defenders with him.
8.5/10

11 Ethan Hooker
His versatility in the backline has made him an integral part of Rassie Erasmus’ plans, and it was on full display in Turin. He made yards every time he had the ball and beat a number of defenders out wide. He continued that powerful ball-carrying display in the second half when he was moved from the wing to the midfield. His work under the high ball was brilliant as well. He capped off a strong performance with a try before the end.
9/10

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
It was almost like he was toying with the Italians when he had the ball on attack. It was just awesome to watch his vision, and on one occasion he sliced through the Italian defence before racing away to score a great try in the ninth minute. His kicking game was also good, and an awesome 50-22 in the 22nd minute was an example of that. Sacha’s goal-kicking was exceptional once again.
8.5/10

9 Morne van den Berg
The Lions’ livewire produced another eye-catching performance, and he is getting closer to being Rassie Erasmus’ first choice. In a devastating first half, he absolutely controlled proceedings in all facets of the game. His kicking out of hand was pinpoint, and his ball distribution from the base of the ruck gave his team a big advantage. The scrumhalf also took his opportunity with both hands to snipe and score in the 16th minute.
9/10

8 Jasper Wiese
He was one of those hardworking machines in the Bok pack and always got over the advantage line with his power. The highlight of his performance was when he showed his pace to race through a gap before feeding the ball to Damian Willemse to score a try.
8/10

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
There were a couple of occasions when he was like a missile on defence and absolutely obliterated his opponent. There were some huge carries as well, and he was a prominent figure in a few line-outs and mauls.
7.5/10

6 Siya Kolisi (captain)
The captain was present at the breakdowns and showed his pedigree with a turnover in the 11th minute. Scored the bonus-point try after a quick and powerful maul in the 23rd minute. The physicality was there while he was on the field.
7/10

5 Ruan Nortje
He was the main line-out jumper for most of the match, and he had good communication with Malcolm Marx. He just does the hard work that goes unnoticed in games, and he proved why he is a valuable cog in the Bok machine.
7.5/10

4 Lood de Jager
The big man was a late inclusion for Salmaan Moerat, and he never let his team down on the field. It was an industrious performance in the physical exchanges, and he was a leader in the line-outs as well. Damian Willemse’s try in the 25th minute started from De Jager’s charge-down before it went wide.
8/10

3 Thomas du Toit
There just wasn’t that dominance in the scrums, and he even went backwards on one occasion early in the second half. He made up for it by being one of the powerhouses in a couple of driving mauls that resulted in tries.
6/10

2 Malcolm Marx
The 2025 World Player of the Year scored his team’s third try from a powerful driving maul before getting another in the 32nd minute via the same route. His line-out throwing was great, and his control and power behind those mauls made him a weapon.
8.5/10

1 Ox Nche
Just like Thomas du Toit, he couldn’t bully his opponent at scrum time, but he was solid for the most part. He also provided the muscle in those driving mauls.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (On for Malcolm Marx)
Couldn’t find his jumper in the 53rd minute, but things improved after that. It was a mixed mag from the versatile player.
6/10

17 Gerhard Steenekamp (On for Ox Nche)
He was powerful in a scrum in the 67th minute when the Boks won a penalty. The Bulls prop won another scrum penalty in the 71st minute when he had his opponent under pressure.
7/10

18 Wilco Louw (On for Thomas du Toit)
The big man showed his strength by powering over for a try in the 50th minute, and he was powerful in the scrums.
7/10

19 Franco Mostert (On for Lood de Jager)
He showed his experience in the set-pieces and got more into the game with his physicality as the second half went on.
6.5/10

20 Cameron Hanekom (On for Jasper Wiese)
He had a few carries, and there were some aggressive tackles. Things were a bit disjointed when he came on with the rest of the pack.
6.5/10

21 Paul de Villiers (On for Siya Kolisi)
There was some energy and aggressiveness from the Stormers captain, and he scored a try in the 73rd minute after peeling off from a maul.
7/10

22 Grant Williams (On for Morne van den Berg [blood] and then Damian de Allende)
Most of his time was spent on the wing, and he couldn’t really impose himself in the game.
5.5/10

23 Manie Libbok (On for Damian Willemse
He was put in charge of a backline that had had several changes to it in the second half. There were some nice touches, and there were times when things didn’t go as planned.
6/10