The Springboks produced another nail-biting performance to beat the impressive All Blacks 12-11 in the Rugby World Cup final in Paris and write their names in the history books by becoming the first side to win four titles.
Siya Kolisi’s excellent leadership skills and a world-class performance by Man of the Match Pieter-Steph du Toit were crucial in South Africa beating the 14-man but spectacularly fired-up All Blacks.
TimesLIVE Premium rates the performances of the players in the historic victory.
Starting XV
1. Steven Kitshoff — 7
Kitshoff produced a fine shift for the world champions and stood his ground in the battle against Tyrel Lomax. “Spicy Plum”, as Kitshoff is affectionately known, gave the All Blacks a tough time at the breakdown.
2. Bongi Mbonambi — N/A
After serious doubt that he was going to make the final due to unfortunate allegations of racism by England’s Tom Curry in the semifinal, Mbonambi suffered a knee injury and had to be replaced two minutes into the game. But he played a big role in the Boks’ fight to get to the final.
3. Frans Malherbe — 7
Frans Malherbe was crucial for South Africa in the scrum and made some strong carries.
4. Eben Etzebeth — 8
Etzebeth’s tackle on Richie Mo’unga early into the game ensured South Africa didn’t start the match on the back foot and denied the All Blacks a head start. He was guilty in conceding the penalty that led to New Zealand’s try, but all his other efforts were on point and helped the Boks clinch the victory.
5. Franco Mostert — 8.5
It was another huge shift from Mostert, who made 16 tackles before he was replaced after 52 minutes. He combined well with Etzebeth to disrupt New Zealand’s line-outs.
6. Siya Kolisi — 9
Despite the yellow card in the first half, Kolisi probably played his best game of this year’s Rugby World Cup in the final. His contribution to South Africa’s attack was also noticeable.
Kolisi’s leadership qualities in this tournament have been second to none. He won many praises when he ran to give Cheslin Kolbe a big hug after Boks were confirmed as winners while almost everyone ran to celebrate on the field.
Kolbe had experienced a gut-wrenching seven minutes towards the end of the final on the sin bin, with a feeling that he had let his nation down as they were leading by a mere point against the mighty All Blacks.
Kolisi’s speech about SA’s reality won him many hearts back home.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit — 10
Rugby World Cup finals are for Pieter-Steph du Toit! And that’s not up for debate.
Four years ago, when the Boks won the 2019 World Cup in Japan, Du Toit was the star of the show, producing a Man of the Match performance against England.
The No 7 did the same thing again as he was the king of the day in France, taking home the Man of the Match award in the narrow win over the All Blacks.
He was just unbelievable in defence. He made a whopping 28 tackles. Du Toit will definitely be counted among the greatest Springboks players of all time.
8. Duane Vermeulen — 7.5
What a way for the old man to sign off from a successful Bok career. He was exceptional in protecting SA’s try line and made some great tackles and gained a few metres with the ball.
9. Faf de Klerk — 9
De Klerk produced a match-winning tackle on New Zealand Dalton Papalii who looked set to score a try that would have won the match for the All Blacks.
Aside from that tackle, the scrumhalf played well and most of his out of hand kicks were spot on. His combination with Handré Pollard was great.
10. Handré Pollard — 8.5
Imagine the Springboks’ World Cup campaign without Handré Pollard and his accurate boot.
No disrespect to Manie Libbok, who is still a little bit inexperienced on international stage and will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the 2027 World Cup, it was going to be extremely tough without Pollard.
Pollard’s accuracy delivered the Webb Ellis trophy for South Africa as he scored all 12 points in the 12-11 victory over New Zealand.
11. Cheslin Kolbe — 7.5
New Zealanders appeared to be uneasy whenever Kolbe had the ball as he always tried to take them on.
The wing had a solid game until he was sent to the naughty chair in the final 10 minutes of the game for a knock-on.
12. Damian De Allende — 7
The powerful centre gave a good all-round performance and was massive at breakdowns.
13. Jesse Kriel — 7
While he could have done more to help SA in attack, Kriel good shift in defence.
14. Kurt-Lee Arendse — 8
Arendse gave an excellent all-round performance. He produced a try-saving tackle on Rieko Ioane late in the first half and missed a chance to score his own early in the second half.
15. Damian Willemse — 8
His performance under the high ball was impressive and kicked well. Willemse tried for a drop goal, but his effort fell under the poles.
Replacements:
16. Deon Fourie — 7
Fourie was introduced into the game after three minutes after Mbonambi’s injury.
Fourie’s line-outs were disappointing but was strong at breakdown and his carries were good.
17. Ox Nche — 7
He didn’t call the shots in the scrums like he did against England, but Nche was not bullied by his All Blacks counterpart. His carries were good.
18. Trevor Nyakane — 7
His fine performance in the last-minute scrum won South Africa the game.
19. Jean Kleyn — 6
He came on at the right time when SA needed his impressive physicality and Kleyn didn’t disappoint.
20. RG Snyman — 6.5
His presence helped to keep the New Zealanders at bay in the final moments of the game. Snyman came and gave SA presence in the line-outs.
21. Kwagga Smith — 8
Smith was a standout player from the bench. He came on and produced an excellent steal, taking the ball from Will Jordan and disrupted NZ’s dangerous play.
22. Jasper Wiese — 5
He played only six minutes, and he was solid and produced a few tackles as SA held on for the historic victory.
23. Willie le Roux — 6
He came on for Willemse with 15 minutes to play and brought stability to Boks’ backline.
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