Following the Springboks’ 43-0 victory over Wales in the Nations Championship, here’s how we rated Rassie Erasmus’ men in Durban.
Springboks player ratings versus Wales
15 Aphelele Fassi: Struggling to hit his form after an injury-interrupted season. Flashes of what he really is capable of, but his handling errors were an eyesore again. Replaced around the hour mark for Damian Willemse. 5
14 Jaco Williams: Couldn’t have asked for a much better Test debut for the man whose journey has been likened to that of Makazole Mapimpi. The speedster launched himself into the air and won the aerial duel to set up the last try before half-time and got on the scoresheet himself early in the second 40. Assisted another for Herschel Jantjies. A serious talent and a dream debut. 8
13 Jesse Kriel: Pounced to score the final try of the first half, benefiting from Williams’ excellence under the high ball and a fellow debutant’s cross kick. Work-rate was off the charts and he made some great reads to keep the Welsh scoreless. One of the form centres in Test rugby right now. 7
12 Damian de Allende: An understated performance from the inside centre who passed more than he carried. Still, he is a glue-man in the midfield and always demands attention from the defence which opens up gaps for others. Edges towards 100 Test caps and will go down as a great of the Springboks‘ jersey. 7
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse: His fellow winger stole the spotlight, but Arendse kept Louis Rees-Zammit quiet, contested well in the air and was generally solid. Grabbed a try in the final quarter, the 25th of his career. 6
10 Vusi Moyo: The biggest compliment we can pay to the 20-year-old fly-half is that he did not look out of place at this level in the slightest. He was bold, brave and energetic in his 47 minutes on the park. He slotted three conversions, missed the trickiest one, set up a try and defended his channel effectively too. He was in the luxurious position of starting alongside Cobus Reinach, the Boks’ most-capped centre combo, and was armed with an utterly dominant pack – a fly-half can’t ask for much more, but he still had to produce the goods, and he did. 8
9 Cobus Reinach: A few unkind passes didn’t help with the Springboks’ handling errors, but Reinach was his usual self, charging around like a man possessed. Kicked well too and generally had a decent game. 6
The forward pack
8 Jasper Wiese: Brutal, hulking run saw him rip through the Welsh defence and score the opening try of the game. The Wiese brothers were in a destructive mood in Durban, and the Welsh didn’t have answers for them, with Erasmus eventually stopping the punishment by simply removing them from the match. 7
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (c): Sound like a broken record with PSDT never really having a bad game, but it’s true. He was impactful on both sides of the ball and seemingly touched every blade of grass. Not box office but didn’t need to be. Scored on his standards. 6
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6 Paul de Villiers: Struggled to hold onto the slippery ball in the Durban conditions, conceding four turnovers in the first half. Spilled the ball in the second half too inside the Welsh 22. Not quite as excellent as he was in his first two appearances for the Boks but he was still busy and effective. Grabbed his first Test try. Still took home the man of the match award. 7
5 Ruben van Heerden: Less prominent in the loose than his second-row partner but finally given his opportunity in Green and Gold, Van Heerden did not disappoint. He ran the lineout effectively and got through a mountain of work. Not quite at the same level as Ruan Nortje but he wasn’t out of place. 7
4 Cobus Wiese: His best performance of his young international career. He was forced off the pitch last week against Scotland when he was really warming up a barnstorming shift, and just picked up from there today. In his first Test with his brother, the younger Wiese was a handful with ball in hand, an excellent lineout option and huge in defence. Brilliantly assisted Williams too. 8
3 Carlu Sadie: The big man shed a tear during the anthems before going about inflicting pain on the Welsh scrum. He battered Rhys Carre at every opportunity in the set-piece; it was a real bloodbath with the Springbok debutant shifting the Welsh loosehead into reverse in truly brutal fashion. It was a sight to behold. The Boks’ tighthead stocks are simply otherwordly. A bit quiet around the park but that mattered little, he was selected on his scrummaging prowess and he more than delivered on that. 8
2 Malcolm Marx: Accurate in the lineout, part of a dominant scrum, grabbed a breakdown penalty and simply did his job. The 2025 World Rugby Player of the Year and he is in similar form this year. 8
1 Gerhard Steenekamp: Busier around the park than his fellow prop but no less effective at scrum time with a shift that will give Dillon Lewis nightmares for the rest of the week. 8
Replacements: Erasmus didn’t require an explosion from his bench to power the Springboks to victory but there were several strong performances from the Bomb Squad. Manie Libbok brought more accuracy in attack, not from the tee though, while Willemse continued his stunning form. Jantjies celebrated his first cap in three years with a try and added real energy to the attack while the front row replacements maintained the scrum dominance. The bench kept the foot on Wales‘ throat but didn’t apply more pressure. 6
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