All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks after bruising second Test in Cape Town as South Africa hit back to level the Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1.
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Report By Asiphe Ngqamba
The Springboks answered the critics with 33-26 victory over the All Blacks in Cape Town, following the last week 33-16 defeat to the All Blacks. Jesse Kriel set the tone in the second minute making a try giving Springboks a lead. All Blacks retaliated with a try from Cam Roigard, but de Allende brought back Springboks advantage.
Damian McKenzie crossed the line for All blacks, before Siya Kolisi took over in the 37th minute changing the energy in the stadium, making the crowd celebrate as the Springbok led 24-14 into halftime.
The atmosphere intensified in the second half with both sides battling for control, with Player of the Match Cheslin Kolbe kicking a penalty in the 48th minute following with another two increasing the pressure of the game. All Blacks refusing to give up, Leroy Carter and Ardie Savea scored the second half tries. The Springboks held their defence under pressure in the last minute with Lood de Jager receiving a yellow card, the team held on with All Blacks not giving in securing a 33-26 victory.
This victory for the home team locks the Rugby Greatest Rivalry series 1-1, both teams are set meet again on 5 September 2026 in Johannesburg.
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All Blacks Player Ratings vs Springboks:
Ratings by Bruno Freire.
1. George Bower – 6
Bower played well once again and secured his side of the scrum for much of his time on the field. He has certainly been the best-performing All Black front rower so far in this series and will likely start the next two tests.
Additionally, he is a nuisance in the breakdown and regularly slows threatening Springbok attacks.
2. Codie Taylor – 4.5
Not a vintage performance from the world-class hooker. While he did set himself about physically and fronted up against the advancing Springbok pack, he also made numerous set-piece errors with poor throws at lineout time early in the match.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 5
Lomax had a passable performance today but was exposed at scrum time for a second consecutive week.
His leverages are a weakness against Nche’s ability to find lower positions with better shin angles that force Lomax to overextend and concede penalties.
His attacking work rate was wanting once again, and there is a high chance that Xavier Numia will start the next test.
4. Fabian Holland – 5
Holland was all over the field once again and recorded high numbers of both tackles and carries. He did not control the All Black lineout well in the first half, however, and as the clear lineout caller for the All Blacks, this responsibility falls to him.
5. Tupou Vaa’i – 5
A decent attacking performance from Vaa’i, who performed well in the wide channels but was caught out in defence on a couple of occasions as he found himself defending in wide positions that he is not accustomed to.
He also had a crucial drop off a kick-off early in the first half that led to a Kolbe penalty kick.
6. Simon Parker – 6.5
Parker made some errors early in the lineout, but more than made up for them with his work rate in attack and defence. He was one of the few All Blacks forwards to really match South Africa’s physicality.
A statement performance from the flanker on a losing All Blacks side, with Parker completely emptying the tank before his substitution.
7. Luke Jacobson – 5.5
Jacobson was poor today and conceded a couple of key errors for New Zealand. His work rate was outshined by Parker, and he failed to clear out the Springbok jackals when the All Blacks were in attack.
While this was an issue for the entire team, he was one of the main clear-out options during the last test and did not excel in that task today.
8. Ardie Savea – 7
A strong performance from Savea; while he was not outstanding in defence, he created the McKenzie try from his line break and then finished off his own pick-and-go score to take the game to 7 points difference in the last minute.
He attacked the breakdowns as always, but, as I mentioned, missed some tackles on Springbok forwards.
