South Africa started their year-end tour of the United Kingdom in impressive fashion by beating Six Nations champions Wales 20-15 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on Saturday.

Although the Springbok were made to hang on desperately in the end, the two-tries-to-nil margin is as much as the South Africans deserved - even though a string of second half penalties kept the Welsh in the game.

Jan de Koning rates the Springbok players:

15 Conrad Jantjes:
Now you can see why Peter de Villiers rates him so highly. Good on the counter and solid under the high ball... not to mention that booming boot.
7/10

14 JP Pietersen:
Big hit on Shane Williams and then another crucial couple of tackles when Wales looked dangerous. His best game of the year.
7/10

13 Adrian Jacobs (replaced by Steyn in the 60th minute):
Good on defence and solid all round. Few opportunities on attack.
6/10

12 Jean de Villiers:
Rock solid defence and tried hard on attack. There was one very poor pass.
6/10

11 Bryan Habana:
Very crucial tackle just on 20 minutes — a try saving tackle that earned SA a penalty. Few chances on attack, but showed his true worth on defence and his best game in a Bok jersey this year.
7/10

10 Ruan Pienaar:
He showed he does have a sound kicking game and varied his play well. Kudos to Peter de Villiers on an experiment that worked well.
6/10

9 Fourie du Preez (replaced by January in the 60th minute):
Taking pressure off Pienaar with some good tactical kicking. The steady hand behind the pack.
6/10

8 Pierre Spies (replaced by Kankowski 50th min):
Steady, but his hands let him down at times. Not his best game.
5/10

7 Juan Smith:
Great on defence as always and carrying the ball strongly. Getting back to his best after a slow start this year.
6/10

6 Schalk Burger:
Showed really good hands and a double-round for Jacobs' try. Solid on defence, but also gave away a penalty for going off his feet at the ruck. However, he left stud marks all over the park and was a star performer.
8/10

5 Victor Matfield:
As usual a tower of strength in the line-outs and good with ball in hand. There was a crucial line-out steal inside final five minutes.
7/10

4 Bakkies Botha (replaced by Bekker at half-time):
Gave away an penalty for a shoulder charge, borderline with his discipline. But all round solid work and the physical presence the Boks needed up front.
6/10

3 John Smit (captain):
No problem in scrums — in fact SA got the right shoulder as and when they wanted. He showed he is a natural tighthead. Considering the opposition it was a standout performance. Even bleeding for the cause.
8/10

2 Bismarck du Plessis:
Hard as nails. As always worked hard and provided a physical presence.
6/10

1 Beast Mtawarira (replaced by Steenkamp in the 75th minute):
Not too many carries and quiet by his standards, but does his work effectively in the set pieces.
5/10

Replacements (20 minutes or more to be rated):

16 Brian Mujati (on for Smit in 67th minute - blood bin):
Not enough time to be rated

17 Gürthro Steenkamp (on for Mtawarira in the 75th minute):
Not enough time to be rated

18 Andries Bekker (replaced Botha at half-time):
Didn't make a single decent tackle — if fact he missed four tackles. SA lost plenty with Botha off and Bekker was worth nothing.
0/10

19 Ryan Kankowski (replaced Spies in 50th minute):
There was an early penalty and he did some hard yards, but no real impact. No better than Spies.
5/10

20 Ricky Januarie (on for Du Preez in 60th min):
Made far too many mistakes and the Boks lost that steadying influence behind the pack.
4/10

21 Frans Steyn (replaced Habana 60th minute):
He went to the wing and tried one long-range drop-goal, but otherwise no real influence.
4/10

22 Jaque Fourie (on for Habana 60th minute):
Yellow carded two minutes after coming on - did not play long enough to be rated

  • How did you rate the Boks? Leave a comment below!

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