Rieko Ioane, Caleb Clarke, and Jordie Barrett celebrate a try against South Africa. Photo / Photosport
OPINION
How both teams rated in Sunday’s 31-27 thriller at Ellis Park.
Beauden Barrett 5
Made a couple of poor decisions when clearing the ball early on. Lethal when blazing into the attack. But the veteran’s wayward boot gave the hosts some great opportunities.
Will Jordan 5
Unlucky knock-on call in 54th minute – but better execution wouldn’t have given the ref a chance to make the call. Had a hand in Clarke’s first try, but was seldom spotted in space after that – it was a hard match for small fast wingers to have an impact, but Springbok Cheslin Kolbe managed it.
Rieko Ioane 6
Carted into the heavy hits with great strength, but could probably learn a trick or two from Damian de Allende on the subject of ball-retention and jackling.
Jordie Barrett 8
A tough, smart return in a game that demanded it. Snuck into the Bok dressing room at halftime, memorised the playbook, then bagged a terrific intercept try just after the restart. Kicked effectively and was well involved throughout, particularly on attack where he was able to give his side an edge in finding half a gap.
Caleb Clarke 8
A cracking performance that should have the Blues man at the top of the All Blacks wing rankings. Really strong in the air, never beaten on defence and clinical with the finish.
Damien McKenzie 7
He’s always among the most dangerous and watchable players on the park when running, but this was also a very composed performance. Kicked well to relieve pressure and to set up contestable high balls. When the opportunity came, he made smart use of the ball to keep his team in right part of the park.
TJ Perenara 6
Booted one of the best 50/22 kicks you’ll ever see to set up a cracking attacking chance on the Bokke line, then got penalised for yelling at the referee. When Razor puts a wise, old head in the No 9 jersey he wouldn’t be counting on conceding possession like that. After that, he made good decisions when distributing the ball to close runners – but Razor will be checking in with Cam Roigard’s physio team this week.
Ardie Savea 7
An evening of close-quarter scrambling and wrestling. When he did get to carry the ball, there was generally three Boks with it. While the three starting loosies didn’t let their team down, they could have used an extra 30kg for carting the ball up.
Sam Cane 7
Pinned Kolbe to win opening penalty, setting tone for a monster shift of tackling and breakdown work. Made a very effective defensive partnership with Savea.
Ethan Blackadder 6
Raw-boned defender got through a tonne of work, but looked a few kilos shy with ball in hand. Needed to give a sharp pass in fifth minute when Clarke was open, but put his head down instead. Sharp lineout work.
Scott Barrett 6
Cheslin Kolbe will remind him about that bump off for years to come, but the All Blacks’ captain was effective in the scraps that really mattered right through a massive shift on the tools. He might feel the Boks got more from their bench than his own side did.
Tupou Vaa’i 6
Ineffective lineout option, but fared better closer to the ground where he tackled and jackled to great effect. Growing into his role as a key member of the pack.
Tyrel Lomax 7
Beautifully delayed pass was key in Clarke’s first try. Saw off the first Bokke front row and then played a big hand in taking the bang out of the Bomb Squad. Not his fault the All Blacks’ reserves couldn’t keep foot on throat.
Codie Taylor 7
Perfectly executed lineout drive for a try inside seven minutes. Ran and handled really well in a busy shift showcasing his all-round skills. A quality player.
Tamaiti Williams 6
Handled with a cool head in early frantic exchanges. Made the hit that forced poor offload in 32nd-minute leading to Clarke’s first try.
Asafo Aumua 3
Ofa Tu’ungafasi 3
Fletcher Newell 3
Sam Darry N/A
Samipeni Finau 2
Cortez Ratima 2
Anton Lienert-Brown 3
Mark Tele’a 4
Aphelele Fassi 5
Early yellow card helped All Blacks gain the upper hand, and a lazy kick to touch after an easy mark led to Clarke’s second try. But he showed phenomenal speed, skill, and vision for 59th-minute kick and chase.
Cheslin Kolbe 6
In a word-association game “Kolbe” and “electrifying” go together well. Had a few early handling errors, but was urgent and highly visible throughout. Bounced off Scott Barrett, who should eat him alive.
Jesse Kriel 5
Happiest when defending. Boks brought no real sign of any Tony Brown-inspired attacking magic at Ellis Park. Reshuffled backline in second half left him flatfooted out wide as Clarke ran in his second try.
Damian de Allende 5
Ran into teammate early for accidental offside near their line. Breakdown menace, could do a decent job in a No 7 jersey. Threw the intercept pass that put Jordie away.
Kurt-Lee Arendse 5
Botched try-scoring chance after blazing hack and chase in 12th minute. His restart chase is phenomenal and set up Bok position for a crucial three-pointer. Unplanned exit with hip injury resulted in rejigged backline.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 6
A mixed show. First restart went out on the full and conversion of Mbonambi try was scrapped for time-wasting. Banged a beauty long-range three-pointer and showed heaps of boot-related menace, including the kick that set up the match-winning try.
Cobus Reinach 5
A solid showing from a bloke who was mostly dealing with ball from a pack that never had the upper hand.
Jasper Wiese 6
Was involved in a couple of handling errors, but brutal on the charge and his job is basically smashing people on in the tackle – which he did to good effect. Benefitted from another interesting referee’s call to bag the 29th-minute penalty that gave Boks the lead.
Ben-Jason Dixon 4
A long and effective shift of tackling that kept the hosts within range of the All Blacks when they were running hot. Got caught out a couple of times, and wasn’t up to much with ball in hand.
Siya Kolisi 6
Has a handy trick of standing forward of the last feet (so in an offside position), reaching over to the All Blacks’ side of the ruck and handling the ball while looking at the ref and asking if he’s okay to play the ball. Hot tip, ref: Just penalise him. Ran predictable lines outside midfield that led to intercept try.
Ruan Nortje 7
Terrific lineout effort in opening quarter, and at the heart of the mauling and brawling that mattered. Seemed to come and go from the field like an interchange player in touch footy.
Pieter-Steph du Toit 8
What is this guy made of? The man who bagged MOTM awards in each of past two RWC finals in the No 7 ran brilliantly and brutally at lock in this clash. Take him out of each of the last two clashes between these two sides, and the All Blacks would have won.
Frans Malherbe 6
Gave his team a narrow edge in the brutal early scrums, and was involved in loads of tackling. Was never likely to contribute with ball in hand.
Bongi Mbonambi 6
Spilled on the tryline in 16th minute – but hilariously the ref allowed the try to stand. There were a couple of lineout misfires, but he’s a tough customer in the close encounters.
Ox Nché 6
Bok pack looked competitive and consistent pre-Bomb Squad.
Malcolm Marx 7
Gerhard Steenekamp 7
Vincent Koch 7
Eben Etzebeth 8
Elrigh Louw 8
Kwagga Smith 8
Grant Williams 6
Handre Pollard 5
Winston Aldworth is NZME’s Head of Sport and has been a journalist since 1999.
Veteran Sam Cane is given his farewell test appearance.