It wasn’t as easy as initially thought, but the Springboks recovered from a shaky start to dispatch Portugal 64-21 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The world champions scored 10 tries at the Free State Stadium, and this is how we rated the South African players...
Aphelele Fassi: 7/10
The pacy fullback produced a lovely interjection to set up Kurt-Lee Arendse’s try with a burst of speed and classy chip ahead.
Kurt-Lee Arendse: 7
Was as lively as ever, and took his try well after the Fassi assist. But loses a point for his yellow card for a croc roll.
Lukhanyo Am: 8
After the early departure of André Esterhuizen, Am had to cover the entire midfield on his own and did a solid job. Brilliant finish for his try, and showcased his attacking soft touches.
Lukhanyo Am scores his first try in a Springbok Jersey this year! 🤩⚡
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 20, 2024
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André Esterhuizen: No rating
Was unlucky to be first yellow-carded in the third minute, and then have it upgraded to red later for a dangerous tackle that the referee deemed direct head contact, which wasn’t clear from the replays.
Springboks are down to 14 men as Andre Esterhuizen's yellow card is upgraded to a red card, after this tackle 👇
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Makazole Mapimpi: 8
Moved up to fourth on his own on the Bok try-scorers’ list with 30 following a hat-trick. Was full of running, tackled hard and looked for work, and kept going to the final minute to get his third touchdown to prove there’s still life in those 33-year-old legs.
Manie Libbok: 7
The Springbok flyhalf didn’t allay fears about his goal-kicking with three missed conversions, but he sparked the backline and even cut through the Portuguese defence himself, with his delayed pass for Lukhanyo Am’s try particularly memorable.
Cobus Reinach: 7
Provided a much smoother service from the base than Faf de Klerk, although his life wasn’t made easy by a gritty Portuguese pack. Made a couple of half-breaks too.
Evan Roos: 7
Added some real physicality to the Bok forwards and made some powerful carries to put some heat on Kwagga Smith for the Rugby Championship, although may have hoped to get a few more opportunities with ball-in-hand in his 46 minutes on the field.
Ben-Jason Dixon: 7
Did well to take his try after Libbok’s initial line-break, and got involved in the tight-loose and made his fair share of tackles.
Another maiden Test try, congrats Ben-Jason 👍#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks #RSAvPOR pic.twitter.com/vwa7TTJrnk
Phepsi Buthelezi: 6
Controlled the ball well to score a try on Test debut from a lineout drive, and made a couple of carries. Didn’t have many chances to make breakdown turnovers.
RG Snyman: 8
Handled the ‘special attention’ from the Portuguese forwards well, and pulled off some typically audacious offloads and athletic runs to be chosen as the official Player of the Match.
Salmaan Moerat (captain): 7
Negotiated a tough first outing as Bok captain well, considering the early sending-off of Esterhuizen and yellow card to Arendse. Tried to point out issues to the referee, and made a few impactful carries and tackles.
"𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗯𝗼𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟲𝟲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟮𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀." 🇿🇦❤️
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 20, 2024
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Thomas du Toit: 7
Stood strong in the scrums, and got his sizeable frame around the pitch on attack and defence at close quarters.
Johan Grobbelaar: 7
Was accurate as usual with his lineout-throws, and contested the rucks well in the face of a fiery Portuguese pack.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels: 8
Looked much more at ease in his old loosehead prop position, carrying with venom and barging over for an early.
Match report: The #Springboks scored 10 tries in a big win over a brave Portugal on a festive night in Bloemfontein - more here: https://t.co/gMGK8Qvl3e 📝#ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvPOR pic.twitter.com/vS5o7DCvmY
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 20, 2024
Best off the bench – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: 9
Came on in the 44th minute already for Libbok at flyhalf, and displayed his full bag of tricks in a sparkling performance. Set up Mapimpi’s one try with a line-break, pulled out a 50-22 touch-finder and slotted his goal-kicks. A missed tackle for a Portugal try cost him a perfect 10/10.
WHAT WAS THAT!? 🤯
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 20, 2024
Feinberg-Mngomezulu ➡️ Mapimpi 🔥
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Points-Scorers
Springboks 64 – Tries: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Phepsi Buthelezi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Ben-Jason Dixon, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi (3), Quan Horn, André-Hugo Venter. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (5).
Portugal 21 – Tries: Jose Paiva dos Santos (2), Jose Madeira. Conversions: Joris Moura (1), Domingos Cabral (2).