15. Willie le Roux: 8
Another stellar performance from Le Roux. Put the fear of god into the Scottish defence every time he came into the line. Varied his kicking, which has become a real weapon in his armoury.
14. JP Pietersen: 8
Pietersen just can’t stop scoring. Found gaps in the Scottish defence with consummate ease and capped off a fantastic all round performance with his try. He is not famed for his defence but on Saturday it was exemplary.
13. Jesse Kriel: 6.5
It was clear that Scotland had done their homework on Kriel as he was marked out of the game. His runs off the ball did make room in the outside channels, but the more he got tackled, the less we had a chance of seeing his exciting running style.
12. Damian de Allende: 8
The gainline king. Duncan Weir must still be breaking out in cold sweat. Every time he carries he makes significant metres and presents the ball beautifully. He beat numerous defenders and is now one of the key players in this Springbok side.
11. Bryan Habana: 7.5
Another solid outing. For a guy that is not touching six foot he offers so much in the air and really added to the pressure on Scotland chasing the high ball. Worked tirelessly and edged himself closer to Jonah Lomu’s record with his try.
10. Handre Pollard: 7.5
Another Springbok that will feel satisfied with his performance. He really got the back line moving. In a game that fortune was going to brave, he was just that in the way he played on the gain line. Goal kicking was of the highest order but his kicking out of hand was aimless at times and still needs work.
9. Fourie du Preez: 9
South Africa’s turn around in fortunes at this World Cup can in part be attributed to the form of Du Preez. His decision making was key to this victory as he kept the Scottish defence guessing. Quick, slick service from breakdown allowed a dangerous backline to wreak havoc.
1. Tendai Mtawarira: 6.5
Same again for The Beast. Solid in the scrum but just not quite showing enough aggression in the loose.
2. Bismarck Du Plessis: 8.5
Note to Heyneke Meyer: Make Du Plessis angry before he takes to the field every week. Having been left out of the match day 23 for the Samoa game, Du Plessis showed why he is still number one choice. Huge performance of raw power in the loose and his arrows were straight as a die.
3. Jannie du Plessis: 6
A better showing from Jannie but still not affective enough in open play. Scrummaged well enough but will start to be targeted by the bigger nations.
4. Eben Etzebeth: 8.5
He now owns this shirt for good. Defensively he was just immense. Holding Scottish players off the ground in the tackle and slowing down their ball constantly shows you the range of skills that he possesses. He more than pulled his weight with ball in hand as well.
5. Lood de Jager: 9
Victor who? De Jager was, to put it simply, the best player on the field. He literally carried Scottish players on his back and on more than one occasion it took three defenders to bring him down. His work at the breakdown put South Africa on the front foot and gave Du Preez an arm chair ride.
6. Francois Louw: 7.5
Back to his best on the floor, turning over a lot of Scottish ball. A vintage performance from the Bath man, as he also linked play well in the midfield.
7. Schalk Burger: 8.5
Burger is most definitely back to his best. A monster in the tackle and the metres he made with the ball in hand were hard fought. His offloading in the tackle has been missing from his game in recent weeks but on Saturday he found that canny knack again.
8. Duane Vermeulen: 8
Another game under his belt and another player starting to look back to his normal self. Made more metres than any other forward on the field and won collision after collision.
Replacements: 6.5
It was only the front row replacements that were on the field long enough to make any impact. Adriaan Strauss picked up where Bismarck left off with ease. Trevor Nyakane didn’t make an impression and Frans Malherbe wasn’t as aggressive or affective as he was in his previous outing against Samoa.
By Andy Daniel (@scrum5ive)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images