Springbok player ratings in win against Barbarians
Cheslin Kolbe and Lood de Jager were the standout performers on the day.
The Springboks opened their 2025 season with an emphatic 54-7 win against the Barbarians in a one-off match in a wet Cape Town on Saturday.
The Boks scored eight tries to the one by the Baabaas in a dominant performance against the invitational side.
The World Cup holders are next in action against Italy in Pretoria next Saturday.
This is how The Citizen rated the performance of the Bok players on Saturday.
Aphelele Fassi 8: He was solid in all departments. Made two kicks into space which led to tries by team-mates. Kicked well out of hand and strong under the high ball.
Cheslin Kolbe 10: Just brilliant. He scored a try, made tackles, ran hard at the opposition, jumped high for balls, made try assists, chased kicks … man of the match!
Jesse Kriel 7: He had a quiet first half but burst into life in the second half. Made some good tackles and looked dangerous with ball in hand in space.
Damian de Allende 7: Made some tackles and carried well at times. Made good kick into space for Kurt-Lee Arendse's second try. He also scored a try at the death.
Kurt-Lee Arendse 9: Another energetic performance by the winger. He made some great runs in space, won a breakdown penalty and scored a try. Excellent performance.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 6: He had some good moments, but some bad moments as well; perhaps tried too hard to impress. Won a breakdown penalty. Off in the 46th minute.
Morne van den Berg 7: His service was quick and swift and looked to keep things ticking along nicely. Made some decent kicks, but also some poor ones. Tackled well. Off in 46th.
Jean-Luc du Preez 6: He didn't get too many chances to show what he is capable of. Made some tackles and the odd carry, left the action early in second half.
Vincent Tshituka 7: He was excellent at the back of the lineout, taking a few throws that came his way. He also scored two tries from close range. Tackled and cleaned the rucks.
Marco van Staden 5: Like Du Preez he didn't really get a chance to show off his skills. It was a quiet outing by the flanker, though he made a few tackles and cleaned rucks.
Lood de Jager 9: Welcome back! He was dominant in the lineouts, winning ball and stealing ball, carried strongly and tackled superbly. He also scored a try … excellent outing.
Lood de Jager, right, is congratulated by Neethling Fouche, during the Springboks' match against the Barbarians. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Jean Kleyn 6: Like a few of his team-mates, he didn't do anything memorable. He made the odd tackle and clean and carry, but it was a quiet performance from the big man.
Asenathi Ntlabakanye 7: A solid first outing for the Boks. He scrummed well and won a few penalties. Didn't get much chance to carry the ball. Made some tackles.
Malcolm Marx 8: Didn't do anything flashy, but his lineout throwing was excellent, finding his man every time, while he scored a try and was busy in the loose play.
Ox Nche 7: Also an unusually quiet outing for the normally busy loosehead prop. He did what he had to in the scrums, but didn't get a chance in the loose.
Bench:
Marnus van der Merwe 6: The new hooker will be pleased with his contribution, though he got few chances with ball in hand. Found his jumpers and made his tackles.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels 6: Scrummed well in the second half and was busy in the loose, though he, too, had few chances in space. He scored a try.
Neethling Fouche 6: Like so many of his team-mates, didn't stand out for anything in particular, but scrummed well, and was active in the loose.
Franco Mostert 6: He came on in the second half and made his tackles and carries. Didn't really do much at lineout time.
Kwagga Smith 7: He came on for Du Preez's HIA and then permanently later on. Was busy in the tight-loose and made a number of tackles.
Cobus Reinach 7: Continued where Van den Berg left off, with an energetic showing, that included a few good darting runs. Showed he has plenty to still offer.
Manie Libbok 7: Delivered a measured performance, with some good distribution and attacking play. Made the run that led to Arendse's second try. Goal-kicking was spot on.
Andre Esterhuizen 7: He came on and packed down at flank, in another surprise play by Rassie Erasmus. Made some strong runs over the gain line and also popped up in the backs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
40 minutes ago
- The Citizen
Weekend sport recap: Boks and Proteas look strong
The Boks will take on Italy in the first of two Tests this weekend. On this edition of our weekend sport recap, the Springboks kicked off their season with a good performance against the Barbarians in Cape Town. The Boks won 54-7, and this week they will be taking on Italy in the first leg of their two Tests at the Mbombela Stadium. The Proteas also had a good weekend as they bowled Zimbabwe out for 251 and batted for the final hour of the day to extend their lead to 216 runs in the first Test. The day also saw Keshav Maharaj take 200 Test wickets. NOW READ: OPINION: The absence of DRS technology in Zimbabwe is unacceptable
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Italy will be a proper test for the Boks, says scrum boss Human
Springbok scrum guru Daan Human is expecting a big scrum challenge from a more settled Italian team at Loftus on Saturday. Springbok scrum coach Daan Human is expecting a big challenge from the Italian forward pack in their match at Loftus on Saturday. Picture: OJ Koloti/Gallo Images The Springboks are preparing for a big scrum challenge when they take on Italy, according to Bok scrum guru Daan Human, in their first Test of the incoming series at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Boks opened their international season with a powerful 54-7 win over famed invitational side the Barbarians in Cape Town over the weekend, and now take on the Italians twice, before closing out the incoming tour with a match against Georgia. Human said they were expecting a bigger challenge from Italy than what they faced against the BaaBaas, especially in the scrums, due to them being a more settled team that plays regularly. 'I think the big difference is the Barbarians aren't playing week in and week out. So you can't do much analysis on them and they also aren't together very long, so they don't have a chance to gel,' explained Human. 'This week we are playing a proper Test team in Italy, who play regularly, so we can do even more homework on them. 'The one thing about us as the Springboks is that we do not underestimate any side, and we know that Italy are very focused on their forward play, so it will be a proper Test match.' Despite being ranked 10th on the world rugby rankings, Human pointed to Italy's solid early form in the Six Nations earlier this year, and their thumping 76-3 win over tier two nation Namibia over the past weekend, that they would pose a challenge to the Boks. Competitive Six Nations 'They were very competitive in their first two Six Nations matches, and they have a 93% scrum completion rate, which says a lot about that area of their game,' said Human. 'There is definitely some stuff we can take out of that (Namibia) game, because about 80% of those players we will be facing this weekend. They also won four scrum penalties and got a penalty try. 'I also know the guys who played for Namibia, there is a lot of experience in the front row. Some of those guys have been to three World Cups, like Aranos Coetzee and Chucky (Louis van der Westhizen). 'So they (Namibia) are still a proper side and I will take anything I can use to prepare us for (what is to come from) Italy.' Even though the Boks looked relatively untroubled during their impressive win over the BaaBaas, especially with their dominant forward performance, Human admitted there was plenty to take out of it, especially for the more inexperienced players. 'We learned a lot. As I explained in our review now to the players, especially for the new guys like Asenathi (Ntlabakanye), Marnus (van der Merwe), and even Jan-Hendrik (Wessels), who has only three caps, it was a big learning for them,' said Human. 'I had a lekker chat with their (Barbarians) scrum coach, who is the head coach at Racing Metro, and he said that both their tightheads were rated number one and two in the French league this season. So I think there is a lot we can gain from that experience going forward.'
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
One for the Manie, two for the show . . . Springbok Libbok brought his kicking boots and is ready to go
FILE - Springboks flyhalf Manie Libbok made a big impact against the Barbarians with a flawless performance off the kicking tee. Image: Backpagepix Manie Libbok's flawless performance off the kicking tee against the Barbarians bodes well for the Springboks ahead of tougher assignments later this year. Libbok has always been a wonderful operator with ball in hand, with his crisp passing and running ability probably best suited to the new direction the Springboks are heading on attack. Libbok, who came on for another talented youngster Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the second half at Cape Town's DHL Stadium, sparked the Bok attack against a tiring Barbarians outfit. His game-management was very good in terrible wet and windy conditions, showcasing his brilliant all-round skills as the Boks put the Baabaas to the sword in the second stanza. However, it was 100% success rate when aiming at the posts that was most impressive, especially as many of those kicks weren't easy in the conditions, as the wind does tend to swirl in Cape Town's former 2010 FIFA World Cup venue. While his general play and ability in a Bok jersey can never be questioned, Libbok has come in for a lot of criticism in the past for missing kickable penalties. He missed the winning kick in the dying moments against Argentina away in the Rugby Championship last year, which saw him being stripped off the kicking duties in the next match. But on Saturday he was on the money, with coach Rassie Erasmus revealing that he has been working hard with Bok assistant coach Tony Brown and Stormers kicking guru Gareth Wright. Erasmus also mentioned that he also needs some credit for his part in Libbok's performance off the tee against the Barbarians. 'Tony worked hard with Manie, Gareth Wright also shadowed him for a week or the few days he was with us. But I told Tony I wanted the credit, because I told Manie to try to miss his kicks because then balls would go over!' Erasmus joked after the match.
