South Africa vs England | Player ratings
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South Africa started the 2026 Nations Championship off to a great start with a dominant 45-21 victory over England. The home side ran in 7 tries and England three.
Lets take a look at how the players performed.
South Africa
15 Damian Willemse 9/10 | Safe under England's high balls and cleared his lines beautifully in his 50th match.
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14 Cheslin Kolbe 8/10 | Struggled a bit off the tee but scored a wonderful try in his 50th match.
13 Jesse Kriel 9/10 | Mr consistant scored a try and was safe on defence.
12 Damian De Allende 9/10 | Got his team over the gainline and made the right decisions on attack.
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse 8/10 | Received a yellow card for a knock down but scored a try in the first half.
10 Manie Libbok 9/10 | On the money with his touch kicks and that helped SA play in the right areas.
9 Grant Williams 9/10 | Williams box kicks were on the money and he scored a try
8 Jasper Wiese 8/10 | Strong as a brick on attack and defence.
7 Cameron Hanekom 6/10 | The Bulls flanker did not have the best half. Strong carries but a knock on inside England's 22 as the Boks were on attack.
6 Paul de Villiers 7/10 | A strong half from the flanker but penalized once or twice for not supporting his bodyweight
5 Ruan Nortje 7/10 | The Springbok lock made the right calls in the lineouts.
4 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Captain) 8/10 | du Toit had to take over the captaincy and he did an excellent job.
3 Thomas Du Toit 7/10 | A try for the Springbok prop but missed a one on one tackle on Genge when he scored for England.
2 Malcolm Marx 8/10 | Marx scrossed the try line and on the money in the lineouts
1 Ox Nche 7/10 | Strong carries but left the field early in the first half.
Replacements 8/10. | Porthern made strong carries, Dixon crossed for a try and Reinach solid behind the ruck.
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
17 Gerhard Steenekamp
18 Zachary Porthen
19 Marco van Staden
20 Ben-Jason Dixon
21 Cobus Reinach
22 Andre Esterhuizen
23 Canan Moodie
England
15 Marcus Smith 7/10 | Smith did not put a foot wrong.
14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 7/10 | Same as Smith. Could have searched for more ball.
13 Tommy Freeman 6/10 | Freemand received a yellow card in the 70th minute for a high shot on Willemse. Struggled on attack.
12 Seb Atkinson 6/10 | Did not get his team over the gain line.
11 Cadan Murley 6/10 | Was all over the show under the high ball. When he got the ball the Springboks were all over him.
10 Fin Smith 7/10 | Solid game from Fin off the tee and decision making on attack.
9 Jack van Poortvliet 7/10 | Good outing from the England scrumhalf. Box kicks could be better.
8 Ben Earl 8/10 | He was all over the park. Can be happy with his game.
7 Tom Curry 6/10 | Curry had a quiet game but did the basics well.
6 Ollie Chessum 6/10 | The big flanker was strong.
5 George Martin 7/10 | A wonderfull try from Martin just before half time.
4 Alex Coles 4/10 | The English lock did not put a foot wrong.
3 Joe Heyes 5/10 | The English prop was strong in the scrums.
2 Jamie George (captain) 7/10 | Captain George almost scored a try but he was deemed to be offside. Lineouts were on point.
1 Ellis Genge 8/10 | A try for Genge and strong in the scrums.
Replacements 6/10 | Pepper was good in the losebut received a yellow card and Slade did not put a foot wrong but it was too late for the English bench.
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie
17 Beno Obano
18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour
19 Charlie Ewels
20 Guy Pepper
21 Henry Pollock
22 Alex Mitchell
23 Henry Slade
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England takes on Fiji next weekend and the Springboks host Scotland.
