All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks: Second Test scores revealed
Rugby NewsSaturday, 29 August 2026 at 18:06
All Blacks player ratings vs Springboks after bruising second Test in Cape Town as South Africa hit back to level the Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1.
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Report By Asiphe Ngqamba
The Springboks answered the critics with 33-26 victory over the All Blacks in Cape Town, following the last week 33-16 defeat to the All Blacks. Jesse Kriel set the tone in the second minute making a try giving Springboks a lead. All Blacks retaliated with a try from Cam Roigard, but de Allende brought back Springboks advantage.
Damian McKenzie crossed the line for All blacks, before Siya Kolisi took over in the 37th minute changing the energy in the stadium, making the crowd celebrate as the Springbok led 24-14 into halftime.
The atmosphere intensified in the second half with both sides battling for control, with Player of the Match Cheslin Kolbe kicking a penalty in the 48th minute following with another two increasing the pressure of the game. All Blacks refusing to give up, Leroy Carter and Ardie Savea scored the second half tries. The Springboks held their defence under pressure in the last minute with Lood de Jager receiving a yellow card, the team held on with All Blacks not giving in securing a 33-26 victory.
This victory for the home team locks the Rugby Greatest Rivalry series 1-1, both teams are set meet again on 5 September 2026 in Johannesburg.
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All Blacks Player Ratings vs Springboks:
Ratings by Bruno Freire.
1. George Bower – 6
Bower played well once again and secured his side of the scrum for much of his time on the field. He has certainly been the best-performing All Black front rower so far in this series and will likely start the next two tests.
Additionally, he is a nuisance in the breakdown and regularly slows threatening Springbok attacks.
2. Codie Taylor – 4.5
Not a vintage performance from the world-class hooker. While he did set himself about physically and fronted up against the advancing Springbok pack, he also made numerous set-piece errors with poor throws at lineout time early in the match.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 5
Lomax had a passable performance today but was exposed at scrum time for a second consecutive week.
His leverages are a weakness against Nche’s ability to find lower positions with better shin angles that force Lomax to overextend and concede penalties.
His attacking work rate was wanting once again, and there is a high chance that Xavier Numia will start the next test.
4. Fabian Holland – 5
Holland was all over the field once again and recorded high numbers of both tackles and carries. He did not control the All Black lineout well in the first half, however, and as the clear lineout caller for the All Blacks, this responsibility falls to him.
5. Tupou Vaa’i – 5
A decent attacking performance from Vaa'i, who performed well in the wide channels but was caught out in defence on a couple of occasions as he found himself defending in wide positions that he is not accustomed to.
He also had a crucial drop off a kick-off early in the first half that led to a Kolbe penalty kick.
6. Simon Parker – 6.5
Parker made some errors early in the lineout, but more than made up for them with his work rate in attack and defence. He was one of the few All Blacks forwards to really match South Africa’s physicality.
A statement performance from the flanker on a losing All Blacks side, with Parker completely emptying the tank before his substitution.
7. Luke Jacobson – 5.5
Jacobson was poor today and conceded a couple of key errors for New Zealand. His work rate was outshined by Parker, and he failed to clear out the Springbok jackals when the All Blacks were in attack.
While this was an issue for the entire team, he was one of the main clear-out options during the last test and did not excel in that task today.
8. Ardie Savea – 7
A strong performance from Savea; while he was not outstanding in defence, he created the McKenzie try from his line break and then finished off his own pick-and-go score to take the game to 7 points difference in the last minute.
He attacked the breakdowns as always, but, as I mentioned, missed some tackles on Springbok forwards.
9. Cam Roigard – 7
Most of the great All Black attack came off Roigard’s guiding hand, but he struggled to manage a team that was largely backtracking in attack and defence for the majority of the match. He remains one of the strongest performers in this All Black squad.
10. Ruben Love – 6
Considering the intensity of the South African defence, Love acquitted himself decently enough today.
The strong areas of the losing performance from New Zealand were authored by Love and Roigard, and when they are on song, their attack can rival any defence.
This game does raise some questions about his game management, as it was clear that when the All Blacks struggled to make metres, he lacked solutions through kicking to alleviate the pressure.
However, there is little a 10 can do if his pack struggle to cross the gain line during phase play.
11. Leroy Carter – 4
Carter was poor throughout this match; I personally don’t understand why Rennie would include him in this lineup when he is notoriously poor in the backfield and in the kick battle.
He was a victim of Kolbe’s fast feet on more than one occasion and was not outstanding in attack, which hurts his rating. He did take his try well in the 65th minute, winning an easy footrace.
12. Jordie Barrett – 7
The All Black attack was not firing today, but Barrett was outstanding defensively. Along with Parker, he was the biggest thorn in the side of the Springbok attack.
He made a number of dominant tackles on some of the biggest South Africans and helped to stop the Springboks creating an insurmountable score in the first half and the first part of the second half.
13. Quinn Tupaea – 5
Tupaea carried directly and made strong metres when he got the ball, but in defence, he did struggle to defend in the wide channels as the Springboks maneuvered their forwards into positions to carry against Tupaea and his fellow backs.
A bright spot of his performance was his lack of mistakes, as he is always a sure pair of hands.
14. Will Jordan – 6
Created the first All Black try on his own by beating most of the Springboks' right side of defence and playing a perfect pass to the supporting Roigard.
He was one of the highest carriers for the All Blacks and made metres as always. On the other hand, like McKenzie he was exposed in kick battles and allowed the South Africans to advance their field position by kicking into the All Black backfield.
15. Damian McKenzie – 6
McKenzie was strong in attack, as he usually is, but struggled with the South African attacking kicks that gained them significant territory throughout the match.
His score was crucial in the 29th minute and could have been a turning point if the All Blacks had contained the Springbok attack in the last quarter of the first half.
Replacements
16. Asafo Aumua – 7
Aumua carried well again coming off the bench, and while his set-piece is not to the same standard as Taylor's, there is always a noticeable increase in post-contact metres for the New Zealand attack when he is substituted on.
He is perhaps the form impact sub in this series and could compete for a starting position later in this series.
17. Xavier Numia – 5
Numia performed better than Lomax and carried the same amount as his counterpart in half the game time.
His willingness to be involved in attack is a point of difference compared to the other New Zealand tightheads, and he withstood the South African scrum well.
18. Fletcher Newell – 5
19. Patrick Tuipulotu – 5
20. Peter Lakai – 6
21. Kyle Preston – 5
A fantastic piece of skill in the last five minutes took the All Blacks into touching distance with their opponents. His impact with ball in hand is something to look out for late in the next two tests.
22. Anton Lienert-Brown – 5.5
23. Josh Moorby – N/A
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