Three Springboks who flopped against All Blacks – and who could replace them

The scores were locked at 12-12 at half-time before Rassie Erasmus’ side took control after the break, securing their first victory over New Zealand at the Calabash in three attempts.

A huge crowd of 85,976 watched the All Blacks make the brighter start, with Ardie Savea crossing twice as the visitors established a 12-5 advantage.

Kurt-Lee Arendse responded for South Africa before the Bok scrum forced a penalty try four minutes before the interval.

It was a bruising opening 40 minutes. Both fly-halves spent time in the sin bin, while Savea and Cheslin Kolbe were forced from the field through injury.

Will Jordan restored New Zealand’s advantage after the restart, but the Boks responded through Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx before Samisoni Taukei’aho grabbed a late consolation for the visitors.

Despite the victory, Erasmus could still make changes for the fourth and final Test. Here are three players whose places could come under scrutiny.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu improved considerably as the contest progressed, but his first half was littered with errors and penalties.

The playmaker remained dangerous with ball in hand and eventually found his range tactically, combining effectively with Manie Libbok as South Africa closed out the contest.

However, his yellow card and inconsistent opening could give Erasmus something to think about ahead of the final Test.

Possible replacements: Manie Libbok, Handre Pollard

Libbok made an impact from the bench and would be the obvious candidate if Erasmus wants to freshen up his starting 10. Pollard, if available for selection, provides the more experienced alternative.

There were some lively defensive moments during Reinach’s 43 minutes on the field, while his service and kicking were generally solid given the difficult conditions.

However, his involvement in the incident following the penalty try was unnecessary, with Cam Roigard successfully drawing the penalty.

South Africa have serious competition at scrum-half, meaning even an average performance can leave a player vulnerable when Erasmus reshuffles his side.

Possible replacements: Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams

Van den Berg would be the most straightforward option after featuring from the bench, while Williams offers Erasmus additional pace and attacking threat if he wants to change the tempo from the start.

Etzebeth pinched an All Blacks lineout in the 20th minute but was guilty of being overzealous shortly afterwards, ending a promising Springbok attack inside the New Zealand 22.

It certainly wasn’t a disastrous performance from the veteran lock, but by his extraordinarily high standards, he was relatively quiet.

With Erasmus having repeatedly shown a willingness to rotate his pack, Etzebeth could be one of the senior players given a breather for the series finale.

Possible replacements: Lood de Jager, RG Snyman

De Jager would offer a relatively seamless change after coming from the bench, while Snyman’s size, offloading ability and impact around the field would give the Boks another imposing option if available.

But how many of their last 25 captains can you remember? Test your rugby knowledge and see if you can name every player to have led the Springboks in their most recent appearances.