The All Blacks inflicted a 33-16 defeat on the wasteful Springboks in the opening Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Springboks spurned several chances during their dominant periods and then disintegrated horribly in the second half as they slumped to a shocking defeat after an equally shocking performance.

To make matters worse, coach Rassie Eramsus now also has several injury concerns to key players – including winders Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe – to worry about ahead of the second Test in Cape Town next week.

SPRINGBOK PLAYER RATINGS AGAINST NEW ZEALAND

WHO FIRED

Bok front row – 9/10

Wow. There was always the chance that the big men could get the upper-hand at the set-piece, but the way they dismantled their All Blacks counterparts was a sight to behold. From starters to substitutes, the Bok front rowers made sure there can be no doubt as to who the best scrummagers are in world rugby. It’s a shame they had to be on the losing side after their dominance in this match.

Jasper Wiese – 8/10

A one-man army out on the field today. From his powerful carries to his dominant tackles, Wiese put in a massive all-round shift to illustrate just why he is South Africa’s premier eighthman.

Pieter-Steph du Toit – 7/10

As always, the stand-in skipper was at the forefront of all the good things the Boks did. He laid into the All Blacks at the collision points and helped out the Bok lien out a great deal with his secondary role as a jumper.

Andre Esterhuizen – 7/10

The hybrid came off the bench early for the Springboks when he replaced concussed wing Kurt-Lee Arendse in the 14th minute and during his spell on the field he was everywhere. ‘Hybrid’ scored a try moments after coming on and then played across multiple positions with relative ease.

WHO FLOPPED

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 4/10

Try ad he might, Feinberg-Mngomezulu just could not get going today. The occasion demanded that he takes control of the game as chief playmaker and he failed to do so.

Grant Williams – 4/10

Another who needed to fire, but didn’t. Williams remains the Springboks’ first-choice scrumhalf at the moment, but today he had more bad moments than good ones on the field.