Player ratings: Springboks who fired and flopped

France hung on for their first win over the Springboks in Paris in 21 years, ultimately claiming a 21-19 victory that was undoubtedly deserved on the balance of play.

The Springboks started slowly, and made far too many errors to find a way back into the game.

It’s a result that also saw South Africa lose top spot in the World Rugby rankings, while they are now unlikely to finish top of the Nations Championship standings on the southern side of the table.

SPRINGBOKS WHO FIRED AND FLOPPED

Damian de Allende 7/10

Another strong performance from the Springboks’ ‘Mr Reliable’. De Allende was incredibly strong in his ball carrying and tackle fight, and added plenty of muscle on defence. One of the few shining lights in the backline.

Cameron Hanekom 7/10

The talented youngster added real impact from the bench. His ball handling and carries around the fringes were highly effective, and he made a real case to now start the next Test.

Replacement front row 8/10

Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche were shifted to the bench just before kick off, but when they came on, the trio nearly singly-handedly turned the game back in the Springboks’ favour. This front row combined to win a series of scrum penalties, and on another day, it could have been enough to spark a famous comeback.

Who flopped?

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3/10

Unfortunately another inconsistent performance from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who blew hot and cold, ultimately battling to establish control for the Springboks once France piled the pressure on.

Damian Willemse 3/10

An uncharacteristically poor performance from the fullback, who lacked some composure under contestable kicks, and his handling left a lot to be desired on a couple of occasions on a day when the backline lacked any synergy.

Jasper Wiese 4/10

The big man battled to get his usual rewards when it came to his ball carrying, and his poorly executed clean out ultimately led to a needless red card that ultimately left the Springboks with too much work to do.

HOW THE TEAMS LINED UP

France: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Antoine Dupont, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 François Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Axel Desperes, 23 Emilien Gailleton.

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.