We select four Boks that caught the eye during the side’s rain-soaked 30-12 win over Australia in the second round of the Rugby Championship in Perth on Saturday.
Pieter-Steph du Toit
Du Toit had another blinder after shifting back to the side of the scrum, producing a big innings in the wet that went a long way to securing the Bok win. The 31-year-old was characteristically at the heart of the double world champions’ charge, getting himself involved in a mountain of work including 11 tackles and 52 running meters – 10 more than any Wallaby. While he did make the odd error, his presence in the driving maul was a vital part of the side’s dominance.
Ruan Nortje
The Bulls’ second rower was as busy as ever, affecting a number of positive outcomes for the tourists and translating his franchise form superbly to the Test stage in his first international start. His performance wasn’t perfect in tricky conditions, but the 26-year-old did enough to prove he belongs at this level. In the continued absence of Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert, Nortje may yet have a crucial role to play in the Bok setup throughout the remainder of their campaign as they get increasingly closer to claiming an elusive Rugby Championship title.
Malcolm Marx
Playing off the bench yet again, the 2017 SA Rugby Player of the Year winner grabbed a second-half double at the back of a nicely purring Bok maul to help secure their second-successive try-scoring bonus point. The front ranker was also as busy as ever around the park in general play, making a notable impact during his 36 minutes of action. Marx always seems to save his best performances for the All Blacks, and, given his current form, there’s good reason to believe he will be the first-choice No 2 at Ellis Park in a fortnight.
Cheslin Kolbe
Kolbe’s dancing feet and uncanny eye for a gap were again on display at Optus Stadium, with a sublime linebreak in the first-half nearly setting up a try for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. The Tokyo Sungoliath winger made 78 meters and two clean breaks as well as some timely interventions on the day, including intercepting a Nic White pass that looked likely to result in a try for the hosts. He showed some great touches with the boot as well to get his side out of trouble on a number of occasions.
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