The Springboks left it far too late in the Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday morning, losing out 24-17 in a pulsating clash.

A poor start in the first half meant they had too much catching up to do, eventually failing to beat the All Blacks for a fifth time in a row. There were some opportunities to score that weren’t taken that they would look back on.

We rate the individual performances of the world champions.

15 Willie le Roux (3): A defensive error led to the first try of the All Blacks. Little to no influence on the game at all, and was ineffective on the attack as well.

14 Cheslin Kolbe (5): A few strong tackles at crucial times, and looked for work whenever the ball did not come his way. Good kick chases.

13 Jesse Kriel (4): Some strong runs, and he was very vocal with the referee. Missed tackles didn’t help him.

12 Damian de Allende (6): Gained some valuable driving meters with his runs. Strong defensive display too. Leaving the field probably hurt the Boks in the dying minutes.

11 Canan Moodie (5): Excellent chasing the kick and tackling the players. Strong on the tackling front. That kick away is going to haunt him, which led to a 50-22 m kick for the Kiwis.

10 Handre Pollard (3): Brought nothing but his kicking boot to the game. Missed three tackles in the space of about 30 seconds. That pass into touch was criminal.

9 Grant Williams (5): Kept the Boks going on the attack, and he put up some brilliant box kicks to go forward. The lineout knock the only blemish.

8 Siya Kolisi (4): Couldn’t help secure the breakdown and cleaner ball for Grant Williams. As always, he tried to work hard.

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (4): A few good carries, but a below-par performance according to his standards. Soft penalties given away.

6 Marco van Staden (5): Made a menace of himself at the breakdown and tried to slow the ball down. Strong carries, too, however, should have helped protect the rucks of his side more.

5 Ruan Nortje (5): Good contesting in the lineout with a crucial steal, but the communication with Malcolm Marx was not there. Fell a bit off in a physical game.

4 Eben Etzebeth (5): Copped a soft penalty for a bad tackle. However, he was very physical and direct with his running. That missed cleanout on Ardie Savea was critical.

3 Thomas du Toit (4): Penalised early in the scrum after slipping. But he brought stability in that facet and put in some massive tackles during his time on the field.

2 Malcolm Marx (3): Scored a crucial try, but his lineout throwing is costing the Boks valuable momentum. Missed a critical tackle before a try.

1 Ox Nché (6): Had his cake and ate it in the scrum. Early on he carried the ball strongly up into contact and defended well.

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (4): A crucial lineout and turnover won. Should have been rewarded with a penalty in the final minutes.

17 Boan Venter (4): Couldn’t affect a change in his time on the field.

]18 Wilco Louw (5): Should’ve been on earlier. Massive scrum ahead of the Marx try.

19 Lood de Jager (4): That obstruction penalty was costly, but he was physical off the bench.

20 Kwagga Smith (4): That yellow card put the Boks further under pressure on their try line. Strong run in the build-up to the Marx try.

21 Cobus Reinach (6): Brought more control to the Bok game and he built from where Williams left off.

22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4): Some good touches, but could not impose himself in the second half.

23 Ethan Hooker (3): Not the best of minutes, especially when rushing on defence that led to a try.