Ratings: Argentina v SA

Ten out of 10 for Bryan Habana

Ten out of 10 for Bryan Habana

South Africa made it through to the World Cup final at a canter on Sunday, out-muscling and out-playing the courageous Argentinians in Paris.

Not all of the players were used, and most of the replacements barely had enough time to break a sweat, but all of those who entered the fray managed to garner a rating of sorts...

South Africa

15 Percy Montgomery -
Safe under the high ball, faultless with the boot from hand and tee... what more can you need? 8

14 JP Pietersen - Very very quiet, but no serious errors. 6

13 Jaque Fourie - Also very quiet, but not much ball coming his way. 6

12 François Steyn - A few rushes of blood to the head from the youngster, which might have been more costly against another team, but at other times they might have been profitable. Never a dull moment! 7

11 Bryan Habana - Possibly as close to perfection as a wing performance can get. Great support for high balls, one magnificent try, and another textbook intercept. The biggest difference between the teams. 10

10 Butch James - Terrific with the boot and good distribution, steered the ship exceptionally. 9

9 Fourie du Preez - Once again a cut above, and made the job for all outside him remarkably easy. Also picked off a well-read intercept try. 9

8 Danie Rossouw - Made man of the match by the organisers for a ceaseless work ethic. 8

7 Juan Smith - Quieter than usual, and a silly high tackle late on marred his display. 6

6 Schalk Burger - Is peaking again after taking an enforced break, and several turnovers were a result of his trademark foraging. 8

5 Victor Matfield - Ruled the line-out more and more as the game went on. 7

4 Bakkies Botha - Not much to be seen of him bar his hulking mass in the skirmishes, but put as much weight as any to the cause. 7

3 CJ van der Linde - Tireless throughout, showed no sign of recent injury - 7.

2 John Smit - Committed off-the-ball infringement in first half on Pichot, but excellent in the line-outs, finding his man time after time - 8.

1 Os du Randt - Worked hard and coped well in the scrum and with the notorious Pumas front row - 7.

Replacements

16 Bismarck du Plessis
(on for Smit, 77) - Given little time to impress - 6.

17 Jannie du Plessis (on for Du Randt, 72) - Blood-bin replacement at start of second half, and was given last eight minutes - 6.

18 Johann Muller (on for Botha, 77) - Temporary blood-bin replacement after 21 minutes and given last three minutes - 6.

19 Bobby Skinstad (on for Rossouw, 75) - Given last five minutes but little time to impress. 6

20 Andre Pretorius (on for James, 77) - Not enough time to impress - 6.

21 Wynand Olivier (on for Steyn, 77) - Given three minutes at the end - 6.

Argentina

15 Ignacio Corleto -
Argentina's most dangerous runner from deep but often lacked support - 8.

14 Lucas Borges - Began one great counter-attacking move but could do nothing about Habana's tries - 6.

13 Manuel Contepomi - Awarded second-half try, despite appearing to knock on when grounding. Struggled to cope with Fourie - 6.

12 Felipe Contepomi - Struggled throughout, especially in first half with an intercepted pass for Du Preez's try and some poor kicking. Yellow-carded late on as his temper disintegrated along with his conduct - 5.

11 Horacio Agulla - Made a few breaks, but like Corleto, was let down by his support - 7.

10 Juan Martin Hernandez - Kicking was strong and running was superb in patches, showing immense power in the tackle, but made glaring error for Rossouw's try and let several loose kicks go as well - 6.

9 Agustin Pichot - Harried Du Preez at scrum time and a constant nuisance. Battled away manfully - 7.

8 Gonzalo Longo Elia - Made a couple of basic handling errors in the first half, and overshadowed by Rossouw - 6.

7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe - Always there at the breakdown and was a nuisance in that department, especially in the second half - 7.

6 Lucas Ostiglia - Fought hard, but not a patch on South Africa's back row - 6.

5 Patricio Albacete - Like Lobbe, he hardly saw a ball at the line-out but grafted away - 6.

4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe - Sale lock showed plenty of heart, but found Botha a pest at the line-out - 6.

3 Martin Scelzo - Worked hard before injured in breakdown collision with Bakkies Botha near half-time, and replaced by Hasan - 6.

2 Mario Ledesma - Rarely found his man at the lineout and looked tired out in the loose quite soon - 5.

1 Rodrigo Roncero - Grizzled veteran was uncompromising in the scrum and energetic with ball in hand - 7.

Replacements

16 Alberto Basualdo
(on for Ledesma 64) - Awry with his first lineout and had little time to impress - 6.

17 Omar Hasan (on for Scelzo 34) - Part of a solid front-row effort when came on at end of first half - 7.

18 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis (on for Fernandez Lobbe 54) - Introduction failed to improve Pumas' malfunctioning lineout - 6.

22 Gonzalo Tiesi (on for Manuel Contepomi 64) - Little time to impress - 6.