New Zealand came to within three points of their biggest win over South Africa, when the All Blacks hammered the hapless Springboks 40-7 in Wellington on Saturday.

The chasm in class was obvious, with the 33-point margin second only to the 52-16 win the Kiwis scored over the Boks in Pretoria in July 2003.

More importantly, very few of these second stringers made a strong enough statement in terms of World Cup places, while the mental scars will be hard to erase before South Africa host the All Blacks and wallabies at home next month.

Jan de Koning rates the South African players:

15 Morné Steyn:
His World Cup dream lies in tatters. The experiment to move him to fullback failed dismally. The lack of confidence has now even affected his goal-kicking and it was obvious he was played in an unfamiliar position.
3/10

14 Bjorn Basson:
He is good at chasing kicks, but that is about all. His options were ordinary and his hands poor. He had just two runs for 11 metres gained.
3/10

13 Adi Jacobs:
He did make about 70 running metres, but that is against the backdrop of a game where his options were poor and he also missed a few tackles.
5/10

12 Juan de Jongh:
He attended more rucks than most forwards, which is not his primary job. He made over 80 running metres, and despite some early errors got better as the game wore on.
5/10

11 Lwazi Mvovo:
Just three runs for 14 metres - not good enough at this level. He showed his lack of experience at Test level and may well be out of his dept.
4/10

10 Patrick Lambie:
It was a real mixed bag from the youngster, who showed his lack of experience and a real touch of nervousness in his first Test start. Some decent tactical kicking, more variation and a few decent late runs.
6/10

9 Ruan Pienaar:
Poor again and just a shadow of the player he once was. His service is not crisp enough and his decision-making seems to be all over the place. Maybe he needs time to get up to the pace of the game in the Southern Hemisphere.
3/10

8 Danie Rossouw:
There was a missed tackle or two and a penalty at the breakdown, but overall another accomplished performance. He made over 60 running metres and attended 10 rucks, the most of any Bok.
6/10

7 Jean Deysel:
Made the most of his first Test start and provided some real grunt - both in terms of defence and the breakdown. He made only 30 running metres, but attended seven rucks.
6/10

6 Deon Stegmann:
His best game by some way in the Bok jersey. He was good on defence and took the ball up strongly on occasion, although he found himself on the wrong end of the referee's whistle on occasion.
6/10

5 Alistair Hargreaves:
He again looked out of his dept. His basics were poor, conceded penalties and turned the ball over. He attended just three rucks and for a tight forward that is shocking.
2/10

4 Gerhard Mostert:
Great debut. One of the few Boks to really put his hand up on the day. Worked hard at the breakdown and had a few strong carries. He will grow in the Green and Gold if given more opportunities.
6/10

3 Werner Kruger:
Not his best day at the office. Struggled in the scrums and had only one real carry of note.
4/10

2 John Smit:
He tried hard throughout and showed he is beginning to benefit from getting plenty of game time. Still off the pace a touch, but with eight carries (for 63 metres) and six rucks, he showed he is getting there.
5/10

1 Dean Greyling:
Another of the Bok tight forwards that looked a bit light on the day, not to mention his scrum troubles. His lack of experience showed.
4/10

Replacements:

16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (on for Werner Kruger, 46th min):
Again made an immediate impact and showed the value of some pace on the ball. He will be one of the three hookers at the World Cup and is a great player to bring on off the bench.
7/10

17 CJ van der Linde (on for Dean Greyling, 46th min):
His poor scrumming remains a major problem and his workrate also leaves a lot to be desired. Added no real value as an impact/replacement player.
4/10

18 Ryan Kankowski (on for Gerhard Mostert, 75th min):
Not enough time to be rated.

19 Ashley Johnson (on for Deon Stegmann, 58th min):
He was desperate to make amends for last week's poor performance and in fact did make an impact off the bench. Two big carries in particular showed his real value.
6/10

20 Charl McLeod (on for Morné Steyn, 66th min):
Moved to scrumhalf, with Pienaar moving to the back, and the difference in the quality of the service was obvious.
5/10

21 Wynand Olivier (on for Adrian Jacobs, 66th min):
The game was well and truly over as a contest and the quality of the possession at that stage meant he had one run - without making an impact.
4/10

22 Odwa Ndungane (on for Bjorn Basson, 66th min):
He always tries hard, but the state of the game meant he was reduced to a defensive role.
5/10