Steven Kitshoff pushing hard for a start
Steven Kitshoff is hard to miss at the best of times, with his massive frame and his bright ginger hair. But his performances off the bench for the Springboks have also caught the eye during the French series. Kitshoff's cameos have been all action, with the former Stormers man carrying with a lot of venom, putting in bone-crunching tackles and overpowering the French at scrum time. Tendai Mtawarira looks set to hold on to the Bok loosehead spot for the rugby championship, but he must up his game in all departments if he is going to keep Kitshoff on the bench.
Wings need to get their hands on the ball
The Boks' intent on attack has been a breath of fresh air in 2017. They have made some great strides under new backline coach Franco Smith, who has received a lot of credit from the players for their new running lines and attack angles. But there are still a lot of aspects they need to work on, as their finishing wasn't always great during the series. The Boks need to try and create space on the outside to get their speedy wingers to come into the play. In the third Test at Ellis Park, Courtnall Skosan and Raymond Rhule hardly had any room to stretch their legs on attack. They are great finishers at Super Rugby level, and needs good ball to make their mark in Test rugby.
Boks have bring out the best in Jan Serfontein
When Jan Serfontein first burst on the international scene for the South African Under-20 team in 2012, he looked like the complete package. He played with skill, guile and intelligence, while he also had lots of pace and power. However, like most South African inside centres, he was turned into a crash-ball player, and asked to truck the ball up from first phase by running into opposition players, instead of looking to attack the space. Over the years his star has lost a bit of glow because of this, but he is starting to play his best rugby again after being given the freedom to express himself by the Boks. In 2017 Serfontein is breaking the line again, while he has hardly missed a tackle in this series.
Whiteley, Mohoje key in Bok lineout
The Springbok lineout malfunctioned in the Third Test, after going quite well in the first two matches against France. The absence of two of their main jumpers at the back of the lineout, Oupa Mahoje and captain Warren Whiteley, seemed to have a negative influence on Saturday, as the Boks struggled to get 'tail-ball' to launch their attacks from. Loose forward Jean-Luc du Plessis is a wonderful talent, and his physicality is just what South Africa needs at the moment. But he needs to improve his lineout work if he wants to be a top international player. The same goes for hooker Malcolm Marx, who didn't have his best outing in the lineouts either.
Platform has been laid for the Rugby Championship
The Springboks' 3-0 win over France is a massive step in the right direction following a nightmare 2016, when they lost eight out of the 12 Test matches they played. But they are certainly not the finished article, as this French team looked like they were on holiday and not on a rugby tour. This Springbok team, in their current state, will not get close to the All Blacks if the two teams had to face each other tomorrow. But there is enough evidence to suggest that Allister Coetzee's team are on the right path, while some of the rookies have also taken well to international rugby. They need to build on the France series to get the team ready for tougher challenges later this year.