The trio were called up after loose forwards Danie Rossouw (neck) and Wikus van Heerden (neck) and prop Gurthro Steenkamp (hand) pulled out of the squad on Monday.
But the Netherlands - who have never won the World Cup, despite a rich pedigree of world-class footballers - took the second half by the scruff of the neck, with Van Persie breaking free on a couple of occasions.