Bok scrumhalf Grant Williams scores against England in their Nations Championship clash at Ellis Park on 4 July. (Photo: Johan Orton/Gallo Images) The Springboks are up and running in 2026 after dismantling a game England team, while scoring seven tries in the process, and leaving a few more out there.
It was far from flawless from the Boks, but they always had another gear when needed. They started fast, faded a little towards the end of the first half, and then dominated large swathes of the second.
A maximum five points for the new Nations Championship table is safely in the bag, while England left empty-handed after scoring only three tries to slump to a fifth straight defeat.
If this game was to be a test of how well the old guard are tracking 15 months out from the next World Cup, the answer is: very well.
The Springboks suffered major disruptions before kick-off with the withdrawal of captain Siya Kolisi and lock Eben Etzebeth.
Kolisi sustained a torn hamstring during training in the week and Etzebeth had concussion symptoms.
/file/attachments/2994/TL_2584417_836121.jpg "Pieter-Steph du Toit was asked to start at lock at short notice. He was Bok captain after Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi pulled out before kick-off against England at Ellis Park. (Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)")
It forced coach Rassie Erasmus into a reshuffle; Pieter-Steph du Toit shifted from flanker to lock and was handed the captaincy.
Cameron Hanekom was elevated from the bench to No 7 flank, while Paul de Villiers came from nowhere to start at openside flank.
Ben-Jason Dixon was added to the bench.
England had their own issues with fullback George Furbank hospitalised for suspected appendicitis, forcing Marcus Smith into the starting lineup. Henry Slade was drafted onto the bench. Furbank underwent surgery on Friday night and is unlikely to leave South Africa for several days.
/file/attachments/2994/TL_2584413_990192.jpg "Marcus Smith was a late call-up at fullback for England against the Springboks at Ellis Park on 4 July. (Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)")
Despite these disruptions, the Boks started with a tempo and aggression England simply couldn’t match – they were 17-0 down in 12 minutes. It looked like it might degenerate into a completely one-sided romp, but England had some fight about them and ensured that it was a contest all the way through.
Big players step up
Given the heavy disruptions before kick-off, the Boks needed their big players to step up. They did.
Fullback Damian Willemse was colossal. He ruled the air, plucking high kicks out of the sky with the authority of a battalion commanding officer.
Pieter-Steph du Toit, asked to play lock at short notice, was monumental, with a typically tireless, physical effort. Scrumhalf Grant Williams gave the team speed and direction, and he also helped himself to a well-taken try. Damian de Allende was his usual unmovable presence in the midfield, while he and Jesse Kriel were miserly on defence.
If this game was to be a test of how well the old guard are tracking 15 months out from the next World Cup, the answer is: very well.
There certainly looks to be a lot of quality rugby left for this group of players, even if the match was not a pristine performance.
Cheslin Kolbe worked his socks off and landed five from seven shots at goal, some of them from the touchline, and scored a try for a 15-point haul.
Kurt-Lee Arendse scored a try and was a constant threat, although a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on sullied his evening a little.
The Boks launched an aerial bombardment on England, who coped well, although it was an area of the game South Africa edged.
The Boks were far from perfect, but they also served notice to the rest of the rugby world that they are going to remain the benchmark for the foreseeable future.
/file/attachments/2994/TL_2584387_180276.jpg "Kurt-lee Arendse goes over for a try during the Nations Championship clash against England. (Photo: Johan Orton/Gallo Images)")
Fast start
Despite overall Springbok dominance, there was a worrying feeling of déjà vu at halftime as England turned a 17-0 margin into a three-point game, going into the break.
Last year Australia scored just before halftime, to give them momentum at 22-5 down. They went on to win the match 38-22.
It was all Boks for the first 15 minutes as they blew England off the turf with speed and power, which led to three tries.
Kolbe and Arendse scored, while tighthead prop Thomas du Toit added another, to suggest this could turn into a rout.
The Boks’ opening try came from debutant De Villiers winning a breakdown penalty. Flyhalf Manie Libbok kicked to touch and from a deep lineout, Kolbe came scything in from his wing to catch the ball before it went wide.
Willemse, who was brilliant all night, was held up short, but a few phases later Du Toit was in to lift the roof.
Soon after, England flyhalf Fin Smith, kicked the first real meaningful possession straight down Willemse’s throat. The fullback launched an up-and-under and collected his own kick.
From there the ball went right, where loosehead Ox Nché smashed his way through England tacklers in a 40m surge to the line. Although he was stopped, the ball went left and Kolbe finished in the corner.
Nché limped off shortly after with his knee heavily strapped. Hopefully it is not as serious as the optics suggested.
Arendse grabbed his 24th Test try, just 12 minutes into the contest. From a quick tap-and-go penalty where Jasper Wiese was stopped short, the ball went left and Arendse did the rest.
England simply had no ball in that breathless opening and the team was hanging on. But when they did finally gain some possession, they started asking uncomfortable questions which the Boks weren’t always able to find answers to.
Hooker Jamie George’s try was chalked off for an offsides in the ruck, prior to him scoring, but England eventually found a way over the line when prop Ellis Genge went in after multiple phases close to the line.
That was four minutes before halftime. England had a sliver of hope.
The sliver became an entire wedge when England pulled a second try back on the stroke of halftime by lock George Martin.
The giant lock marauded down the left touchline, and bumped off Wiese – not a sight seen often in the last eight years.
That took England into the break with momentum... and some belief.
Quick response
The only way for the Boks to regain the initiative was by scoring first in the second half. From the restart, England conceded a penalty, and the Boks used the infringement to establish a territorial foothold again.
The Boks pounded the English line relentlessly for the better part of three minutes, following the penalty.
/file/attachments/2994/TL_2584502_194097.jpg "Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx scored one of the team's seven tries against England. (Photo: Johan Orton/Gallo Images)")
Wiese was particularly brutal in contact, no doubt seething after his first-half error.
England’s defence was impressive, but eventually something had to give. It was Williams who spotted the tiniest of holes to nip through for the Boks’ bonus-point try.
That established a ten-point buffer again and stopped England’s way back into the game.
Jesse Kriel scored the Boks’ fifth try on 56 minutes, which put the result beyond doubt. Despite a third try for England by lock Alex Coles, they never posed a serious threat.
The introduction of flank Henry Pollock drew some booing from the 52,000 crowd, but he had little impact on the contest.
Two yellow cards in the last nine minutes for high tackles, awarded to centre Tommy Freeman and flank Guy Pepper, gave the Boks more breathing space.
Hooker Malcolm Marx scored from the back of a rolling maul and replacement lock Ben-Jason Dixon scored just before full-time to give the score a lopsided look.
Scorers:
South Africa – Tries: Thomas du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Grant Williams, Jesse Kriel, Malcolm Marx, Ben-Jason Dixon. Conversions: Kolbe (5).
England – Tries: Ellis Genge, George Martin, Alex Coles. Conversions: Fin Smith (3).