South Africa put on a show against the Barbarians (80-31), in order to prepare for its Nations Cup. And she left her mark at the same time, always showing the same strengths and scoring eleven tries, despite several major absences like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. The double world champions advance confidently in their strength.
The Springboks started strong, as usual, to leave their mark on the match. If Albornoz extinguished the first spark (2nd), the will-o’-the-wisp Edwill Van der Merwe reignited the flame, well served by Kolisi (7-0, 6th). The Baa-baas responded from a button. The center pair found holes in the defense and former French international Vakatawa scored between the poles (7-7, 11th). As soon as the return was made, the machine started up again. Du Toit concluded a sequence of advances (14-7, 13th). The visitors suffered and Perenara (15th) then Fai’ilagi (16th) received a yellow card in quick succession. This opened up space for a double from Van der Merwe (21-7, 17th), a recovery from Wiese on a missed touch (28-7, 22nd), and the power of the young Norton (35-7, 26th).
Once the lead was wide, the Boks slowed the pace. But against a Barbarians team almost entirely made up of internationals, it comes at a price. After a maul was stopped, Molina took over for a try (35-14, 35th). In a slightly crazy action, Albornoz came to put pressure on Fassi in front of his line, who conceded a penalty. Quickly played, it led to a try from Kellaway (35-19, 38th). Upon receiving the penalty, the Baa-baas restarted with their hands, moved up the field, and Vakatawa sent Perenara to try (35-26, 40th).
In steamroller mode
Kolbe added a small solo try before the break (40-26, 40+2nd), after which his team resumed its impressive domination. Sometimes sterile, but solid. This second period had a much slower pace, with frequent breaks. The contacts were still rough with a tackle on the head of Fassi (42nd), punished with a card. Venter came out for a concussion protocol (45th), which allowed his replacement Kotzé to score on a carried ball (47-26, 50th). Van Der Merwe scored a hat-trick following a high recovery (52-26, 59th). The visitors responded with a try from Kellaway in the corner, well served by a jump pass from the best scorer in the Top 14 Plummer (52-31, 63rd).
These were the last points scored by the Barbarians. Opposite, South Africa had fun at the end of the match. After recovering the dismissal, De Klerk animated the game and provided support to conclude (59-31, 65th). After a scrum, Kriel resisted two tackles only to turn around and flatten between the posts. His center partner Esterhuizen also showed his strength, knocking his opponent to the ground before finishing (73-31, 78th). The Baa-baas had the ball at the siren but chose to play it by hand. They were being penalized. Quickly played by Kriel who sent Porthen to conclude the score and pass the 80 point mark (80-31, 80th). The South African offensive machine made the difference and sets the tone, before the Nations Championship in two weeks. Even if the five tries conceded could make Rassie Erasmus cringe.
