🏉 Springboks 45–21 England — a seven-try masterclass

Springboks 45 – 21 England

The Springboks opened their Nations Championship campaign in blistering fashion, running in seven tries to beat England 45–21 at a rocking Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

A lightning start

South Africa were out of the blocks early. Thomas du Toit crashed over inside three minutes, Cheslin Kolbe finished in the corner soon after, and Kurt-Lee Arendse made it 17–0 with barely twelve minutes on the clock.

England fight back

Down to 14 men when Arendse was sin-binned on 28 minutes, the Boks let England in either side of the break. Ellis Genge and George Martin both crossed, Fin Smith adding the extras, to close the gap to 17–14 and set up a real contest.

The Boks pull clear

Any nerves were quickly settled. Grant Williams and Jesse Kriel struck to stretch the lead, and with England reduced to 14 twice in the final quarter — Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper both yellow-carded — Malcolm Marx and Ben-Jason Dixon added late tries to seal a commanding 45–21 win. Cheslin Kolbe was flawless off the tee, landing all five of his conversions.

Scorers

South Africa (45): Tries — du Toit, Kolbe, Arendse, G. Williams, Kriel, Marx, Dixon. Conversions — Kolbe (5).
England (21): Tries — Genge, Martin, Coles. Conversions — Smith (3).

Relive every moment in the match centre →

Next up, the Boks host Scotland on 11 July — we’ll be with you for every minute of live commentary.

Enjoy the win! 🇿🇦
— The Springbokfans team