The Springboks kicked off their 2026 campaign with an 80-31 win over the Barbarians that had a little bit of everything. Cheslin Kolbe did stuff you can’t make up. He hit a conversion from the sideline, then ran into a cameraman and hurt himself. Minutes later he got flattened by a loose forward, missed a tackle, picked up a loose ball and made a huge break. All in the first nine minutes. It was vintage chaos from a player who can never be boring.
Edwill van der Merwe stole the headlines though. Three tries in just over an hour, and the TMO took away what might have been his best one. The Sharks winger had mixed form domestically, but in green and gold he looked like a different player. He dominated the aerial stuff, scored 15 points, and held up fine in defense. South Africa has no shortage of wing options right now.
Rassie Erasmus tried something weird at fly-half. Quan Horn, a fullback by trade, got the starting nod at 10. It wasn’t a disaster. He showed good footwork setting up Riley Norton’s try and kept the attack moving, but his kicking off the tee was shaky and he got caught out defensively when Alex Nankivell went through him to set up the Barbarians’ first score. The coaching staff likely got the answers they wanted, even if some came with caveats.
The Forward Pack That Runs Through Walls
Jasper Wiese was an absolute wrecking ball. He played 46 minutes and made every single one count, sending defenders backward, snatching an overthrown lineout for a try, and causing problems at the breakdown. Pieter-Steph du Toit looked like he never left. First game since December and he was everywhere, muscling through traffic for a try and playing the full match after Franco Mostert went off injured.
Siya Kolisi did his captain thing for 46 minutes, drawing the last defender to send Van der Merwe through for the opener and making a crucial tackle on Duhan van der Merwe. Even when he came up short on a cover tackle, it was still a solid shift from the skipper.
The tight five was led by Junior Springboks captain Riley Norton, who scored in his first senior Test and didn’t look out of place. Carlu Sadie stepped in at tighthead and handled the scrum work without any fuss. Andre-Hugo Venter took some shots to the face but repaid Erasmus for the selection call with strong contact work and clean set-piece execution. Ox Nche did what Ox Nche does — destroyed the opposing prop in every scrum and put in a few big carries for good measure.
The Bomb Squad Keeps Rolling
Faf de Klerk made a welcome return off the bench, firing the attack into another gear alongside rookie fly-half Vusi Moyo, who looked seriously impressive in limited action. JJ Kotze grabbed a try and the scrum dominance continued with Ntuthuko Mchunu and Zachary Porthen. Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, and Evan Roos came on and just overwhelmed a tiring Barbarians side.
The injury to Franco Mostert is the main concern. With the lock stocks already thin, the coaching staff will be holding their breath. But for a first runout of the year, this was exactly the kind of chaotic, high-octane performance that gets a campaign rolling.
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