South Africa Springboks opened their 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion Saturday, defeating the Barbarians 80-31 in a high-scoring showcase at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, South Africa.
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Edwill van der Merwe scored a hat trick, Cheslin Kolbe was sharp from the tee and the Springboks’ attack overwhelmed the invitational Barbarians side with 111 points scored combined between the two teams.
The Springboks also showcased their next wave of talent, as Riley Norton scored on his senior debut and JJ Kotze crossed shortly after coming off the bench. Paul de Villiers and Vusi Moyo also saw second-half action in their unofficial debut appearances.
The Barbarians produced several highlight moments of their own, with Virimi Vakatawa, Franco Molina, Andrew Kellaway and TJ Perenara among the try scorers.
Recap the game below as it happened, or subscribe to watch the match replay.
End Of Game: Springboks Win In 111-Point Match
Final: Springboks 80, Barbarians 31
The Springboks open their 2026 campaign with a massive statement.
Porthen Scores - 80'
Springboks 80, Barbarians 31
Zachary Porthen scores and that should do it for the day.
Vusi Moyo makes it 80 points.
Andre Esterhuizen Scores - 75'
Springboks 73, Barbarians 31
Springboks not slowing down as they hit 73 points on the day.
Jesse Kriel Scores - 74'
Springboks 66, Barbarians 31
Kriel scores and the Springboks have crossed the 60-point mark.
Faf de Klerk Scores - 63'
Springboks 59, Barbarians 31
The crowd goes wild as one of the most beloved Springboks scores.
Kolbe continues to be very accurate with his kicks.
Edwill van der Merwe Hat-Trick - 57'
Springboks 59, Barbarians 26
Edwill van der Merwe gets his third of the game, after having one taken away earlier in the second half.
Boks Empty The Bench - 53'
Springboks 47, Barbarians 26
Paul de Villiers and Vusi Moyo come on as replacements. Both make their unofficial debuts as Springboks.
Zachary Porthen also comes on.
Springboks Score - 47'
Springboks 47, Barbarians 26
JJ Kotze comes on and scores immediately in his debut.
Springboks up to 47 points.
Kotze Debuts - 44'
Springboks 40, Barbarians 26
JJ Kotze comes on to replace Andre-Hugo Venter. Kotze is officially a senior Springbok as he makes his debut.
No Try, Fassi Shown Yellow 🟨 - 43'
Springboks 40, Barbarians 26
Aphelele Fassi is sent to the sin bin, which also voids a sensational try from Edwill van der Merwe, which would've been a hat-trick.
Second Half Begins - 40'
Springboks 40, Barbarians 26
Barbarians kick off and we're underway.
Halftime In Gqeberha
Springboks 40, Barbarians 26
The teams head to the locker room, 66 points scored between them.
Springboks Add Another - 40'
Springboks 40, Barbarians 26
Cheslin Kolbe takes it from the scrum and scores right at the stroke of halftime.
Quite a score-fest so far.
Another Babas Try - 38'
Springboks 35, Barbarians 26
TJ Perenara breaks away and scores for the Barbarians. What a match the people of Gqeberha are witnessing today.
Albornoz makes his conversion.
Babas Score Again - 35'
Springboks 35, Barbarians 19
Great interplay between the Barbarians line as they go out wide right and Andrew Kellaway scores.
Albornoz misses the conversion. Strong showing from the Barbarians today, who lost 54-7 a year ago to the same team.
Babas Score - 31'
Springboks 35, Barbarians 14
When the Barbarians have been at full strength, they had two early yellow cards, they have played really well.
Franco Molina scores for the Babas this time. Albornoz makes the conversion.
Riley Norton Scores - 24'
Springboks 35, Barbarians 7
On his debut, the young lock scores his first try for the Springboks.
Springboks have dropped 35 points this half so far.
Springboks Score - 19'
Springboks 28, Barbarians 7
Relentless attack from the Boks as they score another try. This one from Jasper Wiese.
Kolbe has been 100% accurate on his conversions so far.
Springboks Score Again - 14'
Springboks 21, Barbarians 7
Springboks quickly strike again, as Edwill van der Merwe gets his second of the match on the outside.
And just like that, the Boks are up two tries.
van der Merwe was wide open.
Boks Score - 11'
Springboks 14, Barbarians 7
Pieter-Steph du Toit responds quickly for the Springboks. Kolbe makes the conversion.
Babas Score - 10'
Springboks 7, Barbarians 7
Virimi Vakatawa scores for the Barbarians on a linebreak.
Tomas Albornoz, who spends his time with the Argentina national team and Toulon in Top 14, makes the conversion.
Kolbe Makes Conversion - 5'
Springboks 7, Barbarians 0
Surprisingly, Cheslin Kolbe, who has been kicking in Japan for his club team, the Tokyo Sungoliath, made the conversion.
However, upon turning from the make, he hit the camera and cut his eye open. He's being tended to.
South Africa Score - 4'
Springboks 7, Barbarians 0
Edwill van der Merwe puts it to the ground on the left side, scoring the opening try of the game. The Boks are on the board.
A spectacular offload from the captain puts Edwill Van Der Merwe over for the Springboks' first try against the Barbarians. The party has officially started! 🏆💥 @Springboks #BARvRSA #springboks pic.twitter.com/zTJ2PO7s5J
— FloRugby (@FloRugby) June 20, 2026
Match Begins - 0'
Springboks 0, Barbarians 0
Springboks kick off to Barbarians and we are underway in Gqeberha, South Africa.
Razor Robertson Is Back
Former All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson is back with the Barbarians, having previously coached the invitational side in 2022.
Two Springbok Debutants
Two Boks are making their senior squad debut today, and both appear in FloRugby's Top 50 Rugby Union Prospects.
- Riley Norton - No. 9
- Paul de Villiers - No. 12
Norton, in particular, gets the start. Zachary Porthen will also appear in the game, he comes in at No. 3 on the Top 50 Rugby Union Prospects, but made his debut last year against Japan.
South Africa Springboks Vs. Barbarians Kickoff Time
The South Africa Springboks and Barbarians will kick off at 9:00 a.m. ET on June 20, 2026.
How To Watch South Africa Springboks Vs. Barbarians
South Africa Springboks Squad
- Ox Nche
- Andre-Hugo Venter
- Carlu Sadie
- Riley Norton
- Franco Mostert
- Siya Kolisi
- Pieter-Steph du Toit
- Jasper Wiese
- Grant Williams
- Quan Horn
- Edwill van der Merwe
- Andre Esterhuizen
- Jesse Kriel
- Cheslin Kolbe
- Aphelele Fassi
Replacements: 16. JJ Kotze, 17. Khutha Mchunu, 18. Zachary Porthen, 19. Ben-Jason Dixon, 20. Paul de Villiers, 21. Evan Roos, 22. Faf de Klerk, 23. Vusi Simphiwe Moyo
Barbarians Rugby Squad
- Mayco Vivas
- Elliot Dee
- D'Arcy Rae
- Franco Molina
- Alex Moon
- Guido Petti
- Lachlan Boshier
- Miracle Faiilagi
- TJ Perenara
- Tomas Albornoz
- Duhan van der Merwe
- Alex Nankivell
- Virimi Vakatawa
- Andrew Kellaway
- Warrick Gelant
Replacements: 16. Leonel Oviedo, 17. Oli Kebble, 18. Pedro Delgado, 19. Izack Rodda, 20. Liam McConnell, 21. Santiago Arata, 22. Harry Plummer, 23. Tuidraki Samusamuvodre
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