Zach Porthen marked his fourth Test appearance with a standout cameo off the bench against England at Ellis Park in the Nations Championship, the 22-year-old prop catching the eye with a particularly destructive carrying run.
ReportSpringboksSA Rugby Mag · Springboks.Rugby (Official)· updated
Porthen turns heads with destructive run against England in fourth Test
Twenty-two-year-old prop Zach Porthen impressed off the bench in his fourth Test, running powerfully against England at Ellis Park in the Nations Championship.
Related stories
Springboks vs England: Form, history and what the tape reveals ahead of Ellis Park
A five-match retrospective on the Springboks-England rivalry ahead of Saturday's Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park, with Louw identifying the tactical patterns — scrum dominance, bench impact, early England leads — that have defined recent encounters.
Nché injury concern headlining Bok casualty list ahead of Scotland clash at Loftus
Rassie Erasmus is sweating over the fitness of Ox Nché, Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and André Esterhuizen ahead of Saturday's Nations Championship match against Scotland at Loftus, after all four picked up injuries during or before the 45-21 win over England at Ellis Park.
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
Nations Championship explained: Format, conferences and SA's July fixtures
The Nations Championship is a 12-team cross-hemisphere tournament contested across the July and November windows. South Africa open at home to England on 5 July, followed by Scotland at Loftus and Wales in Durban.
Louw called up to Springbok Nations Championship squad
Elrigh Louw has been called into the Springbok Nations Championship squad as forward cover, returning to the wider group for the first time since the November 2024 Test against Wales.