The Springboks launched their 2026 international season with an 80-31 victory over the Barbarians at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, running in 12 tries in a match that produced 10 tries in the first half alone before a late second-half surge sealed the commanding win.
Left wing Edwill van der Merwe was the standout with a hat-trick, scoring twice before the break. Cheslin Kolbe converted Van der Merwe's opening try from the touchline, but the Barbarians hit back quickly through centre Virmi Vakatawa, set up by Argentina flyhalf Tomas Albornoz, who levelled at 7-all after nine minutes.
The match turned decisively when two Barbarians players were yellow-carded in quick succession. Scrumhalf and captain TJ Perenara was binned for a high tackle in the build-up to the Springboks' second try, which featured a sharp touch pass from flyhalf Quan Horn before Pieter-Steph du Toit drove over off the back of the move. With Perenara still off, No 8 Miracle Fai'ilagi was then carded for interfering with the base of a loose scrum, leaving the Barbarians down to 13 men and the Boks free to run riot. Three tries followed in that period: a second for Van der Merwe off a long pass into space, Jasper Wiese running onto a lineout throw, and a debut try for 20-year-old lock Riley Norton.
By the time Fai'ilagi returned, the Boks led 35-7. The Barbarians, however, mounted a response and made a contest of it through the middle stages of the second half before a Springbok flurry in the final 10 minutes brought their second-half tally to 40 points — matching the first half exactly.
Norton played the full 80 minutes on debut, a mark of Rassie Erasmus' confidence in the young lock. Horn, operating at flyhalf, was solid in what the selection framed as his primary position going into the season.
The Barbarians, who included Albornoz, Fai'ilagi, Perenara, and the centre pairing of Alex Nankivell and Vakatawa, were considerably more competitive than the composite side beaten 54-7 in Cape Town at the same stage of last year's campaign, though Saturday's fine conditions at Nelson Mandela Bay contributed to the open, high-tempo nature of the contest.