With England returning to Ellis Park on July 4 for South Africa's first official Test of the 2026 season, this piece revisits the 42-39 thriller from June 2018 that started it all. Erasmus's first Test as Bok coach, Kolisi's debut as captain, and a side that somehow clawed back from 24-3 down to win — it was the moment South African rugby rediscovered itself. Nkosi and Dyantyi ran riot on the wings, Pollard and De Klerk controlled the tempo, and a raw RG Snyman laid down early markers. The piece traces the significance of that day not just as a result, but as the origin point of back-to-back World Cup success — and frames the upcoming England fixture as a meaningful return to the scene of that rebirth.
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The Ellis Park comeback that launched the Erasmus-Kolisi era
As England head back to Ellis Park in July, this piece revisits the 42-39 comeback win from 2018 that launched the Erasmus-Kolisi era — tracing why that match remains the defining origin point of South Africa's modern rugby dominance.
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