The Springboks ran in 12 tries to defeat the Barbarians in Gqeberha on Saturday, with Edwill van der Merwe scoring a hat-trick and Sacha Horn impressing at flyhalf in what amounted to an extended Springbok audition.
Horn, wearing an unfamiliar No.10, got proceedings underway and showed his footwork early with a Fred Astaire-like step before releasing Riley Norton for his first try in a Springbok jersey.
Van der Merwe opened the scoring inside four minutes, finishing in the corner after Siya Kolisi picked him out near the touchline. His second came while the Barbarians were reduced to 13 men — TJ Perenara yellow-carded for a high tackle on Norton, and Miracle Fai'ilagi binned for not rolling away — and his third was ultimately disallowed by the TMO due to a high tackle in the build-up.
Cheslin Kolbe, first-choice goalkicker on the day, appeared to pull a muscle converting the opening try and was clearly managing himself thereafter. He nonetheless made his presence felt at scrumhalf in the absence of the yellow-carded Grant Williams, putting the ball in and then racing around the corner to score himself before halftime.
Cobus Wiese and JJ Kotze were among the other Springbok try scorers, Kotze dotting down shortly after coming off the bench.
The Barbarians, who fielded 19 international players, were far more competitive than in last year's encounter and crossed five times. Virimi Vakatawa, Andrew Kellaway, Franco Molina and Perenara all featured among the visitors' try scorers, and the half-time scoreline of 35-26 reflected a genuine contest. The Baabaas repeatedly found gaps in the Springbok defensive line, with a missed tackle by Horn contributing to Vakatawa's first try, and a deliberate knock-down by Williams compounding the Boks' ill-discipline.
At 35-26 heading into the break, the Barbarians had trimmed the deficit to nine points and were posing real questions on both sides of the ball — areas that will give Rassie Erasmus cause for reflection despite the commanding final scoreline.