Springboks smash Barbarians 54-7 in Cape Town exhibition

South Africa 54-7 Barbarians, Cape Town

The Springboks kicked off their 2025 international campaign with a crushing 54-7 victory over the Barbarians at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

In front of a boisterous home crowd, the world champions overwhelmed the invitational side in all departments—power, pace, precision, and physicality—running in eight tries to secure their most dominant result against the Barbarians in nearly three decades.

The Springboks wasted no time stamping their authority on the match. Just six minutes in, a rolling maul from a lineout on the 5-metre line saw Malcolm Marx peel off and crash over for the first try. The conversion was missed, but South Africa were already in control at 5-0.

In the 11th minute, a clever grubber kick from fullback Aphelele Fassi split the Barbarians’ defence, allowing Cheslin Kolbe to scoop up and sprint in under the posts. This time, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu made no mistake with the conversion, extending the lead to 12-0.

The Boks continued to dominate territory and possession, and by the 24th minute, Vincent Tshituka muscled over for his first try in national colours after a sustained barrage of forward carries. Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s second conversion took the score to 19-0, where it remained at halftime.

The floodgates opened after the break. Just two minutes into the second half, Jan-Hendrik Wessels scored from close range following another devastating maul, with Manie Libbok converting to make it 26-0.

In the 59th minute, Kurt-Lee Arendse gathered a pinpoint cross-kick from Damian de Allende and darted past two defenders to score in the corner. Libbok added the extras for 33-0.

Moments later, Lood de Jager crashed over after a searing Kolbe break carved open the Barbarians’ line. Libbok’s boot remained flawless, stretching the lead to 40-0.

The only blemish on the Springboks' sheet came in the 65th minute. A sweeping Barbarians move saw Leicester Fainga’anuku draw in defenders and offload to Melvyn Jaminet, who dotted down. The conversion brought the score to 40-7.

But the Boks responded immediately. In the 70th minute, Tshituka powered over for his second try of the match after breaking off the back of a scrum. Libbok added two more for 47-7.

Capping the night in style, Damian de Allende finished off a flowing team move in the final play of the game, and Libbok’s conversion took the final tally to 54-7.