Van der Merwe hat-trick, Horn's audition headline 12-try Barbarians rout

MATCH REPORT: The Springboks scored 12 tries in their 80-31 victory over the Barbarian with a dazzling display as Edwill van der Merwe added a hat-trick of tries to the tally in Gqeberha on Saturday.

Unlike last year’s one-sided encounter, the Barbarians provided a far sterner examination and crossed for five tries of their own, ensuring the Boks were tested on both sides of the ball.

Horn got the game underway with the unfamiliar No.10 on his back.

It took the Springboks all of four minutes to cross the whitewash. Siya Kolisi received a pass close to the sideline, and he cleverly put Edwill van der Merwe away to score in the corner.

*To recap all the action, click HERE

Cheslin Kolbe added the extras as the first-choice goalkicker on the day, but seemed to have pulled a muscle in the process.

The Barbarians immediately started a counterattack, spearheaded by captain TJ Perenara and he sent a flying Duhan van der Merwe away down the opposite sideline, but he was stopped mere metres from the line.

When a loose pass was caught by Kolbe after scramble defence by the Boks, he should’ve been away, but it was evident the speedster was protecting himself and flung the ball infield.

The fleet-footed Baabaas centres combined to slice through the middle after a missed tackle by Horn and Virimi Vakatawa dotted down and sending a reminder that there are 19 international players in the Black and Whites team.

However, the Green and Gold were on the charge from kick-off, and it was the big bulk of Pieter-Steph du Toit who wormed his way over under the uprights.

As Kolbe was lining up his kick, Perenara was shown a yellow for a high tackle in Riley Norton and departed for ten minutes.

Another yellow was shown for cynical play as Miracle Fai’ilagi for not rolling away.

With the numerical advantage, it was a mere formality for the Boks to score again, and they did so by gifting Van der Merwe his second try.

The fourth try, by Cobus Wiese, came straight off the back of the lineout with an overthrow by the Baabaas, and he cantered over for an easy five-pointer.

In the ensuing movement, Horn stepped like Fred Astaire before sending Riley Norton over for his first try in a Bok jersey.

As the Baabaas made a line-break, Bok No.9 Grant Williams stuck his hand out and it was deemed a deliberate knock-down and he was sent to the chair of shame fieldside.

The visitors got a rolling maul going, and big lock Franco Molina added his name to the try scorers for the Baabaas.

From the kick-off, the visitors once more put the Springboks under pressure and Aphelele Fassi managed to dart across and secure the ball, but then he held on too long.

This offered the Baabaas another try-scoring chance, and it was the Aussie Andrew Kellaway who got over in the corner after they spread the ball wide.

After 35 minutes, Springboks 35, Barbarians 19. The visitors were on fire. Warrick Gelant had a beautiful break, drew in his defenders and sent it out wide to Vakatawa, who passed to Perenara to score a wonderful try.

Suddenly, it was a nine-point game.

The Boks struck back and were quickly camped out in the red zone with a scrum to follow five metres out as the hooter went for halftime. In the absence of Williams, the Swiss Army Knife Kolbe put it in the scrum and from there raced around the corner to score.

Food for thought for coach Rassie Erasmus after the first half would be his side’s defence and discipline. The Barbarians, a team thrown together in a week, should not be able to break down an aligned and settled Bok team systematically.

The Springboks got back to scoring ways straight from the start of the second half as Van der Merwe raced down the opposite tram to score his third try.

However, TMO intervention revealed a high tackle on Perenara in the build-up, resulting in a yellow card, and the try was cancelled.

After the Boks bench was introduced, they went on to rumble over, and JJ Kotze grabbed his first try minutes of entering the fray.

*Article continues below…

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Minutes later, Elliot Dee was sent to the sinbin for a shoulder-to-head collision. The referee awarded the penalty to South Africa, and they opted to pack down for the scrum in a striking position.

However, a massive scrum by Ollie Kebble won his team a penalty against Zachary Porthen.

The flying Van der Merwe finally got this hat-trick after Faf de Klerk replaced Williams, speeding up the game, which created space on the outside.

After an hour of play, the Baabaas were five metres out, and the Springboks were scrambling to plug the holes. But it wasn’t enough and Kellaway walked over for his second.

Not to be undone, the Boks did the same and when De Klerk followed up a great break by Vusi Moyo, the crowd erupted.

With ten minutes left on the clock, the Boks were ahead 59-31.

Tries to Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen and Porthen followed to see out the game for the Boks over a much-improved Barbarians outfit from last year.

For Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, however, the biggest positives extended beyond the scoreline. Several of the less experienced players embraced the step up to senior international rugby, while utility back Quan Horn’s assured performance in the No.10 role may have given the Bok management another intriguing option to consider heading into the season ahead.

Player of the Match: With a tally of three tries, Edwlll van der Merwe would be an obvious choice, Cheslin Kolbe proved he can take over as the first choice goalkicker, but our award goes to Riley Norton, on debut for the Springboks.  The amount of work the 20-year-old put in was immense, and he had signalled his presence in the Green and Gold.

Scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries: Van der Merwe 3, Du Toit, Wiese, Norton, Kolbe, Kotze, De Klerk, Kriel, Esterhuizen, Porthen
Cons: Kolbe 10, Moyo

For Barbarians:
Tries: Vakatawa, Molina, Kellaway 2, Perenara
Cons: Albornoz 4

Yellow cards: TJ Perenara (Barbarians – 12’, high tackle); Miracle Fai’ilagi (Barbarians – 14’ not rolling away); Grant Williams (South Africa – 32’ deliberate knock-down); Aphelele Fassi (South Africa – 43’, high tackle)
Teams:

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Quan Horn, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Riley Norton, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Vusi Moyo.

Barbarian F.C: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Tomás Albornoz, 9 TJ Perenara (captain), 8 Miracle Fai’ilagi, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Guido Petti, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Franco Molina, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Mayko Vivas
Replacements: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Liam McConnell, 21 Santiago Arata, 22 Harry Plummer, 23 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre

Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)