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Japan Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
Springboks crush Georgia with nine tries in final test before Rugby Championship
rugby union South Africa outmuscled and overwhelmed Georgia 55-10 on Saturday in its last match before its Rugby Championship title defense. South Africa gave its three starting front-rowers their test debuts and two of them, loosehead Boan Venter and hooker Marnus van der Merwe, scored the first two of the team's nine tries. Captain Siya Kolisi overcame various niggles to finally play his first test of the year and had to have a head injury check in the second minute. But he returned and played the whole match. Kolisi is certain to lead the Springboks in the Rugby Championship opener against Australia in four weeks at Ellis Park. The Georgians are not lightweights and showed off their heft and expertise with a rolling maul try for hooker Vano Karkadze in the third minute. But they had only a couple more try chances and were overturned by South Africa. The Springboks debuted seven players this month while also beating visitor Italy 42-24 and 45-0, but coach Rassie Erasmus said the experimenting was over. 'This was a series where we wanted to experiment a little bit so getting the scorelines we did is pretty satisfying, Erasmus said. 'But the Rugby Championship is definitely a step up." The Springboks look well in control by halftime at 22-10. Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries from lineout drives, and Venter from multiple phases. The fourth try of the half saw scrumhalf Grant Williams, riding his pack's dominance, split the defense and four passes later center Canan Moodie crashed over beside the right corner flag. As the Georgians flagged from the pummelling up front, the Springboks went wider in the second half and wing Edwill van der Merwe, no relation to Marnus, also scored two tries. Replacement back Damian Willemse punched through from scrum ball and, in the last couple of minutes, a couple of RG Snyman half breaks and offloads led to tries by backs Kurt-Lee Arendse and Handre Pollard. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The South African
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Springboks vs Italy: Should there be Bomb Squad panic?
The Springboks' second-half slump in their first Test against Italy in Pretoria last weekend certainly was concerning, but to suggest that the Bomb Squad has been permanently diffused is perhaps a bit of a reach. While the Boks secured a 42-24 win in the season-opener at Loftus Versfeld against the Azzurri, you'd be forgiven for thinking they copped a loss. Media reports didn't hold back when it came to voicing disappointment with the Springboks' performance, particularly their second-half showing, and for good reason. After all, the Boks have given us reason upon reason, in the form of international records and back-to-back World Cups, to expect nothing less than sheer dominance and success. But, in their first Test against Italy, the Boks' trusted second-half injection failed to deliver a lethal dose. In fact, the Italians didn't just survive the Bomb Squad; they outplayed them. The visitor's outscored the hosts by 21 points to 14 after the break, while they also topped the Boks in the tries-scored column as they ran in three tries to two in what became a testing 40-minute spell for the home side. The last time any team could boast outscoring the Boks in the second half – in terms of tries or points – was during the 2023 World Cup final. Since then, the world champions have managed to score more tries and points in the second stanza than their opposition in every game. That's all courtesy of the Bomb Squad. Until the Test against Italy. The Springboks made 15 changes to the squad that faced Italy last weekend. While it's an almost entirely new run-on side, last week's bench reinforcements have also swopped. RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Bongi Mbonambi, and Vincent Koch all miss out completely after being outperformed last weekend. This week, instead, Erasmus has opted for a 5-3 split and a host of younger players as they look to bounce back. After the game, Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada quipped about his 'Grenade Squad' being the new powerhouse reinforcements. And while they will be eager to prove that their second-half dominance of the Boks was no fluke, the South Africans, the Bomb Squad in particular, will be set on returning to their dominant ways. WILL THE BOMBSQUAD GET IT RIGHT IN GQEBERHA? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Bumper Saturday for rugby fans
The Springboks are up against Italy, while New Zealand entertain France. RG Snyman and his Bok teammates are in action against Italy on Saturday. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images There's plenty to look forward to on Saturday if you're a big rugby fan. It's Test season in the Southern Hemisphere and that means there's plenty on offer … from the British and Irish Lions touring Australia to the Springboks opening their season with a match against northern minnows, Italy. There's also the not-so-small-matter of the All Blacks hosting France in a three Test series, starting this Saturday. Early on Saturday, Scotland take on the Maori All Blacks, while Wales were set to tackle Japan. At 9.05am, New Zealand will take on France and according to Betway are heavy favourites to win the first Test, at odds of 1.03. A draw is at 60.00 and a France win at 16.00. Ireland, minus several Lions tourists, are up against Georgia, surprisingly, and are 1,10 favourites to beat the second tier nation, who are at 8.60 to pull off a win against the Six Nations powerhouse. A weakened England are in Argentina and according to Betway, this is a tough one to call. Argentina are slight favourites to win at 1.46, while England are at 3.05. A draw is 27.00. World champion Boks Rassie Erasmus' Boks are heavily favoured against Italy, a team they have lost to only once in 16 previous outings. The Boks are quoted at 1.00 to win, while Italy causing an upset is at 24.00. In Sydney, the British and Irish Lions are favourites to stay unbeaten on their tour of Australia, quoted at 1.00 to win against the Waratahs. The odds on a win by the home team are 12.00 and a draw is at 50.00. Please note these Betway odds are correct at 4pm Friday and subject to change.
TimesLIVE
20-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
BaaBaas, with ‘great players in world rugby', a good test for Boks: Rassie
The Barbarians have some hugely experienced, quality campaigners and will provide a fitting opening test for the Springboks' 2025 season, coach Rassie Erasmus said. The Boks face the BaaBaas on June 28 before lining up against Italy in back-to-back Tests in Pretoria (July 5) and Gqeberha (July 12), after which they wrap up the Incoming Series against Georgia in Mbombela (July 19). The Boks are close to being a full contingent of players after the arrival of the Bulls players, Leinster lock RG Snyman and Leicester Tigers flyhalf Handré Pollard, following their involvement in the United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership finals last weekend.
IOL News
20-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Springboks' RG Snyman reveals the secret behind South Africa's sporting triumphs
FILE - Springbok lock RG Snyman has hailed Rassie Erasmus' motivational skills. Image: Adrian Dennis / AFP Big Springboks lock RG Snyman says South Africa's sporting success on the world stage is no fluke. The Proteas are the latest South African sports team to win internationally after beating Australia in the World Test Championship final. It was their first piece of ICC silverware since 1998. The Springboks won back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023, while Bafana Bafana won the bronze medal at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations and have qualified for the next edition in Morocco, which will be played from December 26. During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, South Africa won six medals, including gold for star swimmer Tatjana Smith and a silver for the 4x100 men's relay team anchored by Akani Simbine. Bayanda Walaza, who helped to win that silver medal in the relay while still in the school benches, is also the world's fastest teenager. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Recently, Upington-born Rayno Nel won the 2025 World's Strongest Man competition, while Brendali Theron was crowned the World's Strongest Woman in Dubai last month. Snyman himself is fresh off a United Rugby Championship title win with Leinster after the Irish team beat Jake While's Bulls in the final last weekend. 'I think there's a mindset of people that is a little bit different and it feels very driven in a way that I haven't really come across in many other places,' Snyman said during a podcast with former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton. 'It feels like people are very much like 'f*** it, I need to go for this, and I'm going to do this with everything I have and I'm going to give it my all.'' But while there is a drive to succeed, Snyman says the role of Rassie Erasmus has been key to the Springboks' dominance of the rugby landscape over the last six years.
