South Africa fly-half Manie Libbok said on Tuesday that the competition for the Springboks number 10 shirt motivates all three contenders for the jersey.

Libbok, 28, is vying for the starting playmaking role against France in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday with the experienced Handre Pollard and exciting youngster Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Pollard, 31, kicked the Boks to the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cup titles while 23-year-old Feinberg-Mngomezelu is seen as the leading young outside-half.

"For us, it's a healthy competition, first and foremost," Libbok told reporters.

"It helps all three of us. It helps us to push each other in training every day to be better and get better. I think it's good," the 2023 World Cup winner added.

Feinberg-Mngomezelu has broken throug for the Springboks since the first of his 16 test appearances in June 2024.

Last weekend, he scored two tries in a mercurial performance as the Boks hammered Japan 61-7 in London to being their November campaign.

Pollard won the first of his 84 caps in 2014 and is a more conservative option than Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezelu.

"There are things that you look at and learn from the other guys. How they go about their business, how they go about their work and what they do on a daily basis," Libbok added.

"Just trying to add it to your game and try to put it into your preparation and all of that.

"It's good to have different guys doing different things.

"Do what they do on board and add it to your game and your preparation," he added.

'CONSIDER' TOP 14

Earlier this year Libbok was linked to Paris-based Racing 92 before joining Hanazono Kintetsu Liners in Japan for the coming season on a three-year deal. He left the door open to a possible move to the French Top 14.

"Coming to play in France, obviously if the opportunity is there one day, I will definitely consider it," Libbok said.

"But for now, obviously, I made a decision to go to Japan and go over there and expand my game there.

"Play in a different league, play in a different style of play and just grow my game as much as I can," he added.

Saturday's meeting at the Stade de France will be the first time the Springboks, and Libbok, who was in the 2023 squad, return to the French capital since lifting the Webb Ellis trophy two years' ago.

In 2023, Rassie Erasmus' direct game plan guided the team to a one-point win over New Zealand in the final. They have lost just four games since that decider.

"We've added a few things to our game," Libbok said.

"But our main way of playing is still the same.

"We just tweak here and there just to expand our capability and give different pictures to the opposition.

"It definitely helped us throughout the past two years, especially with our evolution," he added.

The lights of Paris shimmer against a cold November sky as Siya Kolisi strides out onto the hallowed turf of the Stade de France. The roar is deafening, a wall of sound that feels like it could lift the stadium off its foundations. In that moment, as he leads the Springboks for his 100th Test, the boy from Zwide becomes the man who rewrote history.

It’s hard to reconcile this scene with the image of a skinny kid kicking a scuffed soccer ball on a dusty street, dreaming of vetkoeks as a prize for victory. Back then, hunger was a constant companion, and hope was a fragile thing. His grandmother Nolulamile was his anchor, the one person who loved him unconditionally. “Without her, I wouldn’t be here,” Siya would later write. She went without food so he could eat. When she died in his arms at 12, the world felt colder than ever.

Zwide could have swallowed him whole. Drugs, petrol sniffing, the lure of gang life, Kolisi admits he was on the brink. “I could have ended up a tsotsi,” he reflected. Jail or death. Or both. Then came the African Bombers rugby club and a coach named Eric Songwiqi, whose bark was worse than his bite but whose influence was life-changing. Siya left that first brutal training session exhausted, bruised, bleeding - and reborn. “From that first session, I never looked back. I never smoked weed or sniffed petrol again.”

A scholarship to Grey High School opened doors he never knew existed. He watched the Springboks train there, eyes locked on Schalk Burger, his hero. Too shy to ask for an autograph, a teacher shoved a pen in his hand. That signature remains one of his prized possessions. Years later, Burger would be his teammate and friend - a full-circle moment that speaks to the improbable arc of Kolisi’s life.

In 2018, Siya shattered a 128-year barrier, becoming the first black captain of the Springboks. In a country still wrestling with the ghosts of apartheid, his appointment was more than a rugby decision - it was a statement of unity, diversity, and hope. He led with humility and conviction, guided by a philosophy he calls SPRINGBOK: Self, Positivity, Resilience, Inclusivity, Natural, Genuine, Bravery, Objectivity, Knowledge.

Then came the glory years. Yokohama, 2019: Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup after dismantling England in the World Cup final. Cape Town, 2021: He steers South Africa to a Lions Series win. Paris, 2023: Another World Cup, another seismic triumph - this time by a single point over New Zealand. Add the Rugby Championship crowns, the Freedom Cup, and a cabinet full of rivalry trophies, and you have a captain whose resume gleams brighter than the gold on his jersey.

But success brings weight. “I’m not perfect,” Siya says, “but I can’t afford to disappoint society and the young children who look up to me.” That pressure is real, yet he wears it lightly, channeling it into purpose. The Kolisi Foundation tackles gender-based violence, food insecurity, and education gaps. His mantra is simple, profound: “There’s no freedom until everyone is free, no safety till everyone is safe, and no equality until everyone is equal.”

Homesickness once pulled him away from Racing 92, a reminder that even icons crave the familiar rhythms of home - the braai smoke, the laughter, the language. Now, back in South Africa, he stands on the brink of immortality.

One hundred Tests. A century of courage, resilience, and leadership. As Siya Kolisi walks out in Paris, he carries more than a ball. He carries a nation’s story - a story that began on a dusty street in Zwide and now echoes across the rugby world.

And when the whistle blows, remember this: Siya Kolisi didn’t just make history. He made hope possible.

Outside of the flyhalf, the inside centre, the man who wears the No 12, is the key decision-maker at the back, with there being a good reason that for a long time New Zealanders referred to the position not as centre but as second five-eight.

Hennie le Roux, who played inside centre in the first Springbok World Cup winning team, was the perfect example of why the Kiwis did that - he had played most of his career at flyhalf and was effectively the second flyhalf to Joel Stransky in the key decision-making 10/12 axis. Not forgetting of course that he was also a really good defender, another key attribute for the position.

In the modern game the inside centre is also the man who takes the ball up to the gainline, like Andre Esterhuizen does so well, and there have been several fine players who have worn the jersey who have done that brilliantly for the Boks, with Pieter Muller springing readily to mind for his strong ball carrying and aggressive, abrasive defending in the 1990s.

The inside centre candidates for the Dream Team

Jean de Villiers

Jean de Villiers was quite possibly the unluckiest Springbok in terms of World Cups. He was selected for the 2003 RWC but was injured in a warmup game and never made it to Australia, while in 2007 he was part of the squad that started the successful quest for South Africa’s second taste of the Holy Grail but was ruled out before halftime of the first game when he tore a bicep against Samoa at Parc des Princes. In 2011 he was part of the team that lost out in the quarterfinal stage to the Bryce Lawrence refereeing freak show and then in 2015, when he was captain, he was ruled out by an injury sustained in the second game - also against Samoa.

A captain of the Boks between 2012 and 2015, De Villiers was one of the most intelligent players to wear the Bok jersey - and his propensity for scoring intercept tries was down to his excellent defensive reads. He could also be physical on defence and one of his finest performances in that regard was in the 21-6 win over the All Blacks in Cape Town in 2005, just three weeks after the All Blacks had completed a clean sweep of the British and Irish Lions.

De Villiers impressed from a young age and was a key player of the Junior Bok team that won the Junior World Championship under future Wallaby Clyde Rathbone’s captaincy and under the coaching of Jake White in 2002, and it was on that basis that he was chosen to debut against France in Marseille at a young age. Unfortunately he sustained a serious injury in that game, which also happened to be the debut appearance of Bakkies Botha, and injuries were to be a constant interruptor to his career. That he came back from each and every one of them though was a testament to his resilience and his determination.

Damian de Allende

A product of Milnerton High School, De Allende got to the top the hard way, with his coaches backing his natural talent over the fact that he did not make it into the Western Province Craven Week team in his matric year and pushing him into the WP under-19 set-up while he was still at school.

De Allende made the most of his opportunity and was soon noticed by the then WP/Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, who played him on the wing as a little known youngster in the 2012 Currie Cup final against the Sharks in Durban. De Allende did well in a game that will be remembered for the try that Juan de Jongh scored to inspire the underdogs to a shock win over a far more experienced team.

From there De Allende’s career took off and he soon established himself as a centre, which was the position he played when he won two World Cups. A strongly built player in the style of the traditional South African inside centre, De Allende also has very good soft skills, and his passing game was something that Tony Brown made mention of when he arrived as the Springbok attack coach. De Allende is one of the players who has most benefitted from Brown’s arrival in terms of widening his game and is arguably the best inside centre in world rugby at this time.

De Wet Barry

So why was an excellent inside centre Jean de Villiers used mostly as a wing by Jake White early in his Springbok career? It was mostly because of the presence of the strongly built and powerful tackling De Wet Barry, a player from WP/Stormers who was a good straight running centre in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He made his international debut under the coaching of Nick Mallett against Canada in East London in 2000, incidentally in the same game as John Smit made his debut, and went on to play 38 test matches for his country. Many of those were alongside his WP and Stormers teammate Marius Joubert, who scored three tries against the All Blacks when the Boks hammered the All Blacks 42-26 in Johannesburg in 2004.

That was an important step towards the Boks winning that year’s Tri-Nations, which kick-started the successful drive to the World Cup title in 2007. However, by then De Villiers had established himself at inside centre and Jaque Fourie had done the same outside him, with Barry fading a bit later in his career.

He captained the Stormers in the 2006 season but that was also the year he played his last game for the Boks, with a defeat to France in Cape Town, the first one on South African soil in the Jake White reign as coach, changing the course of the Boks.

Frans Steyn

When the then Sharks coach Dick Muir moved his 18-year-old fullback Frans Steyn to flyhalf at the last minute before a key Currie Cup game against Western Province in Durban in 2006, there were many who would have thought he’d lost his mind. Yet there was method in Muir’s decision, taken in the early afternoon of a Friday night game, as rain swept across Kings Park and Steyn played a blinder, almost single-handedly winning the game by himself.

From there it was a quick elevation into the Bok squad, and he made his debut on the wing against Ireland in Dublin that November before switching to fullback for the following two games against England. On the basis of his performances on that tour Steyn became part of Jake White’s plans, and it was a good thing he did, as he proved a rock steady X-factor replacement for Jean de Villiers when the more experienced player was injured at the start of the 2007 World Cup.

There are many who’d agree with the late former Natal and Springbok coach Ian McIntosh that Steyn’s best position was fullback, but he played mostly as a centre for the Boks in the games that will be remembered the most. Apart from his good field kicking boot, strong carrying and explosive running, he was also possessed of a dab drop-goal accumulating boot and he was the man with the siege gun boot, in terms of distance, when it came to his place-kicking.

Pieter Muller

When South Africa returned to international rugby in 1992 there was one newcomer more than any other that joined the established stars Naas Botha and Danie Gerber in keeping the Boks afloat - Pieter Muller. The Free State produced Sharks player was a standout in the midfield alongside Gerber in the first post-isolation test against the All Blacks in September of that year, and he continued to be so on the tour of France and England that followed.

Muller, brother to Free State produced fellow Springbok Helgard, missed the 1995 World Cup because of injury otherwise he may have played a role in that triumph, but he was there for the 1998 Tri-Nations and played a very influential role in ensuring that the team coached by Nick Mallett and captained by Gary Teichmann became the first South African side to win that trophy.

They did that in a campaign where they were unbeaten and where the Bok challenge was particularly underlined in a win over the All Blacks in Wellington, where Muller was nothing short of sublime with his abrasive defensive game as well as his strength in standing up to the tackle.

Wayne Julies

The product of the Boland rugby factory first made his mark as a member of the SA under-20 team that won a junior international tournament under the captaincy of John Smit and the coaching of Eric Sauls with the help of Jake White in 1999. Julies was one of the standouts of that team and it was on that basis that he found himself making his Bok debut in a World Cup game against Spain later that year.

He made it to the 2007 World Cup as an injury replacement for Jean de Villiers, but it was Frans Steyn who nailed down the starting inside centre spot. In 1999 he played behind another good inside centre in Brendan Venter. Julies, who played 11 times for the Boks over an eight year international career, was well travelled as a provincial player, with his CV including stints at the Bulls (1999), the Stormers (2000 to 2002), the Cats (2004 to 2006) and finally the Bulls again (2007 to 2009).

He also played for the Boland Cavaliers the Bule Bulls, Free State, Golden Lions, SWD Eagles and Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and ended his career with 13 appearances for the French club team Aix-en-Provence.

The Springboks have played down the talk of “revenge” from France following the dramatic win over the 2023 World Cup hosts in Paris two years ago, rather looking to focus on their own game ahead of Saturday’s match in Paris.

The last time the two sides met, the Boks won a dramatic match by one point, putting the hosts out of the World Cup at the quarterfinal stage, and setting up their own run to claim back to back titles a few weeks later.

The French public was incensed with Ben O’Keefe’s refereeing, and Springbok players even received death threats after the win. It has been a common theme that the first time the two sides will meet again - this Saturday at the same Stade de France venue - will be a “revenge match” for the French to avenge their World Cup defeat.

The Springboks make a winning start to their Outgoing Tour ✅🏉

All focus is on Saturday's heavyweight clash at Stade de France 🍿#SSRugby | #QuilterNS pic.twitter.com/jnIqEEVrM1

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 3, 2025

Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones downplayed this on Monday, choosing rather to focus on the Boks build-up to their own title defence and the importance of a good result this weekend in their development as a side.

2023 GAME IS IN THE PAST

"What happened in 2023 was positive too for many other reasons, but that’s in the past. Our focus this week is to give ourselves the best chance to perform well on Saturday,” Jones said.

Asked if they were preparing for France’s revenge mindset, he said: “I don’t know, to be honest” “I’m not sure how they are talking about it in their camp. That said, it would be hard to deny that they would have some regrets from that game that they would like to make right.

“We enjoy it every time we’re here in France,” Jones added.

Brent Russell knows a thing or two about France 👀

He thinks this might be the toughest test in the world right now for the Springboks 😤

Kick-off at 22:10 on Saturday night 📺 #SSRugby | #QuilterNS pic.twitter.com/tux1NTLyBG

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 3, 2025

“We’ve got fond memories, even from the match we lost in Marseille in 2022. What happened in 2023 was positive for many reasons – but that’s in the past. Our focus now is to give ourselves the best chance to perform well on Saturday.”

Jones was also asked, but wouldn’t commit, to a question whether this was the biggest test of the year for the Springboks.

NOT BIGGEST TEST MATCH

“I wouldn’t say any single test match is bigger than another one. There’s been some big games for us this year.

“We played against New Zealand and lost a test match against Australia at home, we also have Italy after this game, and later tour Ireland and Wales.

“So for us, every test match is massive. Every time we represent South Africa, it is huge,” he said.

“I can understand the extra attention that this match gets because of the quarterfinal in 2023, just like Ireland and New Zealand had a special match in 2023 as well.

Jones added that the Boks saw the French team as a “huge threat” and would need to get their selection correct for the game.

“They are a huge threat – their entire pack is tough, and they have quality players to select from,” Jones said.

LOTS OF DEPTH

“They’ve built a lot of depth there in the last few years. We are expecting this match to be as big a battle as it was against them in 2022 and 2023.

“Fabien Galthié has taken players who are lesser known on tour for their summer series a few times, and that’s a great exercise in building depth. But for this game, we are expecting them to select a different side.”

The Boks will name their team for the clash on Thursday.

With a Rugby World Cup set to be staged there in 2031, the showdown between Ireland and All Blacks in Chicago, billed as “The Rematch” because of what happened lost time the two teams met there, was an opportunity for rugby to sell itself to the United States market.

It was a high profile game and the billing focused on what happened the last time the two teams met in the city - Ireland’s historic first win over the then reigning World Cup champions. If you looked beyond the obvious caveat that one team was battle hardened after the Rugby Championship and the other hadn’t played together since the Six Nations, it should have been a classic to whet the appetites of the American people for what is to come six years hence.

But what did rugby conspire to do? It did what is typical from those who run the sport - they appointed the most pedantic referee in the whole universe to take charge, an official who was happy to hold up play to adjust things if a penalty was taken a millimetre off the mark.

On a day when the sport should have been trying to sell itself as a fast paced game, a sport where things happen quicker than it does in the stop start American or grid-iron football the fans over there are used to, the first half lasted 52 minutes.

RIDICULOUS ONLY WORD TO DESCRIBE THAT RED CARD

Part of the reason for that was because there was another of those ridiculous red cards that have become such a blight on rugby and which, on this occasion, required a conference between the match officials that extended as long as a meeting of the US Senate might.

Ridiculous? Well, yes, it was ridiculous, because even the supposed victim of the action that saw Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne sent from the field appeared to see it as that. New Zealand flyhalf Beauden Barrett saw the incident for what it was - an understandable rugby incident that came about because of the misreading of a play and left the defending player with little option but to do what he did. When Barrett ran to the short side of a ruck in Ireland’s 22, he received the scrumhalf’s pass so flat that Beirne had no time to drop his hips or warp his arms in the tackle.

In other words, it was an unavoidable collision, and much like the Stormers’ Neethling Fouche last year when he was pinged for a high tackle when he actually had a knee on the ground, there really wasn’t much the Irish player could do other than what he did.

“I spoke to Tadhg after the game and I was gutted for him, to be honest,” said Barrett to the media afterwards. “It’s one of those unfortunate parts of the game. I didn’t expect the ball. I was hoping that Cam would have played the other option out the back.

The Springboks make a winning start to their Outgoing Tour ✅🏉

All focus is on Saturday's heavyweight clash at Stade de France 🍿#SSRugby | #QuilterNS pic.twitter.com/jnIqEEVrM1

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 3, 2025

“He had no option and he didn’t intentionally put a shot on me. I can’t hide fro the fact that I copped a shoulder to somewhere up there. That’s what happened. I will support him in terms of mitigating whatever happens next (at the Disciplinary Hearing) because I don’t feel there’s any intention there. It’s just unfortunate.”

REMOVE ‘INTENTION’ AND YOU REMOVE HALF THE CARDS

If you were to remove “intention” from any judgement on instances such as the one that blighted the game at Soldier Field many of the red cards that are shown by referees or, as was the case in this game, by the officials in the bunker, would not happen. Fouche wouldn’t have had to miss several Stormers games last season for a start.

And, seeing the Springboks are about to go into a seismic clash with France in Paris where there should be an overload of physicality and tension and the game could be decided by fine margins, the 2022 game between the sides in Marseille would not have been marred by the early red card shown to Bok flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Brent Russell knows a thing or two about France 👀

He thinks this might be the toughest test in the world right now for the Springboks 😤

Kick-off at 22:10 on Saturday night 📺 #SSRugby | #QuilterNS pic.twitter.com/tux1NTLyBG

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 3, 2025

On the positive side for World Rugby, there has been an advance made since then. While the red card did end Beirne’s game in Chicago, Ireland were only down to 14 men for 20 minutes following the decision to change what pertained at the last World Cup, where All Black captain Sam Cane’s red card meant he was off for the rest of the game.

Ireland coped quite well with the red card and any suggestion that they lost the game because of it would be wide of the mark. They led for the period before it was restored to a 15 against 15 game. And knowing that it was only 20 minutes they’d be down to 14 probably helped Ireland’s management of that period.

IT’S A CONTACT SPORT SO APPLY COMMON SENSE

But a situation where two players effectively bump into each other in unavoidable fashion, and it happens so often, should not lead to a red card. As the then Bok captain Jean de Villiers pointed out to the referee when he was studying an incident on the big screen during a game between SA and the Wallabies in Brisbane in 2013, “remember that rugby is a contact sport”.

Dead right, and while safety does obviously have to be a concern, there should also be common sense applied. There was no common sense in Chicago last weekend, and frankly the very fact that there will be a World Cup played in that country may be another example of the sport lacking common sense.

Yes, there’s a potential new market there, but the appetite may have been underlined by the club coached by Heyneke Meyer and Pote Human going bankrupt. Money of course is what makes the world go round, so that obviously does play a role, just as doubtless it did in having three international games scheduled for London this past weekend.

Was it a surprise Wembley was only a fraction populated for the game between the Boks and Japan? For some it might have been but not for anyone with common sense. But unfortunately rugby, with its myriad of annual law changes that leaves even the experts confused and perplexed, as opposed to just nine basic laws in soccer, falls short when it comes to common sense.

Selling to a new market is going to be impossible if the game is not simplified. It's the common sense thing to do...

South Africa assistant coach Felix Jones said on Monday he backed Asenathi Ntlabakanye after the prop was called up to the squad for the first time since testing positive for a non-performance enhancing substance in August.

The Lions' Ntlabakanye, 26, was ruled out of the Springboks' tour of New Zealand in September after returning an adverse finding and has replaced the injured Ox Nche in the set-up before Saturday's Autumn Nations Series game with France in Paris.

The two-time test front-rower is eligible to play, with his anti-doping hearing set for December and the 141kg front-rower disputes the alleged violation.

"I'm not going to comment on a case that's ongoing at the moment," Irishman Jones told reporters.

"I'm not sure the world knows about it yet, but his skill set is actually incredibly impressive.

"A very dynamic player, and he can get around for a guy who can handle himself on a scrum or on the ball," he added.

Ntlabakanye will compete with Gerhard Steenekamp and Boan Venter for a place in the Boks teams to face Les Bleus this weekend.

Bryan Habana didn’t just run fast. He made defenders question their life choices. When he hit top gear it looked like someone pressed the fast-forward button while everyone else was stuck on pause.

He scored 67 tries for the Springboks which is basically rugby’s version of a cheat code. Every time he got the ball you could almost hear the crowd thinking “Here we go again.”

World Cups were his playground. From that hat-trick against Samoa in 2007 to matching Jonah Lomu’s record for most tries in a single tournament Habana didn’t just show up. He stole the show.

And yes speed was his calling card but he was more than a sprinter in boots. Habana tackled hard worked tirelessly and led by example. He wasn’t just quick. He was clever committed and absolutely unforgettable. Honestly you couldn’t have picked anyone else for number 11 unless you were trying to start a riot.

It was very much the regulation victory that was expected but the Springbok triumph over Japan in the opening match of their five-game November tour did not go off without the introduction of considerable angst.

Siya Kolisi’s team face a formidable opponent in the captain’s 100th game at the weekend and it is also an opponent that is waiting for them. By all accounts, France are behaving out of their normal in the buildup to their clash with the world champions, who beat them by a solitary point in a massive World Cup quarterfinal on their own territory at the end of 2023.

It was the South African scrumming depth as much as the clutch kicking of Handre Pollard that got them home in that game. It will be recalled that the dominance they started to build in the second half prompted them to opt for a scrum inside their own half after fullback Damian Willemse called for a mark.

Up until about 10 days ago the Boks might have expected they could rely on a repeat recipe. However, in the 61-7 win over Japan at Wembley they lost Ox Nche to a tour ending injury and that has considerably undermined their chances of using the scrum as a big weapon at Stade de France on Saturday night.

Nche, along with Wilco Louw, has become the foremost go-too man for the Boks when the mission is to destroy an opposition scrum. Louw will be there. Nche won’t.

And what really adds to the Bok angst is that neither will Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who was the victim of what many consider a rather bizarre Vodacom URC disciplinary committee decision to ban him for eight weeks, without any concrete evidence of his wrong-doing, following an incident in the recent match between the Vodacom Bulls and Connacht.

It isn’t an exaggeration to describe Wessels as the new Nche and Malcolm Marx all rolled into one as the truth is he is either already world class or will become world class in both positions. Given Nche’s misfortune, it would have been as a loosehead that he would have been relied on this week and it would have been an important part of his learning curve as the Boks build towards the 2027 RWC in Australia.

Fortunately for the Boks, Gerhard Steenekamp, who missed the entire southern international season due to injury, is back in the mix, but it would have been Wessels’ presence that would have made up for the loss of Nche’s scrumming X-factor. If the Boks feel that their weaponry has been at the very least undermined, if not removed completely, it would be understandable.

SACHA BRINGS A DIFFERENT THREAT - EDDIE

However, one thing the Boks do have that they didn’t have in 2023 is Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Eddie Jones, the Japan coach, said it perfectly after the game - “He’s got seriously quick feet and a fantastic fend. Give him half an opportunity and he’s gone. That gives South Africa a different threat.”

The Boks already had a developing different threat when they last played France 23 and a half months ago. While Pollard landed the kick that won them the game, the South Africans would not have still been in it were it not for the X-factor and distribution skills that Manie Libbok brought to the Bok response to the three first half tries scored by France.

But the 23-year-old Feinberg-Mngomezulu is both those players rolled into one and more and has a wizardry about him that marks him as a generational talent. Jones is right - changes the extent of the threat posed to opposing teams completely, with the intense focus of the initial line of defenders wary of his stepping skills and explosiveness filtered by awareness that in a fraction of a second he can transfer the threat to the back three with his ability to kick into space from a flat lining position.

Often it is he himself who does the chasing and arrives at the opposing player or in the position of space, like he did at Kings Park against Argentina last month and again in the first half at Wembley, to score the try. He is a rare gift to the Boks, and he does bring an entirely different dynamic that will add to the Boks’ firepower in the same way as the absence of Nche and Wessels will subtract from it.

Apart from his two tries, with try scoring something he is making a habit of, his control of the game against Japan in the wet was an assuring indicator that he has been a good learner. He was the top performer in carries, metres made and defenders beaten, and also has field kicking skills as good if not better than the other two flyhalves.

CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS FIRST CHOICE


While paying lip service to the need to have three pivots capable of doing the job, and he isn’t wrong about that, coach Rassie Erasmus has clearly identified Feinberg-Mngomezulu as his No 1 flyhalf by playing him in the No 10 jersey in four games in a row.

You can never be entirely sure of what Erasmus will do when it comes to selection but it would be a surprise were Feinberg-Mngomezulu not to continue in that role against France and it will mean the hosts face a completely different dynamic to what they are used to from South Africa. In short, they are up against a team that will in time rival their injured skipper Antoine Dupont’s status as the world’s best player. If he is not already doing that.

Weekend international results in games involving the top teams

South Africa 61 Japan 7

New Zealand 26 Ireland 13

England 25 Australia 7

Scotland 85 USA 0

Asenathi Ntlabakanye joined the Springbok squad on Sunday as a replacement for Ox Nche, who suffered an injury during the team’s 61-7 victory against Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Ntlabakanye, who made his test debut in July against Italy In the Castle Lager Incoming Series after playing for the Boks for the first time against the Barbarians in June, joined the team in London on Sunday morning after representing the self-same Barbarians in their clash against the All Blacks XV at Twickenham on Saturday, and departed with the squad for France a few hours later.

The powerful prop scored a try for the Barbarians in the second minute, where they entered the break 19-7 up, before eventually going down 33-19 in the clash.

Nche was forced to leave the field in the 18th minute against Japan on Saturday, and returned to South Africa on Sunday, where he will undergo scans to determine the extent of his injury.

“We feel for Ox, and we wish him all the best with his injury and recovery,” said Erasmus.

“It’s always tough to lose a player of his calibre, but Asenathi is a capped Springbok and he has been with us for a large part of the season, so he is familiar with our structures and systems.

“Adding to that, he was on our standby list for the tour, so there was always a chance he would be called up if we suffered an injury. Fortunately, he was in London already, so he arrived at the team hotel this morning and will be able to slot back into action immediately, which is fantastic for us.”

The Springboks arrived in France on Sunday afternoon and will begin their on-field preparations for Saturday’s match at Stade de France on Monday.

The sign in the crowd said it all: 2015: Never again!

Simple, short and to the point. The Springboks were never going to revisit the memory of the Miracle of Brighton - as the rest of the world put it. This was Wembley, and a far more focused Springbok team simply did the business and put Japan to the sword in a 61-7 one-sided contest.

There were no shocks, and no last minute smiles by Eddie Jones. Brighton was a decade back and the Boks are a far different beast now to what they were then. In that first week of the World Cup it was a game made for complacency, for a shock and for the unknown.

As the Boks ran in nine tries for their victory, there wasn’t a thought on the result in the same country a decade back. The Boks had deflected it the entire week, even as the British press had tried hard to make it a narrative.

Before Brighton 2015 we would have hardly given a 61-7 scoreline between the Boks and Japan a second thought. Most Bok fans would have gone “mmm” and moved on. And that is what this game did.

TICKED THE BOXES

For all the playing up of narratives through the week, this game came down to a few things. It was the way to get the Japanese-based players - who know their opposition better than all their teammates - a run after a month on the sidelines.

Thank you @JRFURugby for a tough outing and good luck with the rest of your tour 🤝#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvJAP pic.twitter.com/5GAKxHSNXi

— Springboks (@Springboks) November 1, 2025

It was a confidence boosting matter and a ticking of the boxes, so to speak. A number of players got game time and ahead of the potentially massive Stade de France fixture against the aggrieved French next weekend that is all that counts.

But there were costs as well. The Boks found - at least by the crowd numbers - that playing at the same time as England in Great Britain doesn’t quite draw the crowds, especially when your opposition may not be first tier.

Japan may have pushed Australia to within four points last weekend, but it is hard to say this Bok team is anywhere near the same level as that. They have moved upwards, onwards and are on a different level.

OX INJURY COSTLY

The biggest cost was the injury to Ox Nche - the player who should walk the World Player of the Year award hands down, but probably won’t because of the precluding bias against front row players.

A big win in London as the Boks start the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour with a bang 👊#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvJAP pic.twitter.com/JNS4cLPw32

— Springboks (@Springboks) November 1, 2025

Nche limped off the field early on, felled by two Japanese players who conspired to take him out off the ball and with an awkward thump his game was over. The Bok staff will hope it is more stiff and sore than a lasting injury.

Not that the Boks lack depth in his place. Gerhard Steenekamp has done enough deputy duty to show he is ready for the task, but Paris is a whole different kettle of fish altogether and after their 2023 quarterfinal loss, the French will be seething with revenge. This coming week will be a very interesting week indeed.

The Rampaging Bull 🐂💥

Wilco Louw crashes over for his first try in Green and Gold 💪

📺 Stream #RSAvJAP on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw#SSRugby | @picknpayasap pic.twitter.com/0X9RER7nXa

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 1, 2025

There were also heavy sighs of relief when referee Eoghan Cross decided Wilco Louw’s audacious run and fend off of replacement scrumhalf Kenta Fukuda was just a penalty, when the TMO seemed to suggest leading with the elbow. A conspiracy theorist’s day would have been made had the decision been different.

GLIMPSES OF THE SFM SHOW

There were good moments too. We saw a glimpse of the SFM show as upstart Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stole the early limelight with two tries and put the Boks on the road to a predicted victory.

There was also the return of Kurt-Lee Arendse, who moved past Pieter Rossouw to go into ninth spot overall and be just one behind JP Pietersen on the all time scoring list with his brace.

A successful day out for Zachary Porthen on his debut 👏🇿🇦

📺 Stream #RSAvJAP on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/lTyAjArB78

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 1, 2025

But for the most part it was what was expected. The Bok pack would have too much power, their maul would be too strong and ultimately Japan would struggle to contain the power and pace of the Bok team.

There was never going to be a Brighton miracle. There was never going to be another upset. This was a regulation day at the park for the Bok team and they made sure they got enough in before Stade de France next weekend.

The carnage started as early as the fourth minute when in the second powerful maul, Japan’s defence disintegrated and captain Siya Kolisi went over.

Then the SFM show got rolling. First it was an audacious up and under that placed Seunsin Lee under pressure and when the flyhalf couldn’t collect and knocked it back, Feinberg-Mngomezulu snatched up the ball and scored with ease.

He then took the Boks further ahead with a show and go, putting on the pace after the dummy to surge through and score untouched.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s read when Japan finally got on the front foot also saved a try - intercepting a short pass that would have put Japanese veteran Michael Leitch over the line and stopping an almost certain try.

BOK PHYSICALITY ON TOP

Japan’s lack of physicality was shown up late in the first half when first their tighthead Shuhei Takeuchi was penalised at the scrum, then for sacking the lineout support at the ensuing corner kick lineout from the penalty. When he sacked the maul less than a minute later he received his marching orders from the referee.

Japan made it into the halftime whistle 26-0 down and lost another player when Ben Gunter clashed heads with Kolisi shortly after the break. While it was a yellow, it was a soft one at that and had them briefly down to 13 for a few seconds.

It didn’t matter much. Feinberg-Mngomezulu found a half gap, offloaded to Kwagga Smith who sent an inside pass to a rampaging Wilco Louw for the prop to claim his first Bok try.

Japan finally scored through fullback Yoshitaka Yosaki but it was to be their only happy moment for the evening.

HYBRID FLANKER ESTERHUIZEN GETS FIRST “FORWARD” TRY

Andre Esterhuizen officially appeared on the field as a flanker, then almost claimed his first try by rumbling over from a rolling maul, before the TMO disallowed it for RG Snyman double banking.

The power of the South African scrum cap strikes at Wembley 🇿🇦⚡#SSRugby | #RSAvJAP pic.twitter.com/fY1Y6yg9vC

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 1, 2025

But while Arendse added his name to the scoresheet shortly afterwards, a try coming again from a dropped ball in an aerial contest to land at the winger’s feet, it was Esterhuizen who smiled the most after finally getting his try in the 62nd minute with the Boks on attack, coming around the corner to barge through two defenders.

Arendse added his second, chasing down a counter attack started by Cheslin Kolbe to pick up a chip and slide in from 7 metres out.

The Rampaging Bull 🐂💥

Wilco Louw crashes over for his first try in Green and Gold 💪

📺 Stream #RSAvJAP on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw#SSRugby | @picknpayasap pic.twitter.com/0X9RER7nXa

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 1, 2025

And then Jesse Kriel - the same player who missed the fateful tackle in Brighton 10 years ago - scored the final try to finish off the massacre in a fitting way. A decade ago Kriel was heartbroken after the game, and there couldn’t be a more fitting finish for the Wembley outing than his name on the scoresheet.

A load of confidence and tries now follow the Boks from Wembley. France will make sure its not a hospitable welcome next Saturday when they get to the stadium. But the Boks will know that and after this, they will relish the opportunity to head to Paris.

Scorers

South Africa - tries: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Siya Kolisi, Penalty try, Wilco Louw, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Manie Libbok (4).

Japan - try: Yoshitaka Yosaki. Conversion: Seungsin Lee

Several South Africa players lining up against Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday carry vivid memories of the 'Miracle of Brighton', an upset that shook the Rugby World Cup a decade ago and which still sends shivers down Springbok spines today.

Among them is captain Siya Kolisi, who came off the bench as Japan snatched victory with a last-gasp try to beat the Springboks 34-32 in their 2015 tournament opener in Brighton.

South Africa would go on to finish third in the tournament, but it remains a day that left an indelible mark on the game in the country.

The Springboks have won their two clashes with Japan since, including knocking their hosts out of the 2019 World Cup in the quarterfinals on their way to lifting the trophy.

They will be favourites again and while the wounds of 10 years ago have been healed by two World Cup triumphs since, the Springboks are taking nothing for granted.

"We definitely do give them the respect that they deserve. They are a great team," Kolisi told reporters on Friday.

"You saw what they did last week against Australia (a 19-15 loss in Tokyo). That game was very close.

"We have a lot of players in Japan, and they have been able to tell us about the players who are playing tomorrow and the kind of players that they are. We are very prepared for this game."

Lock Lood de Jager and centre Jesse Kriel started against Japan in Brighton, with flanker Kolisi coming off the bench.

Others who featured that day but will not be involved at Wembley this weekend are lock Eben Etzebeth, flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit and flyhalf Handre Pollard.

"In 2015 it was a completely different group with a different mindset," Kolisi said. "We have to dominate the game physically, and we also have to control the breakdown because they play fast rugby.

"They don't go away, they are a very fit and well-structured team. They know their system and who they are, so it’s all about who can impose themselves on the other.

"We can't try to play like them. We are good at what we do. So what’s really important is who is going to stick to their game plan and enforce it on the other team."

Your #Springboks team to face Japan in London tomorrow 🙌
Catch all the action live on @SSRugby 📺#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/P4Id58bewr

— Springboks (@Springboks) October 31, 2025

Perhaps before Brighton in 2015, there was talk too about a game against Japan being a warmup opportunity for bigger tests to come, but it is unlikely there is the same peril in doing so again ahead of Saturday’s first Springbok outing of the November Autumn Series.

The excellent scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who later became the Bok captain in that tournament, warned his teammates about Eddie Jones’ Japan before that fateful opening game of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He knew Jones well after playing for him at Santori, he knew he’d have a plan, and in those days Jones was probably cleverer and more wily than the men in the South African dugout.

He was definitely more experienced, and would have sat with a cheeky smile on his face as the Boks came out playing at a million miles an hour trying to beat his team at their own game. It’s very different though at Wembley on Saturday - the Bok dugout has people who have been there for two World Cup wins, and last time they played Japan the approach was pitch perfect.

That was in Tokyo in the 2019 World Cup, when Japan astounded everyone by turning in a performance across their home tournament that saw them knock over both Ireland and Scotland en route to the playoffs.

Funny that, Ireland have also lost to Japan, but for some reason it is always the South African game that is remembered, with Jones understandably channeling that memorable September afternoon in England as the legacy Japan should focus on in the buildup.

There can be no doubt that Japan will come out determined, but the Boks in their two subsequent games against Japan have found the recipe. Both in the World Cup warmup game, which they won comfortably to cast aside any talk of Japan as a hoodoo team, and in the quarterfinal the Boks relied on their forwards to win it.

And that is what they should be looking for in the initial stages at Wembley - keep it tight, establish forward and physical dominance, and then watch the score mount up later in the game once the Japanese energy has been sapped.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus has chosen an experienced team, and more particularly he’s got a team of players that will know the Japan side well - Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Lood de Jager, and Malcolm Marx are all members of the starting team who play their club rugby in Japan, and Kurt-Lee Arendse has played there too.

Reserve flyhalf Manie Libbok is Japan based these days, although his exposure to the club game over there wouldn’t have happened as yet, and of course there’s the indefatigable Kwagga Smith.

So this team doesn’t need a Du Preez to tell them of the pitfalls of being complacent. Back then Du Preez was pretty much alone, but this team has been selected around Japan based players.

It also features several players who will be in line to play the big game against France the following week, and that is why this is really a warmup game - the Boks will be looking to get their combinations working and gelling their attacking plays and defensive organisation ahead of the visit to Paris to face the kings of Europe the following week.

Much will depend on how Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu controls the game at flyhalf. If the Boks are too loose initially it could be down to the classy pivot, who has such an array of skills that sometimes it must be really hard for him not to overplay. But he didn’t do that in his two games for the Stormers subsequent to a Rugby Championship ending where he showed good control.

There will be a lot of talk of Brighton, and of course this is the first time Japan are playing the Boks with Jones in charge since that game, but if there is anyone expecting Japan to push the Boks beyond maybe the first half they are being fanciful.

The Boks should win comfortably and, if we know Erasmus, there will be just enough elements of rust and areas to work on for the game seven days later to fit perfectly with his plan.

Perhaps the biggest focus will be on debutant tighthead Zachary Porthen, who is a rare find if he is wearing the Bok No 3 while still qualified to play under-21 rugby. He plays a position where players normally mature in their late twenties.

But he has Marx and Ox Nche with him, and RG Snyman and Lood de Jager behind him, so he should feel some degree of comfort as he makes the transition from being a player who has started just once for the Stormers into being a Springbok.

TEAMS

South Africa: Cheslin Kolbe, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, RG Snyman, Zachary Porthen, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Andre Esterhuizen, Kwagga Smith, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok.

Japan: Yoshitaka Yazaki, Kippei Ishida, Dylan Riley, Charlie Lawrence, Tomoki Asada, Seungsin Lee, Shinobu Fujiwara, Michael Leitch, Kanji Shimokawa, Ben Gunter, Warner Dearns, Jack Cornelsen, Shuheil Takeuchi, Kenji Santo, Kenta Kobayashi. Replacements: Shoai Hirao, Ryosuke Iwaihara, Keijiro Tamefusa, Tyler Paul, Faulua Makisi, Kenta Fukuda, Same Greene, Tiennan Costley.

Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

Kick-off: 6:10pm

Eddie Jones has called on his Japan team to try to emulate the 2015 side that pulled off one of rugby union's biggest shocks when they beat South Africa in a game that became known as the "Miracle of Brighton".

Japan, then coached by Jones in his first stint at the helm of the Brave Blossoms, upset the Springboks 34-32 in the southern English city in pool play of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

It was a first World Cup victory since 1991 and was a result that has seen them claim a seat at the sport's high table, albeit with some varying results along the way.

The last time the two sides met, the Boks came out 26-3 winners in the quarterfinal of the 2019 RWC, a tournament they went on to win on Japanese soil.

They contest just their fourth outing at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus hailing the fixture as a perfect opportunity to give his 12 Japan-based players some invaluable game time ahead of Autumn Series fixtures against France, Italy, Ireland, and Wales.

The Japanese, having been pipped 19-15 by Australia last week, will take on Ireland, Wales, and Georgia after Wembley.

"In terms of the history of Japanese rugby, obviously, 10 years ago was a pretty symbolic game for Japan," Jones said of the 2015 victory over the Boks.

"Now Japan, because of that game, get the chance to play such quality test matches: Australia last week, South Africa this week, Ireland, Wales, Georgia.

"It's up to this team now to make sure that the legacy of what happened in 2015 is enhanced.

"The players understand the responsibility they have. They enjoy the responsibility. So there's a chance to show how much we can handle that responsibility."

Jones added, "The opportunity is for this group of players to make their own headlines and we want this group of players to enjoy the spotlight that's going to be on them on Saturday and play with the cohesion and a physicality that's never been seen."

Bok coach Erasmus, who was not involved in the national set-up in 2015, said he had the utmost respect for Jones.

"I always have a lot of respect for him," said the South African who has overseen back-to-back World Cup triumphs for the Springboks.

"People always try to build up a thing between coaches, but he's one of the coaches I really respect.

"We have a bottle of wine, but we only give that when we're winning, so if he wants it, he must let us win!"

Jones said his players will back themselves more than in recent times.

"We know there'll be a time where South Africa gets some momentum, they'll get some possession, and that'll be the test of our defence and ultimately, in that period of time when they do get momentum, the stature of the game, the state of the game, the result of the game, will depend on the quality of the defence," the Australian said.

"The players have started taking a hell of a lot more pride in that we've got the ability to defend and defend for long periods against quality attack, and we know that's going to be tested on Saturday."

Erasmus countered that his backroom staff were "analysing Japan and how well they played last weekend and how they're building under Eddie and what they're trying to do".

Japan coach Eddie Jones has made only two changes to his starting line-up for the test against South Africa at Wembley on Saturday, looking for continuity after a narrow loss to Australia last week.

Charlie Lawrence replaces Shogo Nakano at centre while Kenji Sato will play at hooker in place of Hayate Era in the two alterations to the side that suffered a narrow 19-15 defeat in Tokyo last weekend.

Michael Leitch captains the side as he did against South Africa in their Rugby World Cup shock in Brighton in 2015 when Japan upset the Springboks 34-32 in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.

Team: 15–Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14–Kippei Ishida, 13–Dylan Riley, 12–Charlie Lawrence, 11–Tomoki Osada, 10–Lee Seung-sin, 9–Shinobu Fujiwara, 8–Michael Leitch (captain), 7–Kanji Shimokawa, 6–Ben Gunter, 5–Warner Dearns, 4–Jack Cornelsen, 3–Shuhei Takeuchi, 2–Kenji Sato, 1–Kenta Kobayashi

Replacements: 16–Shodai Hirao, 17–Ryosuke Iwaihara, 18–Keijiro Tamefusa, 19–Tyler Paul, 20–Faulua Makisi, 21–Kenta Fukuda, 22–Sam Greene, 23-Tiennan Costley.

The Boks are on tour, and you know what that means...

SuperSport's senior rugby commentator Matt Pearce grabs a sports celeb in the city the Springboks are playing - this time London for the match against Japan at Wembley on Saturday - and talks all things Boks, life and the guest's innermost secrets!

This week Matt catches up with Protea's spin wizard Simon Harmer, fresh off a match-winning 6-50 in the second innings of the second test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

The off-spinner is based in England having played for Essex since 2017.

Simon talks about his six-for, his relative who is playing against the Boks this weekend(!), his love for the Boks and captain Kolisi, a beer-backed chat with Temba B after the World Test Championship final, and looking ahead to the test series in India in November.

So hit play and take in the musings of a player who now has over 1 000 first-class wickets, becoming just the fourth South African - after Charlie Llewellyn (1013), Mike Procter (1417) and Allan Donald (1216)  - to achieve the feat.

The dust may be settled, and the verdict may be final, but there are still several questions swirling around the disciplinary process of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship that convicted Springbok utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels of foul play.

The eight week ban will stand and Wessels has no other option within the URC to appeal after his appeal was dismissed on Wednesday night. The only recourse still available to him is to take the matter to the Council for Arbitration in Sport if he feels aggrieved.

But the can of worms that the disciplinary process has opened could come back to haunt the league for a long time to come and while the Bulls tried everything in their power to put the best case forward for Wessels, there were some discrepancies that still need to be explained, and which may well make up a case if Wessels decides to take it further.

NEW MEDICAL EVIDENCE ENTERED AND IGNORED

The Bulls legal team particularly felt aggrieved at the fact that the most weight in the case was given to the testimony and report of Citing Commissioner Peter Ferguson, which had discrepancies that were simply accepted by the first disciplinary panel and again by the appeal panel.

Even in the appeal on Wednesday night, the committee dismissed the “De Novo” request - or do over - for a new trial given the discrepancies and found there “were not exceptional circumstances to allow the request.”

The Bulls also entered new medical evidence - including a Urologist report which disputed Murphy’s version of a 3-5 second grab and twist of the genitals, a human movement specialist report and a ruck specialist that backed up Wessels version that his leg was trapped and he was trying to move out, but all this was rejected by the panel.

The panel did not see any reason that the original panel “erred” in their decision and in effect agreed with Ferguson’s version of events, placing undue weight on the Citing Commissioner’s report.

CONVICTED PLAYER FOR THE UNSEEN, EXONERATED PLAYER FOR SEEN FOUL PLAY

The result is that, in effect, the same disciplinary panel has convicted a player for something unseen and for which there is no video evidence, bar an accusation from an opposing player, but exonerated the second player for a clear red-card offence that was seen and captured on video.

This alone reverses the hierarchy of proof — a textbook case of irrationality under administrative-law standards. Not only that, World Rugby’s Regulation 18 and its Judicial Officer Handbook impose three non-negotiable duties on disciplinary panels:

- Consistency of sanctioning. Comparable acts must yield comparable outcomes.

- Fair and impartial application of evidence. The same evidentiary thresholds apply to both sides.

- Protection against bias. Decisions must be (and be seen to be) independent of nationality, club, or emotional context.

Fans can make up their own minds if this applies to this case.

Both panels relied on the “eyewitness” testimony of Ferguson, who works for the Irish Rugby Union as a citing commissioner. Ferguson claimed he had direct line of contact of the incident, from about 20 metres away.

The Bulls pointed out that the nearest stand is currently closed for the public, and therefore couldn’t have been 20 metres away as claimed, but is more likely to have been 50 metres away on the other side of the field.

ONLY ONE SIDE WAS IN REPORT

Ferguson then also wrote his report after speaking to the accuser Josh Murphy, who had just been sent off for punching Wessels in the back of the head, getting himself a 20-minute red card.

The fact that Ferguson did not seek out Wessels’ version of events is questionable in itself, and seems to have based his entire report on just Murphy’s version of events.

Ferguson’s report gave the impression he saw something the referee, two assistant referees, a television match official and countless replays couldn’t see.

“I was present at the match, positioned approximately 20 metres from the incident. My direct line of sight corroborated the sequence of events as described by Murphy and partially captured on video,” he said in his report.

The way the disciplinary process works, meant that the report was taken on “the balance of probabilities” and therefore Wessels had to prove the citing commissioner was wrong to be exonerated.

NOT ALLOWED TO CROSS-EXAMINE

The Bulls weren’t allowed to cross-examine Murphy or Ferguson, and the committee chose to give weight to Murphy’s testimony because Wessels’ oral evidence was “brief” in comparison to Murphy’s, which was deemed “clear and detailed by the Committee.”

The fact that Murphy had two previous red cards and a poor disciplinary record, and had reason not to receive a third ban, which would have been lengthy, was “considered but notwithstanding this the Committee found his evidence to be credible.”

Wessels, for now, will have to sit out the eight games as per the sanction, unless he takes it further. Even that will take time, but is perhaps worth it if he feels aggrieved.

And now that he has been branded a dirty player, if he is ever in a disciplinary hearing again he will be treated as a player with a poor disciplinary record, who will receive larger sanctions if found guilty.

The whole exercise leaves a bad taste in the mouth and leaves so many questions unanswered. The URC has said both hearings’ reports will be released “for review” but has said the matter is closed, so nothing further will happen either way.

The precedent that has been set, and the long-term damage that awaits rugby as a result will reverberate for years to come.

While the return to England to face Japan has brought up some memories of the 2015 Rugby World Cup shock, the current Springbok side aren’t really thinking back to that day in Brighton ahead of their clash with Eddie Jones’ side at Wembley on Saturday.

There is a big sense of deja vu for some British press members this week. After all Eddie Jones was Japan’s coach then and after stints at England and Australia, is Japan’s coach again. The setting is similar, but the stakes are not quite the same.

So it was inevitable that coach Rassie Erasmus would be asked about that day in Brighton, when the biggest World Cup shock ever took place, and lowly Japan rocked the Springboks in their opening World Cup game.

PLAYED JAPAN TWICE SINCE 2015

Still, the Boks have played Japan twice since then, including a highly-charged quarterfinal in Japan in 2019, and come through unscathed, and the once-burnt, twice shy approach will ensure that they don’t underestimate the Japanese side again in any way.

Erasmus was asked about his memories of the day, and didn’t really want to take the bait. It was clear the Bok coach was more focused on the here and now than nostalgia.

“Yes, I think I can remember where I was. Yes, 100 per cent,” Erasmus smiled, then pivoted.

“But we've played them twice since then, you know. One warm-up match and one quarterfinal. I think it was a quarterfinal, it was a play-off game in Japan. (The 2015 game) will always be one of the iconic wins for them, and that's well done. Like our first loss against Italy, I remember that match.

“I remember when we first lost to Wales, I was a player. We were playing at the Millennium Stadium. I can remember clearly where I was there, because Mark Taylor was in the centre and he ran over me and he scored the winning try. So those kinds of things happen.

“We all have been part of history-making things. Australia beat us for the first time in a long time at Ellis Park. That wasn't a nice feeling. I guess for Japan that will always be one of their greatest moments, and obviously that will motivate them.

PLANNING FOR PRESENT, NOT PAST

“But I don't think we, at this stage, think about that. When we're planning a game, we are analysing Japan and how well they played last weekend and how they're building under Eddie and what they're trying to do. We always try to make plans and see how we can win the next match. But none of us can run away from how well they did in that game.

“I was in my bar, if you want to know exactly, at home, watching the game.”

Rassie was also playing down any sort of rivalry with Jones, who is known as one of the most outspoken coaches in the world. Both coaches have ample respect for each other and Erasmus was keen to point that out, and added if there was a bottle of red on the line, Eddie’s side needed to win the test match to claim it.

RESPECT FOR EDDIE

“My first interaction with Eddie was when I was with the 2007 World Cup team before they were going to leave, and I was working with them, and then I got the stormers job, and then Eddie took over from me.

“ I was there for about three or four matches with him in a training camp in Cape Town, and we were there. That was the first time we really started exchanging rugby talk and so on, and I know a lot has been said about Eddie as a guy that speaks his mind.

“ I enjoy people who do those kinds of things, and he was one of the guys when I got banned, he picked up the phone and phoned me and supported me, sort of. He told me in so many words that those were stupid things, but he understands why and how. I always had a lot of respect for him, and I think people always try to build up a thing between coaches, but he's one of the coaches I really respect.

“We do have a bottle or five afterwards but we only do that when we're winning, so if he wants it, he must do it.”

The big headline may well be Zachary Porthen’s inclusion at the age of 20 to make his debut before he has made double figures at franchise level, but there is always method in the team selection by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.

Porthen’s inclusion was because he has been so highly-rated by Daan Human, Erasmus’s scrum guru, and the Boks see this as the perfect opportunity to give him a start.

It may be a bit left field, but the youngster will be protected by a very experienced rest of the tight five, and there is a full front row on the bench that can come on at any moment should they be needed.

Erasmus also knows that to start is often better than to play a youngster off the bench.

As he said on Tuesday the nerves may get to him, so it is easier to throw him straight in.

Porthen is seen as a future prospect and joins the likes of Ollie le Roux, who was just younger than him when he made his Bok debut and Frans Malherbe, a year older when he got into the Bok team.

The more interesting selections come as the Boks are without some overseas based players - but Erasmus did admit that this test was specifically put there to ensure their Japanese-based players get some game time.

The genius of playing the Japanese based players against their teammates is one thing, but it also gives the Boks the luxury of having a squad that is match ready when they get to Stade de France next weekend.

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Rassie Erasmus names his Springbok team to face Japan 🇿🇦🇯🇵

Zach Porthen will make his debut in the three jersey 👏

Kick-off at Wembley Stadium is at 18:10 on Saturday evening 📺#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/8W6vhUQgKO

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 28, 2025

KOLBE AT FULLBACK

So Cheslin Kolbe is at fullback because Damian Willemse’s hamstring is still not 100 per cent and the Boks don’t want to risk him.

It will be Kolbe’s second start at fullback, the first being in 2022 against Ireland in a game that the Boks narrowly lost.

There’s a return for Kurt-Lee Arendse, who makes his way back into the team after missing most of the Rugby Championship with injury.

Ethan Hooker predictably keeps his spot on the other wing.

The centre pairing of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende continue to be the rocks in the midfield while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach continue their partnership behind the scrum.

The only Japanese based player that isn’t playing is Pieter-Steph du Toit, who is rested, while Eben Etzebeth is also taking a breather.

That means the Japanese contingent is basically Kolbe, KLA, Kriel and De Allende, Franco Mostert (at 7), Lood de Jager and Malcolm Marx.

RG Snyman has been released by Leinster to play for the Boks this week, making it a very mobile pack that will be used to the pace of the game.

If you include Manie Libbok and Kwagga Smith on the bench, the Japanese based contingent grows even further.

GAME SPECIFICALLY TO GIVE JAPANESE-BASED PLAYERS GAME TIME

“It wasn't really a big challenge. We actually organised this game, this extra game against Japan, especially for the guys who play in the Japanese league, because they would have not played a lot of rugby if they didn't play a lot of test matches for us, and this fixture was organised for them,” Erasmus said.

“I think there's about 11 or 12 guys, we count Manie as well now, who actually play in the Japanese league. The plan was always to get these guys some game time, because we found in the past that when we go on the end of year tour, previously when we played Ireland and France and teams like that, we had a bit of a slow start.

“Some of our players who were based in Japan hadn’t really played a lot of rugby, and that's why this fixture was here. So you'll see the bulk of the guys are Japanese-based. I think the only guy that's not been picked, that probably could have been picked, is Pieter-Steph.

“We pick players from all over the world, we totally understand the logistics around the different protocols and different competitions, and when we start planning our season, we know that already. Like the Welsh test match at the end of the year will also be a bit of a challenge, because there's UFC fixtures on for some of our franchises that specific weekend.

POSITIVES

“But on the other hand, it's also the positive that we still can put a pretty strong team out there, and guys like Eben are not playing, guys like Canan Moodie and Damian Willemse aren’t playing.

“There's Faf de Klerk, he's not even in this group, because we wanted to get some game time in the Japanese league, because he would not have been in the mix for this specific game. So I can probably name quite a lot of more players, but I don't want to let it sound like I'm moaning. So no, we're fairly happy that this is what we wanted to try and achieve.

“Now the job is to try and go and win the match.”

Of Porthen being named in the starting team in his first week with the squad, Erasmus said: “He proved at Vodacom United Rugby Championship level and with the Junior Springboks what he can do, and we are looking forward to seeing what he can offer in his first test match.

“Obviously, he has a lot to learn this week, but we have experienced players in the squad who have been helping and guiding him, and we believe this is the right match to give him an opportunity to prove what he can do.

“At this level, you have to sink or swim, so although it will be a challenging week for him to learn our structures, it will also be a very exciting week for him.”

Zach Porthen is set for his Springbok debut this weekend and Rassie is keen to see how he performs.

🗣️ "He'll be nervous but I think physically he'll be up for it and we'll help him to be mentally ready."#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/NqtzIUai83

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 28, 2025

RESPECT FOR EDDIE

Commenting on the challenge Japan posed, Erasmus said it would be a tough encounter, especially if one looks at the strides they have made in the last few years.

“They are a quality team, and they have a top coach in Eddie Jones, so we have no doubt they’ll throw everything at us,” said Erasmus.

“They beat us in 2015, and they showed what a quality outfit they are in the first half of our 2019 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against them, so we are expecting them to come out guns blazing.

“They also lost by only four points against Australia last weekend, which is a testament to the improvement they have been making, so we need to be sharp on attack and defence if we want to get the result.

“Very little separates the top teams in the world, and if you are not on your game both mentally and physically on the day, anything can happen. So, we will treat them with the utmost respect, and we also know how important this match will be to set the tone for the rest of our tour.”

The match kicks off at 6:10pm (SA time) and will be broadcast live and exclusively on SuperSport.

Springbok team to face Japan in London:

15 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 46 caps, 126 points (21t, 3c, 5p)

14 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 5 caps, 0 points

13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 84 caps, 95 points (19t)

12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 93 caps, 55 points (11t)

11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 27 caps, 105 points (21t)

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) - 15 caps, 104 points (3t, 28c, 11p)

9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 46 caps, 85 pts (17t)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 39 caps, 10 points (2t)

7 Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 81 caps, 20 points (4t)

6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 98 caps, 65 points (13t)

5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 71 caps, 25 points (5t)

4 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 46 caps, 15 points (3t)

3 Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers) – uncapped

2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 84 caps, 135 pts (27t)

1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 46 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 points

17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 5 points (1t)

18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 24 caps, 0 pts

19 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 13 caps, 0 pts

20 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 24 caps, 10 pts (2t)

21 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 59 caps, 55 points (11t)

22 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 24 caps, 25 pts (5t)

23 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 24 caps, 133 pts (2t, 42c, 13p)

Rassie explains the thinking behind naming Andre Esterhuizen in the 20 jersey this weekend.

🗣️ "Everyone thinks we eye him as six flanker in this game and rightly so, that's the way we see him in this game."#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/hwbMIYziN4

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 28, 2025

STATS & FACTS

Springbok record against Japan

Played 3; Won 2; Lost 1; Drawn 0; Points for: 99, Points against: 44; Tries scored 12, Tries conceded 4; Highest score 41-7; Biggest winning margin 34 points. Win per cent 66.7 per cent.

Miscellaneous:

- The Springboks’ only defeat against Japan was in 2015, when they went down 34-32 in Brighton in their Rugby World Cup pool opener.

- The last time the teams crossed paths was in the 2019 RWC quarterfinal in Tokyo, where the Boks registered a 26-3 victory, and went on to be crowned the world champions for the third time in history.

- Siya Kolisi will play his 99th test match, leaving him only one game short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game.

- Zachary Porthen captained the Junior Springboks last year and will become Springbok #953 on Saturday.

- Jesse Kriel has scored 95 test points in his 84 tests and requires only five to make it to 100 in the green and gold.

- The total test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 781. There are 316 caps in the backline, with 465 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 182 caps.

- The average caps per player in the backline is 45, the forwards 58, while the players on the bench average 23.

While much of the focus of the Springboks end of year tour has been on the massive clashes with France and Ireland, there is a more subtle, more focused method in the madness of playing four consecutive weeks that could pay off well in 2027.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is not someone who fails to plan, and as we have already seen this year, the way the Boks have navigated this season has been not without its own pitfalls, but in the process a new generation of Springboks is emerging and the hope is that they will continue to develop in the lead up to the World Cup title defence in 2027.

To do this, the Boks have set themselves up in almost World Cup mode. At the recent Castle Lager Rugby Championship, Erasmus had spoken several times about taking on a tournament mode after the shock loss to Australia at Ellis Park.

The analogy was simple. The Boks have five more games in the Rugby Championship, win one in New Zealand and then it becomes like a semifinal against Argentina, with a final at Twickenham the week after.

PLOTTED THEIR RETURN

For those not knowing the way the Bok management plans their seasons, this talk may have been strange from the outside, but it showed how the team handled adversity and a shock loss and how they plotted their return.

There was the solemn belief in the younger players to show their best side, there was the ultimate support role for some of the double World Cup winners and there was a firm plan and focus on winning three back-to-back games to win the Rugby Championship.

The result was the first back to back Rugby Championship title for the Boks in history and another milestone for Erasmus as coach of the side.

Now, with two games outside the test window, the Boks haven’t said it out loud, but the scheduling indicates they are very much in a World Cup mode with the way they have planned their games for this tour in November.

They take on Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales in consecutive weeks and this isn’t too far off the scenario that they will face when they face the best in the world in a World Cup.

Think about it - a plucky upcoming nation as a first game in the World Cup, then facing your main pool contender, then another tricky test that you can’t get wrong. Then another pool contender and then a nation that will test you.

INTENSE FIVE WEEKS

While Japan, Wales and Italy aren’t likely to test the Boks too much, the intensity of five weeks of action like this could be crucial to handling the pressure of being in a World Cup shootout.

It is likely the Boks will need to overcome similar odds at the World Cup, even though the tournament has been extended to more teams.

At least from the latter part of the pool stages, the Boks will face the same sort of pressure and while there are double World Cup winners who have done it, there are also young players who haven’t experienced that sort of pressure for five consecutive weeks.

As always it is also a chance to hone your game plan under pressure and try out new combinations. There is no doubt that Erasmus will chop and change during the tour as he has done for the past few seasons.

The key is to pick the right combinations to perform under pressure, and the Boks have done that well.

WORLD CUP DRAW

Against all of this is the backdrop of the World Cup draw being made after these November internationals where South Africa is hoping for an easier draw than last time out where they had Scotland and Ireland in their pool and France in a quarterfinal.

But as that showed, the road may be more difficult, but it is not something the team could not overcome.

And if they get their planning right over the next five weeks, there will be a new batch of players ready for the pressures of a World Cup when it comes around.

The views expressed in this article are those of senior rugby writer Brenden Nel, and do not necessarily reflect those of SuperSport

The travesty surrounding the nine-week ban for Springbok utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels has played itself out this past week and there is only one thing to take from it - we’re all losers in the process.

Wessels, of course, is the biggest loser here, and if the appeal is upheld, will lose more than R1-million in revenue over the next nine weeks, after being accused of an act that he denies, and of which there is no substantive evidence that it actually happened.

Connacht player Josh Murphy accused Wessels of grabbing him between the legs and “twisting” in an incident he said lasted 3-5 seconds. Now while this version of events is unlikely, and the time mentioned doesn’t correspond with the video footage available, it was accepted by a three-person panel that found Wessels guilty.

They rejected Wessels version that he was trapped at the bottom of the ruck, couldn’t see Murphy and pushed his arm out to try and free his leg. His defence was, at the very least, understandable given the dynamic environment that is a ruck on a rugby field.

Was there contact? Perhaps. Was it intentional? Who knows? The point is that disciplinary hearings need to focus on facts, and their finding “on the balance of probabilities” is bizarre and gobsmacking to say the least.

PRECEDENT SET

There are several other incidents where players have been exonerated for the lack of video evidence that is out there. Kyle Sinckler was accused of biting Franco Mostert during the British and Irish Lions tour of 2021, Bongi Mbonambi was accused by Tom Curry of a racial slur during the World Cup semifinal in 2023. Both incidents were dismissed for lack of evidence after the fact.

But here a URC disciplinary panel has found that they feel something must have happened. This despite the fact that a referee, two assistant referees and a television match official (who recently officiated the Women’s World Cup final) could not find conclusive evidence of the accusation.

The precedent that has been set is scary in itself. Players can be convicted on an accusation, without evidence. The can of worms that has been opened is something rugby may well regret.

What they did find was clear evidence of a double punch to the back of the head of Wessels, in reaction by Murphy and red carded him as a result.

But the disciplinary committee has not only found that Wessels has committed an act that there is no evidence for, but they have also gone against World Rugby’s own recommendations for the punch - which is a straight red card - and rescinded it so that Murphy could play again.

RAISES A LOT OF QUESTIONS

Why the same disciplinary committee sat for both incidents raises a lot of questions, especially in terms of bias and fairness? Why they allowed the citing commissioner to give a report that was clearly biased and devoid of facts is also strange?

The Irish citing commissioner spoke to the Irish player afterwards and believed him, claimed he was 20 metres from the incident and saw it clearly. Strangely the closest stand to the incident was closed for the public, so the commissioner had to be on the other side of the field, some 50 metres away.

And his version was accepted above the match officials. Did he speak to Wessels afterwards as well? We don’t know but it is unlikely. So he formed his opinion on a single version of someone he knew well.

The fact the disciplinary committee states in its findings that it was therefore down to Wessels and his representatives to prove that the citing commissioner wrong, and the burden of proof was on him makes it sound as if he was guilty until proven innocent.

The same burden will apply in the appeal as well. In the hearing the committee said they saw both players as “credible witnesses” but Wessels’ oral evidence was “brief” in comparison to Murphy’s, which was deemed “clear and detailed by the Committee.”

The fact that Murphy had his own reasons to want to be believed, as he has been red-carded before and faced a significant ban was taken into account by the committee, but not deemed a significant factor.

SO MANY LOSERS ACROSS THE BOARD

Wessels is the biggest loser here, but so is the disciplinary process, which has been shown up to be a farce with the way they have handled the entire matter. The fact there is no transcript of the hearing, that the written judgement took so long to get to the Bulls and that it gave the impression that something untoward was going on behind the scenes is a very bad look.

The URC are also losers here, as they have been lambasted by rugby fans wanting justice - but they have nothing to do with the process. It is an independent process handled outside their jurisdiction - for the precise reason that they can’t be involved. But they have taken a lot of flack as a result.

SA Rugby and the Bulls are victims as they lose a key player ahead of key games as well. Fans are victims as well as they lose confidence in what should be an open process, and feel there is a vendetta against South African players.

If there is one lesson to be learnt out of all this it is that franchises and the Boks need to be on a war footing. This will not be the last disciplinary travesty to take place and they need to be prepared.

While I don’t know this to be the case, perhaps the Bulls were a bit complacent at what they were going to face, but if it wasn’t clear then, it is clear now.

WAR FOOTING NEEDED

And all SA teams will have to be ready to defend every charge as if it was the worst. There may not be an anti-SA bias, but that doesn’t excuse the legal teams for not being on a footing as if there was.

In every sport when one team dominates, the rest of the league/competitors can’t wait for them to lose.

It wasn’t surprising to see Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times in London on Sunday acknowledge the Boks are in good form, but in the same breath acknowledge he wants the Boks to lose.

“Will they maintain the old philosophy, with which they won the past two World Cups — a massive pack and a massive replacement pack (the “bomb squad”) but with genuine world-class talent behind the scrum. It is decades since they were only a forward machine. Now they are just a machine. I do know how much we’d love to turn them off,” he wrote this past weekend.

Jones is not alone, there are many wanting the Boks to fail. I do not believe there is a conspiracy against the national side, but the success creates envy and jealousy and it is a short road to something more.

The best thing SA Rugby can do between now and 2027 is to be prepared for anything. And make sure there aren’t more victims in the process.