South Africa 61 - 7 Japan

Full time

01 Nov 2025

International Friendlies

Stage: Regular Season Round 1

Wembley Stadium

South Africa vs Japan head to head

🎉 2

👏 1

💩 1

🔥 3

😭 3

South Africa showcased their dominance against Japan with a resounding 61-7 victory at Wembley Stadium. The Springboks opened the scoring early with a try from Kolisi, followed by a stellar performance from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who notched two tries and three conversions before halftime. Japan struggled to gain momentum, receiving two yellow cards that hampered their efforts. Despite this, Yazaki managed to score a consolation try for Japan in the second half, converting it through Lee. South Africa continued to pile on the pressure, with contributions from Louw, Arendse, and Esterhuizen, each adding to the scoreline. The Springboks' relentless attack and solid defense left Japan unable to keep pace. This match highlighted South Africa's strength ahead of upcoming competitions.

Broadcasters

Where to watch in: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom

Weather

Temperature: 12.6°C (Feels like 9.0°C) Condition: Cloudy Wind: 15.8 km/h, gusting to 37.4 km/h Humidity: 78% Cloud Cover: 90%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
3'

Try

Siya Kolisi · South Africa

5 - 0
4'

Conversion

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu · South Africa

7 - 0
12'

Try

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu · South Africa

12 - 0
13'

Conversion

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu · South Africa

14 - 0
17'

Try

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu · South Africa

19 - 0
18'

Substitution

Gerhard Steenekamp on for Ox Nche · South Africa
35'

Yellow Card

Shuhei Takeuchi · Japan
35'

Penalty Try

No Player · South Africa

26 - 0
Halftime 26 - 0
Second Half
42'

Yellow Card

Ben Gunter · Japan
44'

Substitution

Johan Grobbelaar on for Malcolm Marx · South Africa
44'

Substitution

Wilco Louw on for Zachary Porthen · South Africa
44'

Substitution

Andre Esterhuizen on for Siya Kolisi · South Africa
44'

Substitution

Kwagga Smith on for Jasper Wiese · South Africa
45'

Yellow Card Complete

Shuhei Takeuchi · Japan
46'

Try

Wilco Louw · South Africa

31 - 0
47'

Conversion

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu · South Africa

33 - 0
47'

Substitution

Faulua Makisi on for Michael Leitch · Japan
51'

Try

Yoshitaka Yazaki · Japan

33 - 5
52'

Conversion

Seungsin Lee · Japan

33 - 7
52'

Yellow Card Complete

Ben Gunter · Japan
53'

Substitution

Grant Williams on for Cobus Reinach · South Africa
53'

Substitution

Manie Libbok on for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu · South Africa
53'

Substitution

Tiennan Costley on for Charlie Lawrence · Japan
57'

Try

Kurt-Lee Arendse · South Africa

38 - 7
58'

Conversion

Manie Libbok · South Africa

40 - 7
61'

Substitution

Tyler Paul on for Kanji Shimokawa · Japan
62'

Try

Andre Esterhuizen · South Africa

45 - 7
63'

Conversion

Manie Libbok · South Africa

47 - 7
63'

Substitution

Keijiro Tamefusa on for Shuhei Takeuchi · Japan
63'

Substitution

Ryosuke Iwaihara on for Kenta Kobayashi · Japan
64'

Substitution

Shodai Hirao on for Kenji Sato · Japan
65'

Substitution

Kenta Fukuda on for Shinobu Fujiwara · Japan
66'

Try

Kurt-Lee Arendse · South Africa

52 - 7
67'

Conversion

Manie Libbok · South Africa

54 - 7
67'

Substitution

Sam Greene on for Seungsin Lee · Japan
67'

Substitution

Ruan Nortje on for Lood de Jager · South Africa
67'

Substitution

Shuhei Takeuchi on for Keijiro Tamefusa · Japan
70'

Substitution

Cobus Reinach on for Ethan Hooker · South Africa
78'

Try

Jesse Kriel · South Africa

59 - 7
79'

Conversion

Manie Libbok · South Africa

61 - 7
Fulltime 61 - 7

Player ratings

South Africa

15 Cheslin Kolbe 7.9
14 Ethan Hooker 7.0
13 Jesse Kriel 7.1
12 Damian de Allende 7.6
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse 9.6
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 8.8
9 Cobus Reinach 6.5
1 Ox Nche 6.3
2 Malcolm Marx 6.6
3 Zachary Porthen 7.1
4 RG Snyman 6.5
5 Lood de Jager 6.8
6 Siya Kolisi 7.8
7 Franco Mostert 7.6
8 Jasper Wiese 6.9
16 Johan Grobbelaar 7.0
17 Gerhard Steenekamp 7.2
18 Wilco Louw 7.5
19 Ruan Nortje 6.2
20 Andre Esterhuizen 7.4
21 Kwagga Smith 7.0
22 Grant Williams 7.0
23 Manie Libbok 6.7

Japan

15 Yoshitaka Yazaki 7.3
14 Kippei Ishida 5.4
13 Dylan Riley 6.3
12 Charlie Lawrence 6.5
11 Tomoki Osada 6.4
10 Seungsin Lee 6.1
9 Shinobu Fujiwara 5.4
1 Kenta Kobayashi 6.7
2 Kenji Sato 6.8
3 Shuhei Takeuchi 5.4
4 Jack Cornelsen 6.8
5 Warner Dearns 6.4
6 Ben Gunter 4.9
7 Kanji Shimokawa 5.5
8 Michael Leitch 6.3
16 Shodai Hirao 6.2
17 Ryosuke Iwaihara 6.2
18 Keijiro Tamefusa –
19 Tyler Paul 6.3
20 Faulua Makisi 6.2
21 Kenta Fukuda 5.9
22 Sam Greene 5.6
23 Tiennan Costley 5.9