South Africa 45 - 21 England

Full time

04 Jul 2026

Nations Championship

Stage: Southern Hemisphere Round 1

Ellis Park

South Africa vs England head to head

🎉 3

👏 1

💩 1

🔥 3

😭 4

South Africa showcased a dominant performance against England, finishing the match with a score of 45-21. Thomas du Toit opened the scoring with a try, followed quickly by Cheslin Kolbe's effort, giving South Africa an early 12-0 lead. England responded with tries from Ellis Genge and George Martin, reducing the deficit to 17-14 after the first half. However, South Africa pulled away in the second half, with Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx scoring tries that extended their lead significantly. Kolbe converted all but one of South Africa's tries, proving instrumental in their victory. England struggled to maintain discipline, receiving two yellow cards late in the match. Ultimately, South Africa's relentless attack and solid defense secured a convincing win at Ellis Park.

Broadcasters

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

Weather

Temperature: 15.7°C (Feels like 14.5°C) Condition: Clear Wind: 7.2 km/h, gusting to 15.6 km/h Humidity: 18% Cloud Cover: 0%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
2'

Try

Thomas du Toit · South Africa

5 - 0
5'

Try

Cheslin Kolbe · South Africa

10 - 0
6'

Conversion

Cheslin Kolbe · South Africa

12 - 0
8'

Substitution

Gerhard Steenekamp on for Ox Nche · South Africa
11'

Try

Kurt-Lee Arendse · South Africa

17 - 0
27'

Yellow Card

Kurt-Lee Arendse · South Africa
35'

Try

Ellis Genge · England

17 - 5
35'

Conversion

Fin Smith · England

17 - 7
37'

Yellow Card Complete

Kurt-Lee Arendse · South Africa
Halftime 17 - 7
Second Half
41'

Try

George Martin · England

17 - 12
41'

Conversion

Fin Smith · England

17 - 14
44'

Try

Grant Williams · South Africa

22 - 14
45'

Conversion

Cheslin Kolbe · South Africa

24 - 14
45'

Substitution

Marco van Staden on for Paul de Villiers · South Africa
45'

Substitution

Ben-Jason Dixon on for Cameron Hanekom · South Africa
49'

Substitution

Zachary Porthen on for Thomas du Toit · South Africa
54'

Substitution

Alex Mitchell on for Jack van Poortvliet · England
54'

Substitution

Guy Pepper on for Tom Curry · England
54'

Substitution

Henry Slade on for Cadan Murley · England
55'

Substitution

Luke Cowan-Dickie on for Jamie George · England
56'

Try

Jesse Kriel · South Africa

29 - 14
57'

Conversion

Cheslin Kolbe · South Africa

31 - 14
58'

Substitution

Henry Pollock on for George Martin · England
58'

Substitution

Beno Obano on for Ellis Genge · England
65'

Substitution

Asher Opoku-Fordjour on for Joe Heyes · England
65'

Substitution

Andre Esterhuizen on for Jasper Wiese · South Africa
65'

Substitution

Jan-Hendrik Wessels on for Gerhard Steenekamp · South Africa
66'

Substitution

Cobus Reinach on for Grant Williams · South Africa
67'

Try

Alex Coles · England

31 - 19
67'

Substitution

Canan Moodie on for Kurt-Lee Arendse · South Africa
68'

Conversion

Fin Smith · England

31 - 21
69'

Yellow Card

Tommy Freeman · England
71'

Yellow Card

Guy Pepper · England
72'

Try

Malcolm Marx · South Africa

36 - 21
73'

Conversion

Cheslin Kolbe · South Africa

38 - 21
74'

Substitution

Charlie Ewels on for Alex Coles · England
75'

Substitution

Jasper Wiese on for Andre Esterhuizen · South Africa
78'

Try

Ben-Jason Dixon · South Africa

43 - 21
79'

Conversion

Cheslin Kolbe · South Africa

45 - 21
79'

Yellow Card Complete

Tommy Freeman · England
81'

Yellow Card Complete

Guy Pepper · England
Fulltime 45 - 21

Player ratings

South Africa

15 Damian Willemse 8.4
14 Cheslin Kolbe 8.4
13 Jesse Kriel 7.2
12 Damian de Allende 7.4
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse 5.3
10 Manie Libbok 6.4
9 Grant Williams 7.7
1 Ox Nche –
2 Malcolm Marx 9.1
3 Thomas du Toit 7.5
4 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6.8
5 Ruan Nortje 6.9
6 Paul de Villiers 6.5
7 Cameron Hanekom 7.5
8 Jasper Wiese 7.5
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 6.6
17 Gerhard Steenekamp 7.0
18 Zachary Porthen 7.1
19 Marco van Staden 6.7
20 Ben-Jason Dixon 7.5
21 Cobus Reinach 6.5
22 Andre Esterhuizen 5.9
23 Canan Moodie 6.5

England

15 Marcus Smith 6.8
14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 6.9
13 Tommy Freeman 4.8
12 Seb Atkinson 6.4
11 Cadan Murley 6.4
10 Fin Smith 7.3
9 Jack van Poortvliet 6.0
1 Ellis Genge 7.5
2 Jamie George 6.6
3 Joe Heyes 6.8
4 Alex Coles 7.6
5 George Martin 7.6
6 Ollie Chessum 6.2
7 Tom Curry 6.4
8 Ben Earl 8.1
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie 5.6
17 Beno Obano 5.8
18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour 6.0
19 Charlie Ewels –
20 Guy Pepper 4.7
21 Henry Pollock 6.0
22 Alex Mitchell 6.1
23 Henry Slade 6.0