The Boks were up 19-0 at half-time, courtesy of three tries, and they added five more in the second half to romp away to a very convincing win.

Matches of this nature are often difficult to judge as the Barbarians didn’t really have a lot of time to prepare, but even if they had another week, they were played off the field by a team that simply understand their strengths and abilities very well.

There was a touch of class from the visitors just before kick-off when they handed a No 14 Baabaas jersey the family of the late Cornal Hendricks, who were out of the field as South African flag bearers.

A fly-over by Qatar Airways completed the festivities and soon after, it was over to the Springboks to provide the entertainment.

They got an early stronghold in the scrums, a facet of play that would yield three tries to them. Twice they kicked to the corner following a scrum penalty and twice the rolling maul completed the set-piece excellence.

Vincent Tshituka scored two tries in his first game for South Africa.

The first points came from a Bok up and under. The Baabaas dropped it, were under pressure and forced into touch five meters out. The Boks won the lineout and Malcolm Marx got up from under a heap of bodies for yet another try in the green and gold. The conversion was wide.

The Boks scored again soon after. A knock-on by BaaBaas flyhalf Josh Jacomb added to the pressure his team was under after the restart. The Boks played to the left and after a stream of big ball carries by the pack, a deft grubber by Aphelele Fassi found a charging Cheslin Kolbe, who glided over in the right hand corner. This time Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted from the angle and the lead was 12-0 with 10 minutes played.

The BaaBaas had very little ball and even less territory and having to scrum every so often was even less ideal for the team intent on playing attacking rugby. Credit to them that they managed to slow the early Bok momentum down, but kicking deep where Kurt-Lee Arendse and Kolbe combined with Fassi, was not the best option either.

A third scrum penalty resulted in the third Bok try. They kicked to the corner, won the lineout and mauled, handing debutant Vincent Tshituka a first try in the green and gold. Feinberg-Mngomezulu made no mistake and suddenly the 19-0 lead was starting to look ominous.

The SA back three were really good under the high ball in the first half, whether they were chasing or being kicked at, and soon the BaaBaas realised that option was not on. The line speed of the Boks was another threat and resulted in more pressure on their opponents.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels goes over for his second try for the Boks.

Jean-Luc du Preez left the field for a HIA just before the break and was replaced by Kwagga Smith, who made an immediate impact. The Baabaas had their best spell just before the buzzer, when they finally won a lineout in an attacking position, only for Smith to rip the ball from his opponent and force a handling error.

The rain that came down during the break worsened the underfoot conditions, resulting in more tactical kicking by both teams, with catching and passing becoming more difficult.

Du Preez was on back on the field, but that was short-lived as Rassie Erasmus called on his bomb squad, who all ran on at once. Jan-Hendrik Wessels crashed over soon thereafter, but it was rather some nifty footwork by Kolbe, Jesse Kriel and Lood de Jager that set the tsunami in motion.

Manie Libbok slotted his first conversion, much to the delight of the entertained crowd, with the 26-0 lead good value for their money.

Kriel was at it again soon after, when he opened up the BaaBaas’ midfield with a nice shift and Cobus Reinach came close to scoring, as did Franco Mostert.

The visitors lost Lachlan Boshier for a high tackle on Arendse near the line and the Boks again kicked to the corner. Referee AJ Jacobs had his hands full with the visiting defenders, who kept impeding, but the Bok coaches will not be happy that four penalties in a row did not yield any points. Twice they opted for a scrum and got close, and twice the lineout was stopped.

Kurt-Lee Arendse slides over.

All was forgiven after the next try though, with Arendse sliding over the line from a move that started 70m back. From a set play, the ball was moved wide and Damian De Allende kicked ahead for his wing, who outpaced the tiring BaaBaas cover defence to score a peach of a try. Libbok was on song again.

Three minutes later some Kolbe magic had the BaaBaas stretched again and De Jager crashed over from short range for a well-deserved try started by his winger 40m away. Talk about work-rate, and De Jager certainly provided in this match. Libbok's kick was good again and the lead was 40-0.

The Baabaas finally got their first points when they outworked the Bok defence on the short side to the right and Melvyn Jaminet found no one in front of him. The fullback dotted down more than an hour after they ran onto the field and converted to make it 40-7.

Kolbe stepped a couple of players, was tackled late and the Boks went to the corner again. From the resulting lineout and assault on the black and white line, Tshituka scored his second of the evening. Libbok converted and with 10 minutes to play, the 50 was a real target for the hosts.

That finally came in the 80th minute when De Allende was worked over on the left after at least six attacks through the middle and then finally to the outside backs who finished a strong evening in style. Libbok's conversion from out wide - his fifth success from five attempts - was the icing on cake for a crowd that left with the knowledge that the Springboks are looking very strong for the 2025 season.

Scorers:

Springboks 54 (19) – Tries: Malcolm Marx, Cheslin Kolbe, Vincent Tshituka (2), Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Lood de Jager, Damian De Allende. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Manie Libbok (5).

Barbarians 7 (0) – Try: Melvyn Jaminet. Conversion: Jaminet.