Aphelele Fassi of the Springboks running against Tomás Albornoz of the Barbarians during the 2026 Rugby International game at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
Rassie Erasmus was mostly smiling after his Springbok team pasted 80 points past a dogged Barbarians team at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, but he had reservations about a defence that leaked five tries, plus a worry about yet another injured lock.
The Boks won 80-31 in a warm-up for the July 4 Nations Championship opener against England, and did so without half a dozen rested players such as Malcolm Marx, Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, and Manie Libbok.
Erasmus can further call on 16 Boks who were doing unfortunate duty against Leinster in the URC final in Dublin on Friday night.
For the Barbarians game, Erasmus fielded players who needed game time after injury or had not been playing much, either since the end of the Japan competitions or the URC.
