The time has arrived for the Springboks to get their 2026 season underway, and a clash against England at Ellis Park signifies a blockbuster occasion at the start of a busy season.

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The Springboks might be ranked first in the world and England sixth, but there is a definite air of unpredictability as these fierce rivals meet in their opening Nations Championship encounter.

This highly-anticipated Test kicks off at 17:40 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

KEEP TRACK OF THE LIVE SCORING AS THE SPRINGBOKS AND ENGLAND GO INTO BATTLE

MATCH INFORMATION

South Africa

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian De Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph Du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas Du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche

Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Canan Moodie

England

England: 15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie,17 Beno Obano, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Marcus Smith

OFFICIALS

Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland) & Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against England:
Played 47; Won 29; Lost 16; Drawn 2; Points for 1027; Points against 804; Tries scored: 93; Tries against: 60; Highest score: 58-10; Biggest win 48 points. Win percentage 61,7%.

Miscellaneous:

• Cheslin Kolbe and Damian Willemse will both earn their 50th Test caps for South Africa.
• Willemse’s first Test was on 8 August 2018, aged 20, when he came on as a replacement against Argentina at in Durban.
• Kolbe made his Test debut off the bench against Australia in Brisbane on 8 September 2018 and scored the first of his 21 Test tries a week later against New Zealand in Wellington.
• Cobus Reinach requires only five more Test points to reach 100 in the green and gold.
• Eben Etzebeth will extend his Springbok record as the most capped player to 142 caps.
• Damian de Allende will require only two more Test appearances after this weekend to join the exclusive group of players to reach the 100 Test mark.
• Pieter-Steph du Toit requires only four more Test appearances after this match to earn his 100th Test.
• Ox Nche will need only two more Tests to join Willemse and Kolbe on 50 Tests.
• The Springboks have won three of the four matches they have played against England in Johannesburg, dating back to 1972, with their last defeat against the English being at Ellis Park that year.
• This match will mark the first time the Springboks face England since the 2024 Castle Lager Outgoing Tour – a match South Africa won 29-20.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 935.
• There are 368 caps in the backline, with 567 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 164 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 53, the forwards 71, while the players on the bench average 21.

Read full story at source

Read full story at source