Debutant Marnus van der Merwe and fleet-footed winger Edwill van der Merwe, each bagged a brace of tries to propel the Boks to victory over Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium.

It was far from perfect, but it was mission accomplished for the Springboks as they overcame a spirited Georgia 55-10 on Saturday, to end the first part of their international season unbeaten.

The Lelos lived up to their pre-match billing, coming at the South Africans with big hits and intense physicality. Their positive mindset paid off immediately, as hooker Vano Karkadze crashed over the tryline in just the third minute. The try was however not without controversy, as it seemed he had not grounded the ball, but TMO Andrew Jackson could not find any compelling reason to overturn referee Matthew Carley’s on-field decision.

Good job Marnus 👌#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvGEO pic.twitter.com/TETutepDf1

— Springboks (@Springboks) July 19, 2025

The Springboks then assumed control of the Test match, and ran in three tries in quick succession. Loosehead prop Boan Venter celebrated his Bok debut with a try, as did hooker Marnus van der Merwe. Canan Moodie then ended off a beautiful linebreak from scrumhalf Grant Williams.

Mbombela erupted when hometown hooker Van der Merwe went over for his second try, seven minutes from half time to stretch the lead to 22-10. But it was a first half to forget for flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who was successful with only one of his four kicks at goal.

You can’t hold Canan Moodie back 😤🇿🇦

📺 Stream #RSAvGEO on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/lHzXS8Mbyp

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025

The overall match quality didn’t improve in the second half and the introduction of the ‘Bomb Squad’ didn’t make much of an impact, but it was the Boks who scored first after the break courtesy of winger Edwill van der Merwe – his fourth try in just his third Test match. Some impetus returned to the Bok attack with the introduction of Damian Willemse and Handre Pollard, the replacement fullback rounding off a good bit of play to get his fifth Test try while Pollard made no mistake from the kicking tee.

Damian Willemse’s fifth Test try was a thing of beauty 🤩#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvGEO pic.twitter.com/xjeVE5nb2D

— Springboks (@Springboks) July 19, 2025

Edwill van der Merwe’s second try seven minutes from the end, a first on the night for Kurt-Lee Arendse and a five-pointer from Pollard took the Boks past 50 and gave the jovial Mbombela crowd even more reason to celebrate.

The quality of opposition ramps up significantly from here, with Tests against the All Blacks, Wallabies, Argentina, Ireland and France still to come before the end of the year.

The Springboks will now turn their focus to the Rugby Championship and the double-header against Australia in Johannesburg (16 August) and Cape Town (23 August).

Photo by Johan Orton/Gallo Images