South Africa have returned after a 20-month absence to beat Georgia 40-9 at Loftus Versfeld, marking their first Test since winning the 2019 World Cup.
The match on Friday was the first of two warm-up internationals against the Georgians in preparation for the three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions later this month.
The home side led 19-9 at halftime and outscored the visitors six tries to nil but showed the effects of their long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They struggled to get rhythm to their play, gave away many penalties and were sloppy at times in a contest punctuated by frequent stops.
The Boks were outmuscled in the first scrum, allowing Georgia to go ahead with a penalty but that proved to be one of the few highlights for the tourists.
The hosts scored the first try when debutant Aphelele Fassi streaked away with his first touch of the ball after five minutes.
A pushover try from Bongi Mbonambi and dart to the line by scrumhalf Cobus Reinach added to the first-half score.
Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies and Malcolm Marx crossed for second half tries while Handre Pollard kicked four conversions and his replacement Elton Jantjies another.
Georgia’s points all came from penalties kicked by Tedo Abzhandadze but they did not score in the last 55 minutes.
South Africa’s first Test against the Lions is on July 24 at Cape Town.
Original source: https://www.theroar.com.au/2021/07/03/springboks-end-test-drought-with-win/
source https://therugbystore.com.au/springboks-end-test-drought-with-win/
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