The Springboks overcame an early sending-off for Andre Esterhuizen to produce a dominant performance and secure a 64-21 victory over Portugal in Bloemfontein.
Esterhuizen received a yellow card after just two minutes for a head-on-head collision before it was upgraded to a red following a bunker review.
Os Lobos had already gone 7-0 ahead through Jose Paiva dos Santos when the centre’s punishment was increased, but it did not affect South Africa.
They were simply too powerful for the visitors and touched down five times in the first half through Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Phepsi Buthelezi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Ben-Jason Dixon and Lukhanyo Am.
Rassie Erasmus’ men duly held a comfortable advantage at the interval, despite Manie Libbok having more issues off the tee ― kicking just two conversions ― and Arendse being sin-binned.
The Boks then built on that lead in the second period as Makazole Mapimpi scored a brace before Quan Horn and Andre-Hugo Venter made it four debutants on the scoresheet.
Jose Madeira crossed the whitewash for Portugal late on, but Mapimpi rounded off a good Boks display with a hat-trick try.
Few gave Portugal a chance going into this clash but they started the match well and their hopes were given a boost when Esterhuizen was yellow-carded for hitting Jose Lima high.
With the Boks midfield powerhouse off the field, the visitors touched down for the first try when a counter-attack resulted in Paiva dos Santos going over.
Thoughts then turned to a potential shock being in the cards after Esterhuizen received his marching orders after a review, but they were only brief.
Ultimately, the hosts’ power, skill and set-piece excellence came to the fore, which enabled Wessels to go over on his debut.
Buthelezi, another newbie, then followed him after a dominant driving maul allowed the flanker to touch down from close range.
Despite the obvious physical dominance, the Springboks were also playing some excellent rugby with the ball in hand and Aphelele Fassi exemplified that.
The full-back received the ball on halfway, jinked his way through the opposition defence and kicked ahead for Arendse to collect and score.
South Africa were in control and a fourth try in 14 minutes was soon forthcoming when Dixon crossed the whitewash on just his second cap.
Portugal kept on battling and briefly stemmed the tide ― partly thanks to Arendse’s yellow card for a croc roll ― but their defence was once again breached just shy of the interval through Am.
At 29-7 in front at the break, the result was effectively decided but the Boks increased their buffer at the start of the second period via Mapimpi.
The wing then completed his brace after good work from replacement Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who drew the defence and off-loaded for Mapimpi to scamper clear.
To the visitors’ credit, they continued to play expansively and caused the South African rearguard a few problems, with Paiva dos Santos rewarding their ambition with a second try.
However, there was still time for two more Springboks debutants to go over as Horn and Venter both got their names on the scoresheet.
Portugal did go over for a third time via Madeira, but Erasmus’ men had the final word through Mapimpi.
The teams
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn
Portugal: 15 Simao Bento, 14 Manuel Cardoso Pinto, 13 Jose Lima, 12 Tomas Appleton (c), 11 Rodrigo Marta, 10 Joris Moura, 9 Hugo Camacho, 8 Vasco Baptista, 7 Diego Pinheiro, 6 Jose Madeira, 5 Duarte Torgal, 4 Nicolas Fernandes, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Luka Begic, 1 Francisco Fernandes
Replacements: 16 David Costa, 17 Pedro Vicente, 18 Abel Cunha, 19 Antionio R. Andrade, 20 Andre Cunha, 21 Pedro Lucas, 22 Domingos Cabral, 23 Jose P. Santos
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
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