The Springboks completed their World Cup preparations with an impressive 35-7 rout of 14-man New Zealand at Twickenham in England on Friday evening.

The Springboks’ captain, Siya Kolisi, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, hooker Malcolm Marx, and replacements Bongi Mbonambi and Kwagga Smith all scored tries, and fly-half Manie Libbok converted all of them.

The loss was worse than the All Blacks’ 21-point loss to Australia in 2019, when they lost 47-26.

With this win, South Africa also beat their previous win over archrivals New Zealand, which was a 17-0 victory at Durban in 1928.

New Zealand’s fate was pretty much set in stone when they had to play just over half the game with one less player after Scott Barrett was sent off for a second yellow card just before halftime. The lock flew into a ruck and hit Marx in the head, which led to the red card.

Depending on how their groups do, the rugby union powerhouses might play each other again in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

On September 8, New Zealand plays France, which is also a heavyweight and the host country. On September 10, South Africa plays Scotland in Marseille to defend their title.