Springboks outside centre Lukhanyo Am runs with the ball in the Test match against Portugal. Springboks outside centre Lukhanyo Am scored a try on his comeback to the team in the victory over Portugal in Bloemfontein. Picture: Phill Magakoe / AFP
Veteran winger Makazole Mapimpi scored a hat-trick as world champions Springboks shrugged off a red and two yellow cards to crush Portugal 64-21 on Saturday in a one-off Test.
An experimental Springboks side made light in Bloemfontein of having to play all but three minutes with 14 or 13 players to score 10 tries while the visitors crossed the line three times.
Scot Hollie Davidson - the first woman to referee a Springboks Test - yellow carded centre Andre Esterhuizen on three minutes and it was changed to a red card after an off-field review.
Winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, late in the first half, and replacement back Quan Horn, on 75 minutes, were sin-binned by Davidson.
Portugal scored first only to trail 29-7 at halftime in the first meeting between the countries and Mapimpi claimed three of the five second-half South African tries.
Prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels and flanker Phepsi Buthelezi, and two replacements, winger Horn and hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, scored tries in their Springbok debuts.
Tries by Arendse, flanker Ben-Jason Dixon and centre Lukhanyo Am completed the highest score by South Africa in Bloemfontein - bettering 58 points against England in 2007.
Fly-half Manie Libbok converted two of the five first-half tries and his replacement, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, added the extra points to all five in the second half.
Substitute winger Jose Paiva dos Santos scored two tries and flanker Jose Madeira one for Portugal. Fly-half Joris Moura slotted one conversion and his replacement, Domingos Cabral, two.
The first half was just three minutes old when Davidson yellow-carded Esterhuizen for fouling fellow centre Jose Lima.
A yellow card became red after a review of the incident and 14-man South Africa then trailed when a turnover set up replacement winger Dos Santos for a long run to the tryline.
Moura converted and, to the surprise of most in a sell-out 42,626 crowd, the home team were seven points behind.
Within two minutes the Springboks hit back as Wessels barged over, but the visitors remained in front as Libbok failed to convert.
The lead changed on 18 minutes when Buthelezi scored after a driving maul and the Springboks led 10-7 after Libbok once again fluffed his conversion.
Already minus vice-captain Lima, Portugal suffered another blow when No. 8 Vasco Baptista retired injured with Andre Cunha coming on.
Despite being a man short, South Africa continued to apply pressure and Arendse, Dixon and Am scored, with Libbok converting one.
Before Am dived over in the corner for the fifth try, South Africa were temporarily reduced to 13 men when Arendse was shown a yellow card for fouling full-back Simao Bento.
By half-time, South Africa led 29-7 and they knew Arendse would return five minutes into the second half as the sun set and chilly conditions enveloped the stadium in the central city.
Portugal, who beat Fiji in France last year for their first Rugby World Cup victory, ran out of steam in the second half while South Africa made numerous substitutions.
The Springboks scored five tries and the Portuguese two with the highlight a brilliant run by Feinberg-Mngomezulu to set up the second try by Mapimpi.
AFP
Point scorers:
Springboks 64 (29) – Tries: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Phepsi Buthelezi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Ben-Jason Dixon, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi (3), Quan Horn, Andre-Hugo Venter. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (5).
Portugal 21 (7) – Tries: Jose Paiva dos Santos (2). Conversion: Joris Moura, Domingo Cabral.
SA Rugby
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