# Rugby: The world champions opened their Nations Championship campaign with an emphatic 45-21 win over England at a joyous Ellis Park on Saturday. It was England’s fifth consecutive loss, with the Springboks keeping them winless at the venue since 1973. The Boks lost the services of Eben Etzebeth and captain Siya Kolisi through late withdrawals. This necessitated Pieter-Steph du Toit moving to lock with Cameron Hanekom getting his first Test start, and Paul de Villiers made his debut at the openside flank. The hosts rammed in seven tries by Thomas du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Grant Williams, Jesse Kriel, Malcolm Marx, and Ben-Jason Dixon, with Kolbe converting five.
In yesterday’s other Nations Championship matches, Scotland beat Argentina 47-38, Wales finished off Fiji 39-24, while Ireland got the better of Australia in Sydney with a narrow 33-31 victory. The Japanese beat Italy 27-10 while the New Zealand men had to work hard for their 34-32 victory over France.