Springboks shine bright, even after Du Toit red: 'There's nothing we haven't faced this year'

In London

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said Thomas du Toit's red card was something they had always prepared for from a mental perspective after their 27-13 win against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Du Toit was red-carded for a shoulder charge on Luke Cowan-Dickie's head in the 60th minute, but it didn't materially impact the Boks, who were leading 27-6 at that point.

They did concede a 72nd minute try through Henry Slade, but the Boks had shown more than enough control and tactical discipline to keep England at arm's length.

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Kolisi credited the coaching staff for ensuring they remained with eight forwards on the field, with Makazole Mapimpi coming off for Frans Malherbe, but added Du Toit's red card was territory they'd been in before.

In the 30-26 loss against France in Marseille on 12 November, the Boks were down to 14 when Pieter-Steph du Toit was red-carded in the 11th minute, from where they trailed 13-0, but fought back to lead 26-22.

"There's nothing we haven't faced this year. We've had a red card before, so we prepared for it," Kolisi said.

"I told the guys that nothing changes as we must keep on working hard for one another. They already knew, so we needed to keep on working for an extra man.

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"I thought having eight forwards made it a bit easier and I think it was a great call because we knew it was going to be a contest in the scrums.

"We felt cool, we knew we needed to stay out of the breakdown and left it to the guys who knew when to go in."

Kolisi said they existed in an environment where ideas were not only freely shared, but coaches and players were allowed to bring in fresh