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Cape Town - Fourteen stats and facts ahead of Saturday's All Blacks v Springboks Rugby Championship clash in Albany on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 09:35 (SA time).
· The QBE Stadium is located in Albany, 15km northwest of the Auckland city centre, and this will be the Springboks’ first Test against the All Blacks at this venue.
· During RWC 2011, South Africa played two Test matches at this stadium. Their opponents were Namibia and Samoa and the scores were 87-0 and 13-5, respectively.
· The venue, previously known as North Harbour Stadium, was opened on March 8, 1997. It is home, among others, to the North Harbour Rugby Union. The seating capacity of QBE Stadium is 25 000, but was increased to 30 000 for this Test match.
· South Africa’s first Test in Auckland against New Zealand was played in 1921 during South Africa’s first tour to New Zealand, captained by Boy Morkel. The Test in Auckland was won by the Springboks (9-5).
· To date, the Boks have played 10 Test matches in Auckland against New Zealand. The Springbok record for the 10 matches is: P 10; W 2; L 7; D 1. PF: 151; PA: 227; TF: 19; TA: 26; Average score: 15-23. Win%: 20%.
· South Africa’s record in New Zealand is: P 42; W 9; L 31; D 2; PF: 544; PA: 861; TF: 59; TA: 96; Average score: 13-21. Win%: 21%.
· South Africa’s overall record against New Zealand is: P: 93; W: 35; L: 55; D: 3; PF: 1 458; PA: 1 863; TF: 140; TA: 201; Average score: 16-20. Win%: 38%.
· South Africa’s last win in New Zealand was eight years ago in Hamilton, on September 12, 2009. The score was 32-29 and the referee on the day was Nigel Owens of Wales.
· The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 300, with 93 caps in the backline, 207 caps among the forwards with a further 202 on the bench.
· The average caps per player in the backline is 13, the forwards 26 while the players on the bench average 25. The average age of the starting XV is 26.
· Tendai Mtawarira will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok prop to 94 caps in this position. He is the third most experienced Springbok forward, behind Victor Matfield (127) and John Smit (111).
· Mtawarira will also play in his 43rd Rugby Championship match, making him the fourth Springbok behind Bryan Habana (53), Jean de Villiers (50) and Victor Matfield (48) to play in 40 or more matches in this competition.
· Mtawarira will also extend his Springbok record to 33 consecutive Test matches in the Tri-Nations / Rugby Championship.
· Elton Jantjies needs 21 points to reach 200 points in Tests for South Africa while Handré Pollard needs 12 points to reach the 200 mark.
