Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Nine stats and facts ahead of the Springboks' Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday (17:05 kick-off).
• The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 663 Test caps (289 in the backline and 374 in the forwards), while there are a further 153 caps worth of experience on the bench.
• South Africa and New Zealand have played each other 89 times since 1921, with the Springboks winning 35, losing 51 and three were drawn. The Springboks have scored 1 392 points and 137 tries and conceded 1 718 points and 177 tries for an average score of 16-19.
• South Africa and New Zealand last met on October 4, 2015 at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks beat New Zealand by 27-25 thanks to a late 55 metre penalty from the boot of replacement flyhalf Patrick Lambie.
• Schalk Burger will become South Africa’s 55th Springbok captain in history.
• Bryan Habana will extend his own record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 106 caps in this position. If he scores a try he will extend his own record of 57 Test tries for South Africa as well as most Test tries against New Zealand (7) and the Rugby Championship record of 18 tries.
• If he scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine Test tries for South Africa as a hooker. He will also extend his SA record of 40 Tests (22 in the starting line-up) with his brother Jannie and 17 Tests with Jannie and Tendai Mtawarira as the starting front row pairing for SA.
• If he goes on, Vincent Koch will become Springbok #868 in history.
• It will be Heyneke Meyer’s 39th Test in charge of the Springboks since he took over in 2012. Of the previous 38 Tests South Africa have won 26, lost ten and drew twice. He is third now on the all-time list with only Peter de Villiers (48) and Jake White (54) in front of him.
• The referee is Jerome Garces of France. It will be his fifth Test involving South Africa. Of the previous four South Africa have won three and lost one. His last appearance was in November 2014 against Italy in Padova when the Boks won 22-6.
