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Cape Town - Eleven stats and facts ahead of Saturday's Springboks v Ireland clash at Newlands in Cape Town.
· The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 474 Test caps (179 in the backline and 295 in the forwards), while there are a further 51 caps worth of experience on the bench.
· South Africa and Ireland have played each other 22 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 16 Tests, losing five and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 432 points and 62 tries and conceded 277 points and 26 tries for an average score of 20-13.
· South Africa and Ireland last met on November 8, 2014 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Springboks lost 29-15 largely due to a contribution of 16 points from the boot of Jonathan Sexton. He kicked four penalties and two conversions.
· Adriaan Strauss will become the 57th Springbok captain in history.
· Faf de Klerk will become Springbok #870 in history. If he goes on, Bongi Mbonambi will become Springbok #871.
· Tendai Mtawarira is the most experienced player in the side with 75 Tests to his credit. He is just five Tests short of Os du Randt’s record of 80 Tests for South Africa as prop. Three other players have played 50 or more Tests for South Africa - JP Pietersen with 66, Adriaan Strauss with 54 and Patrick Lambie with 50. The last time that the Springboks played without a centurion in their side was against Argentinia on 23 August, 2014 in Salta, some 20 Tests ago.
· Adriaan Strauss played against his cousin Richardt Strauss the last two times the Springboks and Ireland met - in 2012 and 2014. They are likely to meet each other again as Richardt is in the Ireland squad for this tour.
· Elton Jantjies last played in a Test for South Africa in 2012 and Julian Redelinghuys played his two Tests in 2014.
· It will be Allister Coetzee’s first Test in charge of the Springboks since he took over from Heyneke Meyer earlier in 2016.
· The referee is Mathieu Raynal of France. It will be his first Test involving South Africa.
· This will be the Springboks’ 52nd Test match at Newlands in Cape Town. The Boks have won 35 of the previous 51 matches, lost 14 and drawn twice. The average score at Newlands is 19-12.
