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Cape Town - 19 stats and facts ahead of Saturday's Wales v Springboks clash at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Team and milestones:
• The total Test caps in the starting line-up is 260, of which there are 40 caps in the backline and 220 among the forwards. The combined Test caps of those on the bench is 110. The average caps per player for the match-23 is 18.
• With only 40 caps in the backline this is the most inexperienced Springbok backline since 1994.
• The youngest player in the starting line-up is Rohan Janse van Rensburg (22y, 2m) while the oldest member of the team is Tendai Mtawarira (31y, 3m).
• The tallest player in the squad is Lood de Jager (2.05m), the heaviest is Steven Kitshoff (125kg), and Faf de Klerk is both the shortest (1.72m) and the lightest (80kg).
• Adriaan Strauss and Tendai Mtawarira will play in their 12th consecutive Test in the starting XV under Allister Coetzee’s reign.
• The new Springboks will be Jamba Ulengo (Springbok #878), Rohan Janse van Rensburg (#879) and Uzair Cassiem (#880), with a possible first cap to Jean-Luc du Preez (#881).
• Apart from the debutants, six players in the starting line-up will face Wales for the first time in a Test match: Lourens Adriaanse, Warren Whiteley, Faf de Klerk, Elton Jantjies, Francois Venter and Ruan Combrinck.
• Of the 23 players, Tendai Mtawarira is the most capped player against Wales with nine appearances.
• Adriaan Strauss, who made his Test debut against Australia in 2008, will retire from international rugby after this Test. He will have played in 66 Test matches of which 12 were as captain.
• One try by South Africa in this Test match will bring up the 1 300th try in Springbok Test rugby.
Head to head:
• Wales and South Africa will play in their 32nd Test match since their first Test match in 1906. South Africa won 28 and lost two with one Test match drawn.
• The biggest win against Wales was in June, 1998 in Pretoria when the Springboks thrashed Wales 96-13. The 96 points scored being the fourth highest total points in South African Test match history.
• This Saturday, Wales will be looking for back-to-back wins at this venue as they beat Jean de Villiers’ Springboks two years ago 12-6. The date was November 29, 2014.
• South Africa’s complete record against Wales is: P: 31; W: 28; L: 2; D: 1; PF: 837; PA: 459; TF: 102; TA: 37; Percentage won: 90%; Average score: 27-15.
Match officials:
• The match officials for this match are: Referee – Romain Poite (France); Assistant referees – Greg Garner (England) and Tom Foley (England) with the TMO Graham Hughes (England).
• It will be Poite’s seventh appearance as referee in Test matches involving South Africa. The Springboks won three of the previous six with Poite in charge.
The stadium:
• Principality Stadium, previously known as the Millennium Stadium, was opened in June, 1999 and the first International Rugby match was against South Africa on June 26, 1999.
• Wales won their first ever Test match against the Springboks on that day 29-19 before a crowd of 27 683.
• The last time South Africa played at this stadium was on November 29, 2014 against Wales. Wales won 12-6 for only their second win against South Africa in 30 encounters.
