Share

Springboks v Wallabies: All the stats and facts

Johannesburg - Stats and facts ahead of Saturday's Rugby Championship clash between the Springboks and Wallabies at Ellis Park:

It's almost 11 years since South Africa last hosted Australia at the ground.

Ten Tests have taken place against Australia at Ellis Park, with the first on August 12, 1933 and the last on August 30, 2008. The score in the last match was a record 53-8, the Boks’ biggest win against Australia ever.

Australia have only one win at this stadium, when John Thornett’s Wallabies scored a narrow win of 11-9 on August 24, 1963.

SA's head-to-head v Australia at Ellis Park

Played 10; Won 9; Lost 1; Drawn 0; Points for 276; Points against 121; Tries for 40; Tries against 11; Wins 90%

Team records against Australia at Ellis Park

Most points: 53 - August 30, 2008
Most tries: 8 - August 5, 1961 and August 30, 2008
Most conversions: 5 - August 30, 2008
Most penalty goals: 5 - August 22, 1998
Most drop goals: 1 - August 12, 1933 and September 9, 2006

Individual records against Australia at Ellis Park

Most points: 20 - JL Nokwe - August 30, 2008
Most tries: 4 - JL Nokwe - August 30, 2008
Most conversions: 4 - WW Greeff - August 17, 2002
Most penalty goals: 5 - PC Montgomery - August 22, 1998
Most drop goals: 1 - BL Osler - 12 August 12, 1933 and AS Pretorius - September 9, 2006

All of SA's Test matches at Ellis Park

Played 50; Won 35; Lost 13; Drawn 2; Points for 1340; Points against 848; Tries for 166; Tries against 79; Wins 70%

Team records at Ellis Park

Most points: 63 v Argentina - August 9, 2008
Most tries: 9 v Western Samoa - April 13, 1995 and v Argentina - August 9, 2008
Most conversions: 9 v Argentina - August 9, 2008
Most penalty goals: 6 v France - June 16, 2001 and Scotland - June 14, 2003
Most drop goals: 2 v New Zealand - June 24, 1995 and July 19, 1997

Individual records at Ellis Park

Most points: 28 by GK Johnson (3t, 5c, 1p) v Western Samoa - April 13, 1995
Most tries: 4 by JL Nokwe v Australia - August 30, 2008
Most conversions: 9 by AD James v Argentina - August 9, 2008
Most penalty goals: 6 by each of PC Montgomery v France - June 16, 2001 and LJ Koen v Scotland - June 14, 2003
Most drop goals: 2 by each of JT Stransky v New Zealand - June 24, 1995 and JH de Beer v New Zealand - July 19, 1997  

Miscellaneous

The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 488. There are 94 caps in the backline and 394 amongst the forwards while the bench have a further 128 caps.

The average number of caps per player in the backline is 13, and 49 per forward. The players on the bench average 16 caps. The average age of the starting fifteen is 27.

Eben Etzebeth will become the third most capped lock, winning his 76th Test, surpassing Mark Andrews’ 75 Test matches. Victor Matfield (127) and Bakkies Botha (85) are the most capped Springbok locks. It will also be Etzebeth's 12th Test match as captain.

The longest period between Test caps for this selection belongs to Marcell Coetzee. His last Test match for the Springboks was on August 8, 2015 against Argentina in Durban, almost four years ago.

Should the Wallabies score a try in this Test match, it will be the 800th Test try conceded by South Africa in the history of Springbok Rugby.

Milestones and Records

The Springboks need three tries to reach 200 Test tries against Australia. It will be the first time ever that have South Africa scored 200 tries against a single country (Note: this statistic does not include the 17 tries that the Springboks scored in three matches against New South Wales in 1921.

Australia regard those matches as Test matches, South Africa does not).
Elton Jantjies needs 13 points to reach 50 career points against Australia.

Rynhardt Elstadt and Herschel Jantjies will make their Springbok debuts, while Lizo Gqoboka could also join them should he be used as a substitute.

Warrick Gelant and S'bu Nkosi will face the Wallabies for the first time as will Marvin Orie if he is used as a substitute.

Tendai Mtawarira will become the second most capped Springbok in the Rugby Championship, making his 51st appearance. Bryan Habana holds the records with 53 appearances.

Match officials

The referee is Paul Williams of New Zealand. This will be his 10th Test match as a referee, but his first involving South Africa.

The Assistant Referees are Matthew Carley and Karl Dickson, both from England, while Rowan Kitt, also from England, will be the television match official (TMO).

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 946 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 465 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE