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History suggests Boks will overpower Wallabies

Cape Town - Both sides are fielding new-look starting lineups with the 2019 World Cup in mind, but the Springboks will still start Saturday's Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies as overwhelming favourites. 

History, particularly at Ellis Park, has a lot to do with that. 

The sides have met a total of 10 times at the iconic venue, with the Springboks winning 9 of those. 

Their only loss came all the way back in 1963, when the Wallabies scored the only try of the game to secure a 10-9 victory. 

South Africa's overall record at Ellis Park, meanwhile, also makes for good reading and they have won 35 of their 50 matches at the venue since 1928 with a win percentage of 70%

The Boks have won 35 of their 46 Tests against Australia in South Africa for a win percentage of 77.17% on home soil, while they are also slightly ahead in the overall head-to-head stats. 

There have been 87 Tests between the sides at all venues since 1933, with the Boks having won 47 of those (55.74%) while the Wallabies have won 37 and there have been 3 draws. 

History obviously doesn't guarantee anything, but it does show that the Springboks have had the upper hand over their southern hemisphere rivals, particularly on home soil. 

Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:05

Teams:

South Africa

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S'bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Substitutes: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds

Australia

15 Tom Banks, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper

Substitutes: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 Kurtley Beale

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