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Cape Town - The Springboks will head into their blockbuster opening Pool B 2019 Rugby World Cup clash against the All Blacks with a fair degree of trepidation thanks to their shocking record under French referee Jerome Garces.
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Saturday's match will be Garces' 53rd Test - and the 14th he's been in charge of the Springboks.
In the 13 Tests to date, the Springboks have only won four. That's a 31% win record for the Springboks when Garces takes the whistle.
Think that's bad?
Try the Springboks' current zero wins from five Tests against the All Blacks with Garces in charge.
Think THAT'S bad?
Garces was the referee when the Springboks famously lost to Japan at the 2015 World Cup in Brighton!
Problems!
The Springboks actually won three of their first four Tests under Garces, starting with victory over Australia (28-8) at Newlands in September 2013.
The Springboks then beat Scotland 28-0 on their 2013 end of year tour in Edinburgh, before losing to New Zealand (14-10) in the 2014 Rugby Championship.
They bounced back to beat Italy 22-6 on their 2014 end of year tour, giving them a 75% win record under Garces at that time.
However, what followed was eight straight defeats between July 2015 and December 2017 which included the Brighton debacle, four losses to New Zealand and setbacks against Argentina, England and Wales.
In a ray of hope, the Springboks are on a one-Test win streak under Garces having beaten the Wallabies 23-12 in the 2018 Rugby Championship in Port Elizabeth.
Of equal distress to Springbok fans will be the news that another of the national team's 'favourite' officials, Romain Poite, will be one of the assistant referees in Yokohama.
Kick-off is at 11:45 SA time.
Good luck, Springboks!
