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Cape Town - Twelve stats and facts ahead of Saturday's Springboks v Wales Test in Washington DC.
Kick-off is at 23:00 SA time
• The match in Washington will only be the second time that South Africa will face Wales on neutral ground outside of a Rugby World Cup. Previously, the two rivals played at Wembley Stadium in London during the construction of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. On that occasion, on November 14, 1998, Gary Teichmann’s Springbok side won 28-20
• It will only be the third time that the Springboks will play a Test match in the USA. In 1981, Wynand Claassen’s Springboks beat the USA Eagles (38-7) in Glenville, and in 2001 the Springboks, under captain André Vos, won their Test match against the USA by 43-20 in Houston.
• The Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington DC, with a capacity of 45 596, is a multi-sport facility for both baseball and football. Amongst others, it has also hosted boxing matches, marathon finishes and concerts.
• South Africa’s overall record against Wales: P: 33; W: 28; L: 4; D: 1; PF: 872; PA: 510; TF: 106; TA: 42; Average score: 26-15. Win%: 85%.
• The following seven players will make their Test debut: Travis Ismaiel, who will celebrate his 26th birthday on match day, Makazole Mapimpi, André Esterhuizen, Ivan van Zyl, Kwagga Smith, Jason Jenkins and Ox Nché, while there are six reserves on the bench who could also make their debut.
• Only seven players in the squad have played against Wales before. They are Dan du Preez, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Elton Jantjies, Jesse Kriel, Wilco Louw, Oupa Mohojé and Chiliboy Ralepelle
• Should Robert du Preez be used as a substitute, it will be the first time in Springbok history that there will be a set of a Springbok father with three Springbok sons - Robert (snr), Jean-Luc, Dan and Robert (jnr). The Du Preez’s will also become the fourth set of three Springbok brothers. The previous three sets were the Luyt brothers (1912), the Bekker brothers (1960) and the Du Plessis brothers (1984).
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 134. The Springbok record for the least experienced Springbok starting XV is 40 v France in Durban in 1993
• There are 53 caps in the backline with 81 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 25 caps
• The average caps per player in the backline is 8, the forwards 10 while the players on the bench average 3. The average age of the starting XV is 24.
• The referee is Matthew Carley of England. He was born on December 21, 1984 in Dover and made his international debut as a referee on June 25, 2016 in Sacramento, California in a Test between the USA and Russia. This Test will be his first with South Africa involved
• The Assistant Referees are Alexandre Ruiz of France and Frank Murphy of Ireland. The TMO will be David Grashoff of England
