For the Rugby Championship Test against Argentina at Kings Park on Saturday.
– There are four players in the starting lineup who will play in the Rugby Championship for the first time: Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, André Esterhuizen and Aphiwe Dyantyi.
– On the bench, there are a further five players who have not played in the tournament before: Thomas du Toit, Marvin Orie, Marco van Staden, Embrose Papier and Damian Willemse.
– The total Test caps for the Springbok starting lineup is 438. There are 96 caps in the backline with 342 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 62 caps.
– The average caps per player in the backline are 14, the forwards 43 while the players on the bench average eight. The average age of the starting XV is 27.
– The first Rugby Championship (previously the Tri Nations) match at this venue took place on 15 August 1998 against New Zealand. The Test on Saturday will be the 11th Rugby Championship match in Durban, but only the second against Argentina.
– The first Rugby Championship match against Argentina in Durban was played on 8 August 2015. On this day, South Africa suffered their first ever defeat in 20 Test matches against the Pumas (37-25). To date, the winning margin of 12 points is Argentina’s best performance against South Africa.
– It was also the first time in Springbok history that a player from the opposition scored three tries in a Test match against the Springboks, when Juan Imhoff, the Argentinian left wing, scored a hat-trick of tries.
– South Africa’s overall record against Argentina: P: 26; W: 23; L: 2; D: 1; PF: 935; PA: 510; TF: 109; TA: 46; Average score: 36-20. Win%: 88%.
– South Africa’s record in the Rugby Championship against Argentina: P: 11; W: 8; L: 2; D: 1; PF: 341; PA: 213; TF: 35; TA: 19; Average score: 31-19. Win%: 73%.
– South Africa’s biggest win against Argentina was in 2013 at Soccer City in Soweto (73-13). The winning margin of 60 is the 10th highest in a Test match by the Springboks.
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