For the Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 657 Test caps (282 in the backline and 375 in the forwards), while there are a further 296 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- Jean de Villiers will become the first Springbok to play in 50 matches in the Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship. Only Richie McCaw (54) and Keven Mealamu (52) have played more games.
- De Villiers will also extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 86 Tests in this position and will captain South Africa for the 30th time, placing him third behind John Smit (83) and Gary Teichmann (38).
- Victor Matfield will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok in history (116 Tests). He will also extend his record of 116 Tests as a lock and will also be playing against New Zealand for the 26th time to extend his record.
- Bryan Habana will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 101 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will extend his record of 56 Test tries for South Africa as well as his Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship record of 18 tries, and will extend his own SA record of seven career tries against New Zealand.
- If he scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine Test tries for South Africa as a hooker. Bismarck and his older brother Jannie will extend their record of playing together in 39 Tests for the Springboks. Bismarck, Jannie and Tendai Mtawarira will also extend their record of 17 Tests as a front-row trio for South Africa.
- It will be the second time in history (first last week) that a Springbok team will have three centurions in the starting lineup.
- The referee is Wayne Barnes of England. This will be his 10th Test involving South Africa. The Springboks have won six and lost three of the previous Tests. The last time he refereed South Africa, was against France on 23 November 2013 at the Stade de France in Paris. The Boks won 19-10.
Preview: Springboks vs All Blacks
Expert opinion on who will win and why
Photo: SA Rugby
