Nine Springbok stats and facts

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For the Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday.

  • The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 685 Test caps (319 in the backline and 366 in the forwards), while there are a further 142 caps worth of experience on the bench.
  • South Africa and New Zealand have played each other 87 times since 1921, with the Springboks winning 34 Tests, losing 50 and three being drawn. The Springboks have scored 1,355 points and 133 tries and conceded 1,679 points and 177 tries for an average score of 16-19.
  • South Africa and New Zealand last met on 5 October 2013 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The All Blacks won 38-27.
  • Jean de Villiers will be playing in his 100th Test for South Africa. He will become the fifth Springbok to achieve this feat behind Victor Matfield (114), John Smit (111), Percy Montgomery (102) and Bryan Habana (100).
  • De Villiers will also extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 84 Tests in this position, as well as his own South African record of 47 Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship matches. He will captain South Africa for the 28th time, which places him fourth behind John Smit (83), Gary Teichmann (36) and Francois Pienaar (29).
  • Victor Matfield will extend his own record as the most-capped Springbok in history (114 Tests). He will also extend his own record of 114 Tests as a lock for South Africa. He will also be playing against New Zealand for the 25th time to extend his own record.
  • Bryan Habana will be playing in his 100th Test for South Africa on the wing. If he scores a try, he will extend his record of 56 Test tries 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 goes on and scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his own record of eight Test tries for South Africa as a hooker.
  • The referee is Jérôme Garcès of France. This will be his third Test involving South Africa. The Springboks have won both the previous Tests – the last being against Scotland on 17 November 2013 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh (28-0).

Photo: Saru

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Simon Borchardt