10 Springbok stats and facts

For the Test against Scotland at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in PE on Saturday.

  • The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 502 Test caps (157 in the backline and 345 in the forwards), while there are a further 91 caps worth of experience on the bench.
  • South Africa and Scotland have played each other 24 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 19 Tests and losing five. The Boks have scored 597 points and 75 tries and conceded 264 points and 27 tries for an average score of 25-11.
  • South Africa and Scotland last met on 17 November 2013 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. The Springboks won 28-0, scoring four tries in the process.
  • Victor Matfield will extend his record of 112 Tests for the Springboks as well as his record of 112 Tests as a lock for the Springboks.
  • 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 brother Jannie will also be playing together in their 34th Test, which is a Springbok record for brothers.
  • Schalk Burger will extend his record as the most capped Springbok flank, with 68 Tests in this position. He also shares the record with Juan Smith for the most Test tries as a flank (11).
  • Handré Pollard will become Springbok No 857.
  • Coenie Oosthuizen will be starting at loosehead prop for the first time in a Test. Last year he played tighthead against France in his only other start.
  • The whole front row of Coenie Oosthuizen, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis comes from one school – Grey College in Bloemfontein. Adriaan Strauss (reserve hooker) and Marcel van der Merwe (reserve prop) are also old Grey pupils.
  • The referee is Glen Jackson of New Zealand. This will be his first Test involving South Africa. The former Chiefs and Saracens flyhalf started refereeing in 2010.

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