11 Springbok stats and facts

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For the Rugby Championship Test against Australia at Patersons Stadium in Perth on Saturday.

  • The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 725 Test caps (358 in the backline and 367 in the forwards), while there a further 136 caps worth of experience on the bench.
  • South Africa and Australia have played each other 78 times since 1933, with the Springboks winning 44 Tests, losing 33, while one was drawn. The Boks have scored 1,501 points and 179 tries and conceded 1,357 points and 139 tries for an average score of 19-17.
  • South Africa and Australia last met on 28 September 2013 at Newlands in Cape Town, when the Springboks won 28-8.
  • Bryan Habana will be playing in his 100th Test for South Africa, making him only the fourth Springbok in history to reach this milestone. The others are Victor Matfield (113), John Smit (111) and Percy Montgomery (102).
  • Habana will also extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 98 Tests in this position and if he scores a try, will extend his record of 56 Test tries for South Africa as well as his Rugby Championship record of 18 tries and will extend his own SA record of nine career tries against Australia.
  • Jean de Villiers will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 83 Tests in this position. He will also extend his own SA record of 46 Rugby Championship games and will captain South Africa for the 27th time – 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 (113 Tests). He will also be playing against Australia for the 25th time to become the sole holder of the record he shared with John Smit previously.
  • Morné Steyn will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok flyhalf, with 56 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will also extend his record of eight Test tries as a flyhalf for South Africa. Steyn scored 137 points in his career against Australia, just three points short of Percy Montgomery’s record of 140 points. He will also extend his own career record for most conversions (16), most penalty goals (32) and most drop goals (3) against Australia.
  • 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.
  • If he goes on, Warren Whiteley will become Springbok No 863.
  • The referee is George Clancy of Ireland and this will be his ninth Test involving South Africa. In the previous eight, South Africa have won six and lost two. His last Test was on 7 September 2013 in the corresponding game of last year’s tournament at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane when the Springboks beat the Wallabies 38-12.

Preview: Wallabies vs Springboks

Photo: SARugby.co.za

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