17 Springbok stats and facts

For their World Cup semi-final against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday.

  • South Africa and New Zealand have met three times in World Cup tournaments – in the 1995 final at Ellis Park, which the Boks won 15-12; the 1999 third-place play-off in Cardiff, which the Boks won 22-18; and the 2003 quarter-final in Melbourne, which the All Blacks won 29-9.
  • Saturday’s Test will be the 91st between the two countries. South Africa’s record against New Zealand is played: 90; won: 35; lost: 52; drawn: three; points for: 1,412; points against: 1,745; Win%: 39.
  • The total Test caps for the Springbok starting lineup is 701. There are 324 caps in the backline with 377 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 461 caps.
  • Bryan Habana will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 114 caps in this position. He is the most experienced Bok backline player with 115 caps and only Victor Matfield (125) has played in more Tests for South Africa.
  • If he scores a try, Habana will extend his record of 64 Test tries for South Africa. Currently he is joint-second on the list, along with Australia's David Campese. Japan's Daisuke Ohata is first with 69.
  • Habana is the world record holder for most Test tries as a wing. He surpassed the previous record of Daisuke Ohata during the pool match against the USA.
  • Habana is the joint record holder for most career tries (15) in World Cup tournaments along with New Zealand's Jonah Lomu. Australia's Drew Mitchell has 14.
  • Habana also holds the record for most career tries (seven) by a Springbok against New Zealand.
  • Habana and JP Pietersen will be playing in their record 43rd Test as a wing combination in the starting XV.
  • Handré Pollard needs three penalty goals to equal Percy Montgomery’s World Cup record of 17 career penalty goals.
  • Schalk Burger will play in his 78th Test as a flank for the Springboks to extend his record. Saturday’s Test will be his 19th World Cup match, the most by a Springbok. He is also the Bok record holder for most tries as a flank (14) as well as a forward (16).
  • Bismarck du Plessis is the Springbok record holder for most tries (11) in Tests as a hooker.
  • Should Ruan Pienaar be used from the bench he will become South Africa’s most-capped substitute. Currently, he shares the record with Ollie le Roux on 43 Tests as a substitute.
  • Should Victor Matfield be used as a substitute he will extend his record as most-capped Springbok as well as most-capped Bok against New Zealand – he has played in 26 Tests against the All Blacks.
  • The referee is France's Jérôme Garcès. His debut as an international referee was in 2010 in a match between England and the Barbarians. He served as assistant referee in four Tests during the 2011 World Cup. He has refereed three matches at the 2015 World Cup so far, including South Africa vs Japan. It will be his seventh Test involving South Africa. Of the previous six, South Africa won three and lost three.
  • Twickenham is the largest dedicated rugby union venue in the world, the second largest stadium in the United Kingdom and fourth largest in Europe with a seating capacity of 81,605.
  • South Africa have played 21 Tests at this stadium, winning 12 and losing nine. Nineteen matches were against England. The other two were against Australia in the 1999 World Cup semi-final and against Wales last Saturday.

Preview: Springboks vs All Blacks

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