For the Springboks’ Test against England at Ellis Park on Saturday.
– The following players will make their Test debut for South Africa: S’busiso Nkosi, Aphiwe Dyantyi and RG Snyman – who played for South Africa in a non-Test against the Barbarians in November 2016.
– The total Test caps for the Springbok starting lineup is 320. There are 107 caps in the backline with 213 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 87 caps.
– The average caps per player in the backline are 15, the forwards 27 while the players on the bench average 11.
– The average age of the starting XV is 25.
– The first England team to tour South Africa was John Pullin’s team on their short tour in 1972. They played in six tour games with a solitary Test against Piet Greyling’s Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The English team shocked more than 66,000 spectators with an emphatic 18-9 win.
– Since that first Test, South Africa have hosted England on two more occasions at Ellis Park, winning on both occasions – in 1984 (35-9) and 2012 (36-27).
– Since the 1972 tour, England have toured South Africa on six occasions. In 1984, (two Tests), 1994 (two Tests), 1998 (one Test), 2000 (two Tests), 2007 (two Tests) and in 2012 (three Tests). South Africa’s record in these five series is: won three, drawn two.
– South Africa’s record against England in South Africa is: Played 13; Won 9; Lost 3; Drawn 1; Points for 362; Points against 213; Tries for 36; Tries against 1; Average score 28-16.
– The overall record of the Springboks against England is: Played 38; Won 23; Lost 13; Drawn 2; Points for 801; Points against 629; Tries for 74; Tries against 46; Average score 21-17.
– South Africa’s biggest win against England was in 2007 in Bloemfontein (58-10) and the biggest loss in South Africa was 32-15 in 1994 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
– England’s best performance against South Africa was in 2002 at Twickenham when the English defeated the Springboks 53-3 – the second biggest Bok defeat in history.
– The referee is Ben O’Keeffe of New Zealand. He was born on 3 January 1989 in Auckland and made his Test debut as a referee on 11 June 2016 in Apia, Samoa in a match between Samoa and Georgia.
– This Test will be O’Keeffe’s 10th and the fourth with South Africa involved. The previous three Tests ended in a win against France, a draw against Australia and a loss against Ireland.
– The assistant referees are Romain Poite of France and Glen Jackson of New Zealand. The TMO will be Simon McDowell of Ireland.
Photo: Kim Ludbrook/BackpagePix
