Springboks vs Ireland by numbers
As the Springboks head into the do-or-die third Test against Ireland at the NMB Stadium in Port Elizabeth, here's some stats and facts for the number crunchers.
Stats and facts:
· The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 397 Test caps (129 in the backline and 268 in the forwards), while there are a further 86 caps worth of experience on the bench.
· South Africa and Ireland have played each other 24 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 17 Tests, losing six and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 484 points and 68 tries and conceded 329 points and 30 tries for an average score of 20-14.
· South Africa and Ireland last met on 18 June 2016 at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks beat Ireland 32-26 after trailing by 3-19 at half-time and staged a magnificent comeback in the second half by scoring four tries and clinching the Test.
· There are three uncapped players on the bench, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff and Jaco Kriel. The first one to go on will become Springbok #873. Kriel went on the 2014 end of year tour but did not play in any matches while Kitshoff was part of the training squad in 2015.
· Tendai Mtawarira is the most experienced player in the side with 77 Tests to his credit. He is just three Tests short of Os du Randt’s record of 80 Tests at prop for South Africa. Three other players in the side – captain Adriaan Strauss with 56, Morné Steyn with 61 and JP Pietersen with 68 – have also played more than 50 Tests for South Africa.
· If he goes on at flyhalf Morne Steyn will extend his own record of 59 appearances in this position for the Springboks. He is currently on 694 points and can become only the second player in history to score more than 700 Test points for South Africa.
· The referee is Glen Jackson New Zealand. It will be his third Test involving South Africa. The Springbok have won both previous Tests where he was the referee – against Scotland by 55-6 in Port Elizabeth in 2014 and against Argentina by 26-12 in Buenos Aires in 2015.
· It will be the fourth Test match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The Boks have won two, against New Zealand in 2011 and Scotland in 2014, and drawn one, against England in 2012. The average score is 29-8.
Springbok Test match records at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (PE):
o Most points – 18 by Morne Steyn (5p, 1dg) against New Zealand on 20 August, 2011.
o Most tries – two by Lood de Jager, Marcell Coetzee and Lwazi Mvovo, all against Scotland on 28 June, 2014.
o Most conversions – five by Handré Pollard against Scotland on 28 June, 2014.
o Most penalty goals – five by Morne Steyn against New Zealand on 20 August, 2011.
o Most drop goals – one by Morne Steyn against New Zealand on 20 August, 2011.