The Springboks will play a their first post-World Cup Test when they square off against Wales in the Qatar Cup at Twickenham on Saturday.
This weekend’s match kicks off 15h00 SA time and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Prior to the encounter, you can check out some key facts and figures below.
SPRINGBOKS’ RECORD AGAINST WALES:
Played 41, Won 33, Lost 7, Drawn 1. Points for: 1 071, Points against: 658, Tries scored: 126, Tries conceded: 54, Highest score: 96-13, Biggest win: 83 points, Win %: 80%.
Milestones:
- Pieter-Steph du Toit will lead the Springboks for the second time in his illustrious career – the first time was against Wales in Washington in 2018 when he became the 60th Springbok captain.
- Four of the last six matches between the Springboks and Wales were decided by five points or less.
- The Springboks have won five of their last 10 Test matches against Wales – the last of which was a Rugby World Cup warm-up game in Cardiff in August last year, which the Boks won 52-16. The Springboks’ eight tries in that match saw them rack up a record number of points against Wales on Welsh soil.
- The match marks a significant career milestone for Vincent Koch as he earns his 50th Test cap.
Miscellaneous:
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 637.
- There are 183 caps in the backline, with 454 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 227
- The average caps per player in the backline is 26, the forwards 56, while the players on the bench average 28.
TEAM SHEETS
Springboks — 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Damian de Allende.
Wales —15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Mason Grady, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan; 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Kieron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Gareth Thomas.
Subs: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 James Ratti, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Eddie James, 23 Jacob Beetham.
