Facts and figures: Boks v England preview

The last time the Springboks beat England in London was in 2014, when they edged the hosts 31-28, but they have won three of their last six outings against their northern hemisphere arch-rivals – the most recent being the Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama in 2019, where the Bok side emerged 32-12 victors.

Victory for the Springboks over a strong England team will not only see the South Africans retain the No 1 spot on the world rankings; it would also mark their first unbeaten Outgoing Tour since 2013, and wrap up a successful season for the world champions with nine victories in 13 Test matches.

Springbok record against England:

Played 43; Won 26; Lost 15; Drawn 2; Points for 919; Points against 729; Tries scored 85; Tries conceded 54; Highest score 58; Biggest win 48; Win % 60.5%

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Heading into this all-important encounter, coach Jacques Nienaber has named a Springbok starting line-up that has a total of 705 Test caps.

Match stats:

• Handré Pollard needs 14 more points to reach 600 career points for the Springboks.
• Frans Steyn needs three more points to reach 150 career points for the Springboks.
• Makazole Mapimpi is one try short of 20 Test tries and 100 Test points.
• Bongi Mbonambi needs one try to reach 10 tries and 50 career points.

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Miscellaneous facts:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 705.
• There are 306 caps in the backline with 399 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 329 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline are 43, the forwards 49, while the players on the bench average 41.

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Andrew Brace (Ireland) has been appointed the match referee for Saturday’s clash, and he will be assisted by Angus Gardner (Australia) and Frank Murphy (Ireland), while his Irish compatriot Brian MacNeice will be on Television Match Official duty.

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Here is a reminder of the Bok team to face England in London, and their Test records to date:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 71 caps, 60 pts (12t)

14 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 50 caps, 60 pts (12t)

13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 25 caps, 25 pts (5t)

12 – Damian de Allende (Munster) – 57 caps, 35 pts (7t)

11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 24 caps, 95 pts (19t)

10 – Handré Pollard (Montpellier) – 59 caps, 586 pts (6t, 83c, 126p, 4d)

9 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 20 caps, 40pts (8t)

8 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 60 caps, 15 pts (3t)

7 – Kwagga Smith (Yamaha Júbilo) – 18 caps, 5 pts (1t)

6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 62 caps, 30 pts (6t)

5 – Lood de Jager (Sale Sharks) – 55 caps, 25 pts (5t)

4 – Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) – 96 caps, 15 pts (3t)

3 – Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls) – 53 caps, 5pts (1t)

2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 47 caps, 45 pts (9t)

1 – Ox Nché (Cell C Sharks) – 8 caps, 0pts

Replacements:

16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 45 caps, 50 pts (10t)

17 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 58 caps, 5pts (1t)

18 – Vincent Koch (Saracens) – 30 caps, 0 pts

19 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 50 caps, 5pts (1t)

20 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 10 caps, 0 pts

21 – Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers) – 20 caps, 25 pts (5t)

22 – Elton Jantjies (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes) – 43 caps, 323 pts (2t, 65c, 60p, 1d)

23 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 73 caps, 147pts (11t, 7c, 23p, 3d)

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