Mapimpi on criticism: It’s difficult to deal with!

Recently there seemed to be a widespread narrative to suggest that Mapimpi would be omitted from the Springboks’ 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in favour of Canan Moodie, who is his junior by 13 years. 

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However, in the end, the veteran wing was backed by the Springbok coaches, and when he was introduced during the World Cup announcement ceremony, the crowd went wild in a clear indication that he remains a fan favourite.

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Mapimpi will have a big opportunity in this weekend’s final World Cup warm up game

The 2019 World Cup winners is now set to make his 39th Test appearance for the Springboks against the All Blacks this Friday, and he is clearly ready to prove his critics wrong at a packed Twickenham.

“I won’t lie, it’s very difficult to deal with,” said Mapimpi. “But these things happen in sport, and we have fans at the end of the day. So, people will write whatever they want in newspapers or on social media.

“The important thing for me is not to listen to the public too much and to listen to the coaches, because they are the ones who see the work I do on the field.

“There’s nothing wrong with people expressing their opinions on these things. While we can adjust what we do on the field, we don’t have to listen to everything. The important thing is to make sure that I know all the detail with regards to what I need to do within the team.”

Friday’s match kicks off 20h30 SA time and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

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Springbok record against New Zealand:

Played 104, Lost 62, Won 38, Drawn 4. Points for 2 178, Points against: 1 694. Tries scored 160, Tries conceded 234. Highest score 46-40, Biggest win 17 points (17-0 in 1928). Win %: 37%.

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Milestones:

• South Africa and New Zealand have only faced another once at Twickenham in 2015 – a match the All Blacks by two points (20-18).
• Canan Moodie will start his first Test for the Springboks at centre.
• Siya Kolisi needs to score one more try to reach 10 Test tries and 50 points.
• Malcolm Marx needs one try to become the sole record holder for the most Test tries by a Springbok forward – he currently shares the record with Schalk Burger.

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Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 746.
• There are 155 caps in the backline, with 591 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 298 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 22, the forwards 73, while the players on the bench average 37.

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