Springboks v Ireland: All the stats, facts and history

The Springboks and Ireland clash in the first of two Tests at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria at 5pm on Saturday, with the hosts hoping to snap a three-game losing streak against the visitors, going back to 2017.

Here are some interesting stats and facts about Saturday’s match and the history between the teams.

Bok record against Ireland

The teams have clashed 28 times since 1906, with the Boks winning on 18 occasions and Ireland nine times. There has been one draw.

In total, the Boks have scored 530 points while Ireland have scored 412. The Boks have scored 72 tries; Ireland have scored 38.

The biggest win was the 38-0 drubbing the Boks inflicted on Ireland in November 1912 in Dublin in the second ever Test between the countries.

The average match score between the teams over the years is close, at 19-15 for the Boks.

Recent Tests

The last time the Boks beat Ireland was on June 25, 2016 in Port Elizabeth (19-13).

On November 11, 2017, Ireland beat the Boks 38-3 in Dublin, and followed that up with another victory on November 5, 2022, also in Dublin, winning 19-16.

In the teams’ last meeting, in a pool game at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Ireland also got the better of the Boks, in the eventual world champions’ only defeat at the tournament. Ireland won 13-8 at the Stade de France.

Player stats and milestones

Only two players in the Bok forward pack on Saturday have fewer than 69 Test caps — Ox Nche (28) and Kwagga Smith (41).

Only one player in the Bok backline has fewer than 30 Test caps, namely Kurt-Lee Arendse (15).

Only three players in the team on Saturday were not members of the World Cup-winning squad last year (Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Salmaan Moerat, Gerhard Steenekamp).

Fullback Willie le Roux needs only six Test caps after Saturday’s match to join the select club of Springbok centurions.

Bok squad stats

The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up on Saturday is 966, the second most experienced team ever selected by South Africa after the 987-capped side for the World Cup final last year.

There are 403 caps in the backline, with 563 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 182 caps.

The average caps per player in the backline is 57, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 22.