For Saturday's Rugby Championship match against Australia in Brisbane.
– The total Test caps in the starting lineup is 481 – of these, 203 caps are in the backline and 278 among the forwards, while the number of caps on the bench is 115. The average caps per player for the match 23 are 26.
– Eben Etzebeth will play in his 27th consecutive Test match which will also be his 50th Test in Springbok rugby. At the age of 24 years, 9 months and 12 days he will be the youngest Springbok ever to play in his 50th Test match and the 32nd Springbok to achieve this milestone.
– Tendai Mtawarira will play in his 81st Test and become the most-capped Springbok prop in history.
– Bryan Habana needs one match in the Rugby Championship to reach 50 tournament appearances, thereby equalling the Springbok record held by Jean de Villiers. It will also be his 120th Test in the green and gold. He needs one try against Australia for his career-record 10th try against the Wallabies.
– Adriaan Strauss will be captaining the Springboks for the sixth time in his 60th Test.
– Morné Steyn needs four successful penalty goals to equal Percy Montgomery’s career record of 148 penalty goals in Test matches. He is also co-record holder with four drop goals in his Rugby Championship career, the other players being Dan Carter of New Zealand and fellow Springbok André Pretorius.
– Bongi Mbonambi and Franco Mostert could make their tournament debut, should they be used off the bench.
– Lourens Adriaanse and Faf de Klerk will play against the Wallabies for the first time. Should they come off the bench, it will also be a first against Australia for Pieter-Steph du Toit, Steven Kitshoff, Jaco Kriel, Lionel Mapoe, Bongi Mbonambi and Franco Mostert.
– Morné Steyn holds the Springbok career record for most points at Suncorp Stadium. In three outings he has scored three conversions, six penalty goals and a drop goal for 27 points.
– The Springboks and Wallabies will play each other for the 82nd time since their first Test in 1933. South Africa won 45, lost 35 and one match was drawn for a win percentage of 56% for the Boks.
– South Africa’s overall record against Australia in the Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship is: Played 43, won 21, lost 21, drawn 1.
