Lies, damned lies & stats
We play the numbers game ahead of this weekend's first Test between the Springboks and England in Durban.
– Jean de Villiers is South Africa's 54th Springbok captain. With 72 Test caps he is the most experienced player in the history of Springbok rugby to be appointed as captain. Victor Matfield had 57 caps when he was first appointed as captain in 2007.
– De Villiers will also equal Jaque Fourie's record of most-capped Springbok centre. Fourie is the current record holder with 58 appearances at centre. Jean needs one try to reach 20 career Test tries for the Springboks.
– It is only the third time in the history of South African Rugby that a centre will captain the Test side. The previous two captains were Ferdie Aston (1896) and Pierre Albertyn (1924).
– Bryan Habana is South Africa's most-capped Springbok wing with 73 Test caps and also the most experienced player in the squad with 74 caps. He is also the Springboks' top try-scorer with 40 career tries in Tests.
– Habana also holds the Springbok record for most career tries in Tests against England with six. He has played in eight Tests against England, together with Frans Steyn, the most of any player in this squad.
– Morné Steyn shares the Springbok record for most tries in Tests as a flyhalf with Joel Stransky and Piet Visagie – they have all scored six tries in the No.10 shirt. He also holds the record for most points in a match at this venue when he scored a try, conversion and eight penalty goals for a total of 31 points against New Zealand in 2009.
– Furthermore, Steyn needs 10 points to surpass Naas Botha's 40 career points at this venue. Percy Montgomery is the record holder with 73 career points at Kings Park. Three penalty goals will equal Percy's career record of 11 penalty goals at this venue.
– Bismarck du Plessis shares the Springbok record for most tries in Tests as a hooker with James Dalton and John Smit – they have all scored five Test tries in the No.2 jersey.
– Pierre Spies will become South Africa's most-capped No.8, surpassing former Bok captain Gary Teichmann, who is equal with Spies on 42 caps. Spies also holds the record for most Test tries as a No.8, with seven.
– Frans Steyn is the only player that has played in all seven consecutive wins against England since 2006 and, together with Bryan Habana, the only other player in the squad with eight Test caps against England.
– The Castle Incoming Tour of South Africa by England is the first three-Test tour to this country by a single nation since 1996, when New Zealand played three Tests after the conclusion of the Tri-Nations series.
– The Springboks have won their last seven consecutive Tests against England. England's worst run against any country is nine consecutive losses against New Zealand.
– This will be the first Test at Mr Price Kings Park between the Springboks and England. The Boks' record at Kings Park is: P 27; W 16; D 3; L 8; (59% win ratio). The biggest win by South Africa at this venue was against Italy in 1999 (101-0) and the biggest defeat was against Australia in 2008 (15-27).
– The Springboks have scored 62 tries in 27 Tests at Kings Park and have conceded only 38.
– It's not England's first visit to Durban though – they played three Tests at Kings Park during the 1995 Rugby World Cup and won all of them, against Argentina, Italy and Western Samoa.
– England's last victory against South Africa was in 2006 at Twickenham (23-21). South Africa won their last Test against England, also at Twickenham, in 2010. England's last victory in South Africa was in 2000 in Bloemfontein when they won 27-22.
(Stats courtesy of sarugby.co.za)
