SA v NZ Tale of the Tape
SPOTLIGHT: South Africa host New Zealand in the opening match of the 2022 Rugby championship. We bring you the ‘Tale of the Tape in the battle of the giants.
The last Rugby Championship clash in South Africa was in 2018 (Pretoria), when the All Blacks edged Springboks 32-30.
New Zealand has won nine of their last 12 Tests against South Africa – with a draw and two victories for the Boks.
The All Blacks have won their last four matches on South African soil.
However, their last two victories have come by margins of just two points or fewer.
South Africa have won six of their last seven Tests on home soil, conceding 20+ points in a match just once during that period.
Three of their last five wins at home have come after leading at halftime on the day.
South Africa has won five of their last seven Tests, after losing three in a row previously.
However, the Springboks have scored four+ tries in a game just once during that period and led their opposition at halftime on just one occasion.
New Zealand has won just one of their last five Tests and suffered defeat in the last two.
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The All Blacks have not lost three Tests in a row since a run of five straight defeats between July and August 1998, a sequence which included two defeats against South Africa.
The All Blacks have lost their last two Tests played outside of New Zealand after winning eight of their previous nine.
They have not lost three away matches in a row since a run of three straight defeats between July and August 1998, a run which included a defeat to South Africa (23-24).
No Tier One nation averaged a greater share of possession during this year’s July Test matches than South Africa (57 percent), while the Springboks also ranked third for percentage of time spent in opposition territory (54.5 percent).
South Africa made the fewest knock-ons of any Tier One nation during this year’s July Test matches (four), while no Tier One side made more knock-ons than New Zealand (13).
New Zealand and South Africa ranked joint-first for line-breaks amongst Tier One nations during this year’s July Test matches (12); with the two sides also ranking second (1,277 metres) and fifth (1,158 metres) respectively for carry metres gained.
South Africa’s Damian Willemse ranked in the top five for both metres gained (190 metres – third) and line-breaks (three, fourth) among players from Tier One nations during this year’s July Test matches.
His Springboks teammate Lodewyk de Jager ranked second for his own line-out takes (15).
New Zealand’s Ardie Savea was the only player to score three tries against Tier One nations during this year’s July Tests, while teammate Sam Cane made more tackles than any other Rugby Championship player during this period (41) and the third most of any Tier One player overall.
* Stats provided by Opta Data
