The wait is nearly over as the Springboks and All Blacks go into battle once again, this time at the historic Eden Park fortress, where South Africa will be hoping to achieve something special on Saturday.
Only three players in the Springboks’ match-23 for the Test – Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Willie le Roux – have played at the stadium before, where the Boks last beat the All Blacks in 1937.
Not only is a piece of special history there for the taking, but also top spot in the world rugby rankings.
The match kicks off at 09:05 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
SPRINGBOKS V ALL BLACKS LIVE SCORING
MATCH INFORMATION
Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker.
All Blacks – 15 Will Jordan, 14 Emoni Narawa, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Damian McKenzie.
Date: Saturday, September 6
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 09:05 SA time (19.05 in Auckland)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 108, Won: 42, Lost: 62, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 790; Points against: 2 235; Tries scored: 173; Tries conceded: 244. Win %: 38.8%.
Miscellaneous:
- The Springboks will go in search of their fifth victory in a row against the All Blacks when the teams meet at Eden Park, after winning their last four matches against their arch-rivals and clinching the Freedom Cup against them last season for the first time since 2009.
- The Springboks’ longest winning streak against the All Blacks was six matches in a row between 1937 and 1949.
- The last time the Springboks defeated the All Blacks at Eden Park was in 1937 – a long-standing record they will be determined to end this weekend – while at the same time ending the hosts’ winning run at the ground since 1994.
- Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Bok of all time to 136 Tests.
- Springbok flanker Siya Kolisi will play his 95th Test match, leaving him only five matches short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game.
- Willie le Roux will earn his 101st Test match after striking the 100th mark against Italy in Gqeberha in the Castle Lager Incoming Series earlier this year.
- The centre pairing of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende will extend their record of playing the most Tests together in the midfield to 39.
- Jesse Kriel will lead the Springboks for the third time in a Test after taking charge of the team against Italy in the Castle Lager Incoming Series in July and Australia in their last Castle Lager Rugby Championship match in Cape Town.
- The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up is 939 – the fourth highest combined total in SA rugby history.
- There are 434 caps in the backline, with 505 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 206 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 62, the forwards 63, while the players on the bench average 26.
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