The Springboks will run onto Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday looking to improve on a woeful Test record in New Zealand’s capital.
The Springboks have played Test matches at two stadiums in Wellington since 1921, namely Athletic Park (1921 to 1998) and Wellington Regional Stadium (known today as Sky Stadium) between 2002 and 2019.
The Springboks’ record at Athletic Park reads: Played 7, won 3, lost 3, drawn 1, for a win percentage of 42.9%.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 17 Sep 1921 | New Zealand | Draw 0-0 |
| 14 Aug 1937 | New Zealand | Lost 13-7 |
| 4 Aug 1956 | New Zealand | Won 8-3 |
| 31 July 1965 | New Zealand | Lost 6-3 |
| 29 Aug 1981 | New Zealand | Won 24-12 |
| 23 July 1994 | New Zealand | Lost 13-9 |
| 25 July 1998 | New Zealand | Won 13-3 |
The Springboks have played 11 Tests at Sky Stadium, but only eight of those were against the All Blacks.
South Africa played three Tests at the ground during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, beating Wales and Fiji and losing 11-9 against Australia in a Test that Springbok fans will never forgive New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence!
The Springboks’ Test record at the venue against the All Blacks only reads: Played 8, won 1, lost 6, drawn 1 for a win percentage of 12.5%.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 20 Jul 2002 | New Zealand | Lost 41-20 |
| 22 Jul 2006 | New Zealand | Lost 35-17 |
| 5 Jul 2008 | New Zealand | Lost 19-8 |
| 17 Jul 2010 | New Zealand | Lost 31-17 |
| 30 Jul 2011 | New Zealand | Lost 40-7 |
| 11 Sep 2011 | Wales | Won 17-16 |
| 17 Sep 2011 | Fiji | Won 49-3 |
| 9 Oct 2011 | Australia | Lost 11-9 |
| 13 Sep 2014 | New Zealand | Lost 14-10 |
| 15 Sep 2018 | New Zealand | Won 36-34 |
| 27 Jul 2019 | New Zealand | Draw 16-16 |
South Africa last tasted victory at the venue on 15 September 2018 when Siya Kolisi led his team to a 36-34 win.
This is what the Springbok starting XV that day looked like:
| Position | Player | Caps |
| 1 | Steven Kitshoff | 30 |
| 2 | Malcolm Marx | 17 |
| 3 | Frans Malherbe | 22 |
| 4 | Eben Etzebeth | 70 |
| 5 | Franco Mostert | 23 |
| 6 | Siya Kolisi | 34 |
| 7 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | 39 |
| 8 | Warren Whiteley | 20 |
| 9 | Faf de Klerk | 17 |
| 10 | Handré Pollard | 32 |
| 11 | Aphiwe Dyantyi | 6 |
| 12 | Damian de Allende | 31 |
| 13 | Lukhanyo Am | 5 |
| 14 | Jesse Kriel | 33 |
| 15 | Willie le Roux | 47 |
| 16 | Bongi Mbonambi | 19 |
| 17 | Tendai Mtawarira | 104 |
| 18 | Wilco Louw | 9 |
| 19 | RG Snyman | 5 |
| 20 | Francois Louw | 60 |
| 21 | Ross Cronjé | 10 |
| 22 | Elton Jantjies | 27 |
| 23 | Cheslin Kolbe | 1 |
The Springboks’ 36 points that day came via tries by Malcolm Marx, Aphiwe Dyantyi (2), Willie le Roux and Cheslin Kolbe. Handre Pollard added four conversions and a penalty.
The All Blacks replied with tries by Jordie Barrett, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane (2), Codie Taylor and Ardie Savea. Beauden Barrett added two conversions.
The Springbok starting XV had 426 Test caps between them heading into the match.
Wales’ Nigel Owens was the referee and a reported 34 182 fans turned up to watch live.
Fast forward nearly six years and the Springbok starting XV for Saturday boasts 626 Test caps.
There are 173 caps in the backline, with 453 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 193 caps.
Kick-off on Saturday, 13 September is at 09:05 (SA time).
Meanwhile, the Springboks will have a Georgian referee in charge of their Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand in Wellington this Saturday.
TEAMS
New Zealand
TBA
South Africa
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen
Score prediction for the All Blacks vs Springboks clash in Wellington on Saturday?
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