The Springboks begin their defence of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship – as the tournament is branded in South Africa – against Australia at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.

The annual tournament, officially known as The Rugby Championship, is contested by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and has been dominated by the All Blacks since 2012, when Argentina joined.

Numbers and stats have no bearing on the next match to be played, but they do define the past.

New Zealand have won the Rugby Championship nine times, South Africa twice and Australia once. Los Pumas are yet to win the title.

Statistics back up the dominance of the All Blacks.

New Zealand have won 51 of their 63 matches played since 2012. South Africa have won 33, Australia 26 and Argentina 12. The All Blacks have scored 2 154 points, the Springboks 1 683, the Wallabies 1 411 and Los Pumas 1 196. New Zealand have conceded 1 197 points, South Africa 1 383, Australia 1 735, and Argentina 2 063.

Of the 12 players who have scored 13 or more tries in the Rugby Championship, nine are All Blacks.

Judging by the four Rugby Championship nations’ form over the past two years, this year’s title has two contenders – New Zealand and South Africa.

The fixture list already has the Springboks at a disadvantage. Both matches against the All Blacks will be played in New Zealand. ‘Disadvantage’ might be putting it mildly. New Zealand have only lost two consecutive home test matches against South Africa once in their history – in 1937.

The Boks need to win at least one of the two matches against the All Blacks and ensure they come out of the two matches with at least one more log point than their rivals.

The matches will be played at Eden Park in Auckland and the Sky Stadium in Wellington on consecutive Saturdays in September.

The Springboks have not won at Eden Park since their famous victory in 1937, while the All Blacks have not lost to any opponent in Auckland since 1994.

Wellington has been a happy hunting ground for South Africa, with a win in 2018 and a draw in 2019 against the All Blacks.

History suggests two All Blacks wins against the Boks in the 2025 Rugby Championship, but present form points to two close matches. There is one statistic that might just give the Boks the edge – 65 million South Africans.

The Rugby Championship winners:

• 2012 – New Zealand
• 2013 – New Zealand
• 2014 – New Zealand
• 2015 – Australia
• 2016 – New Zealand
• 2017 – New Zealand
• 2018 – New Zealand
• 2019 – South Africa
• 2021 – New Zealand
• 2022 – New Zealand
• 2023 – New Zealand
• 2024 – South Africa

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