Here is all the information you need to know about the history between the Springboks and Wales and the team news ahead of their clash in Durban.
The Springboks have dominated against Wales over the years. In their last meeting in Cardiff in November last year the Boks won 73-0. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images
The Springboks take on Wales for the 45th time on Saturday in Durban in a round three Nations Championship match.
The Boks have been the dominant side over the years and will start as favourites at Kings Park.
A win by the Boks will give them a 3-0 record in their first three matches of the new Nations Championship.
Here then are some interesting statistics and facts about the match-up and Bok side that will be in action this weekend.
Springbok record against Wales
Played 44; Won 36; Lost 7; Drawn 1; Points for: 1,230; Points against; 683; Tries scored: 145; Tries conceded: 57; Highest score: 96-13; Biggest win: 83 points; Win %: 81,8%.
History
The teams have met only once in Durban in 2014 – a game the Springboks won 38-16.
The last time the teams crossed paths in South Africa was in 2022 in a three-Test series. The Boks won the first Test in Pretoria 32-29, Wales won the second Test 13-12 in Bloemfontein, while the Boks won the third Test 30-14 in Cape Town.
Current form
Should the Springboks register a victory on Saturday, it will mark their 11th Test win in a row.
The Boks have won their first three games of the season – against the Barbarians (80-31), England (45-21) and Scotland (42-28).
In the Six Nations, Wales beat Italy 31-17 (h), lost to Ireland 17-27 (a), lost to Scotland 23-26 (h), lost to France 12-54 (h) and lost to England 7-48 (a). In the Nations Championship so far, Wales beat Fiji 39-24 (a) and lost to Argentina 21-35 (a).
Players
After Saturday’s clash, Damian de Allende will require only one more Test appearance after this match to earn his 100th Test cap, while Pieter-Steph du Toit will only require two more to achieve that remarkable milestone.
Cobus Reinach requires only one more try to move to 100 Test points in the green and gold.
Pieter-Steph du Toit will lead the Boks for the third time in as many weeks in this weekend’s encounter.
There are four debutants in the Bok side this week – wing Jaco Williams, flyhalf Vusi Moyo, lock Ruben van Heerden and prop Carlu Sadie.
Make-up of Bok team
The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 537.
There are 285 caps in the backline, with 252 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 188 caps.
The average caps per player in the backline is 41, the forwards 32, while the players on the bench average 24.
