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Most experienced Springbok team in history — all the numbers
The most experienced player in the current Bok squad is lock Eben Etzebeth, with 117 Test caps.
Eben Etzebeth will earn his 118th Test cap on Saturday. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images
The Springbok team that will face England in the Rugby World Cup semifinals in Paris on Saturday is the most experienced Bok team ever selected.
In total, there are 895 caps spread across the matchday-23, with 15 players who’ll be in action on Saturday having played in the 32-12 win by the Boks against England in the 2019 World Cup final in Japan four years ago.
With just 11 Test caps, backup hooker Deon Fourie is the most inexperienced player in the squad, but at 37 years old he has played hundreds of provincial and club games, in South Africa and in Europe.
Manie Libbok and Kurt-Lee Arendse have only 13 Test caps, but the bulk of the Bok team for Saturday’s match are hugely experienced.
Backline bench sitters
Ten players in the starting XV have played more than 50 Tests: Jesse Kriel (66), Damian de Allende (76), Duane Vermeulen (74), Pieter-Steph du Toit (74), Siya Kolisi (81), Franco Mostert (71), Eben Etzebeth (117), Frans Malherbe (67), Bongi Mbonambi (66), and Steven Kitshoff (81).
Three players who’ll sit on the bench, namely Faf de Klerk (53), Handre Pollard (68), and Willie le Roux (91) have also notched up plenty of Test caps.
Other players nearing the 50-cap mark include Vincent Koch (48), Damian Willemse (37), Cheslin Kolbe (29), Cobus Reinach (30), RG Snyman (32), Ox Nche (26), and Kwagga Smith (38).
The 895 caps in the team on Saturday is four more than the previous mark of 891 which were picked in the Bok team to face Samoa in Birmingham at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.
The breakdown is: 264 caps in the backline, 631 caps among the forwards, while on the bench there are a further 367 caps.
The average caps per player in the backline is 37, the forwards 78, while the players on the bench average 45.
Bok team to face England with Test caps:
Damian Willemse (37), Kurt-Lee Arendse (13), Jesse Kriel (66), Damian de Allende (76), Cheslin Kolbe (29), Manie Libbok (13), Cobus Reinach (30), Duane Vermeulen (74), Pieter-Steph du Toit (74), Siya Kolisi (81), Franco Mostert (71), Eben Etzebeth (117), Frans Malherbe (67), Bongi Mbonambi (66), Steven Kitshoff (81). Bench: Deon Fourie (11), Ox Nche (26), Vincent Koch (48), RG Snyman (32), Kwagga Smith (38), Faf de Klerk (53), Handre Pollard (68), Willie le Roux (91)
