The Wallabies will play the Springboks this weekend at Newlands in Cape Town. Here are the top 10 things you need to know about this weekend’s clash.
1. The Wallabies have not won at Newlands since 1992 when they won 26-3. They have lost their past 6 tests there.
2. The Wallabies will move to 2nd in the IRB World Rankings if they are able to beat the Springboks. Australia currently have a ranking of 88.10 whilst the Springboks have a ranking of 88.24.
3. The Springboks have a 76% success rate against the Wallabies when they play in South Africa. Their success rate against the Wallabies at Newlands is slightly lower at 73% (Springboks have won 8/11 matches at Newlands).
4. The Wallabies lost 28-8 when they played the Springboks in the same fixture at Newlands last year.
5. South Africa have the strongest lineout in the Rugby Championship with a success rate of 88.7% whilst the Wallabies have the weakest lineout in the competition with a success rate of just 76.6%.
6. The Springboks have 12 players who have 50 caps or more in their squad. The Wallabies have 6 players with 50 caps or more. The Springboks are likely to start the match with three centurions in their starting lineup (Victor Matfield, Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana). For the Wallabies, Adam Ashley-Cooper is likely to be the most experienced with 97 test caps.
7. The last time the Springboks lost at Newlands was in 2008 when they lost 19-0 to the All Blacks.
8. If successful, the Wallabies will reclaim the Mandela Challenge Plate which is currently held by South Africa.
9. Some Wallabies have already experienced success at Newlands this year after the Waratahs defeated the Stormers in Round 8 of Super Rugby.
10. So far in the Rugby Championship Israel Folau has made 346 metres (2nd in competition) and 48 carries (1st in competition) whilst Willie le Roux has made 299 metres (3rd in competition) and 45 carries (2nd in competition).
