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South Africa for England 2
SARU 30/05/07
Springbok management has announced the names of players to face England in the second Test at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, on Saturday June 2.
The Springboks will play in their 341st Test, the 28th against England. Of the previous 27 encounters between the two countries, South Africa won 14, lost 12, while the very first Test in 1906, played in London, was drawn.
South Africa scored 492 points to England’s 446 for an average score of 18-17. On home soil however, the average score is 26-15 in South Africa’s favour.
England faced South Africa twice before at this venue, winning in 1994 (32-15) but were on the losing end when South Africa triumphed 18-13 in 2000.
The average score for all Tests at Loftus Versfeld is 32-20 in South Africa’s favor.
The Springbok team for Saturday is as follows (existing caps in brackets):
1. Gurthro Steenkamp (9)
2. John Smit (C) (64)
3. CJ van der Linde (34)
4. Bakkies Botha (32)
5. Victor Matfield (55)
6. Schalk Burger (28)
7. Juan Smith (30)
8. Danie Rossouw (21)
9. Ricky Januarie (16)
10. Butch James (15)
11. Bryan Habana (26)
12. Jean de Villiers (28)
13. Wynand Olivier (13)
14. Akona Ndungane (7)
15. Percy Montgomery (81)
16. Gary Botha (3)
17. Deon Carstens (5)
18. Johann Muller (10)
19. Pierre Spies (7)
20. Ruan Pienaar (6)
21. Francois Steyn (4)
22. Ashwin Willemse (12)
Some interesting facts and figures, going into Saturday’s game:
(A reflection on the long term depth of SA Rugby the relatively modest nature of these milestones.)
· John Smit will lead the Springboks for a record 40th time and will be playing in his 44th consecutive Test match since the game against Georgia in the 2003 RWC. He will also improve on his record of 62 Tests as a hooker.
· Other players who could improve their existing records are:
Percy Montgomery – 677 points in Tests; 105 conversions in Tests; 118 penalty goals in Tests, 12 career conversions against England and he will improve his record 68 Tests as a fullback. Percy needs only 5 points on Saturday to improve on Braam van Straaten’s career record of 56 points against England.
Bryan Habana needs one try to equal Joost van der Westhuizen’s and Danie Gerber’s record of four career tries against England.
Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha will improve their record of 26 Test matches as a lock pairing.
Jake White will set a new record of 39 Test matches as Head Coach of the Springboks.
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