8 Things You Need To Know Before The Springboks Play Wales

The Springboks travel to Cardiff for the fourth and final Test of their November tour, and Heyneke Meyer’s men will be hungry to pick up the momentum from the unconvincing win over Italy last weekend.

There are some notable milestones taking place at the Millennium Stadium this weekend, as well as some potential records being broken, so let’s have a look at 8 facts you need to know before the big game:

•The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 574 Test caps (211 in the backline and 363 in the forwards), while there are a further 109 caps worth of experience on the bench.

•South Africa and Wales have played each other 29 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 27, losing one (1999) and one was drawn (1970).  The Springboks have scored 808 points and 101 tries and conceded 428 points and 36 tries for an average score of 28-15.

•South Africa and Wales last met on 21 June 2014 at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. The Springboks won narrowly by 31-30.

•Jean de Villiers will extend the record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 90 Tests in this position and will captain South Africa for the 34th time, placing him third behind John Smit (83) and Gary Teichmann (36).  If he scores a try he will become the sole recordholder for most tries against Wales, a record he currently shares with Joost van der Westhuizen (6).

•Victor Matfield will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok in history (120 Tests). He will also extend his record of 120 Tests as a lock.  It will be his 13th Test against Wales, which is also a record.

•If he scores a try Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine Test tries for South Africa as a hooker.

•It will be Heyneke Meyer’s 37th Test in charge of the Springboks since he took over in 2012. Of the previous 36 Tests South Africa have won 26, lost eight and drawn twice.

•The referee is John Lacey of Ireland. It will be his second Test involving South Africa. His first Test with the Springboks was in August 2014 against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, which South Africa won by 13-6 after an unusually heavy downpour during the match.