Match Details

Qantas Wallabies

Springboks

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Kick off times:
8:00pm (Local) Sat 24 Jul
8:00pm (AEDT) Sat 24 Jul

South Africa

Nickname: The Springboks

National Emblem (s): (i) The Protea flower, (ii) The Springbok

Home Union: South Africa Rugby Union

Founded: 1992 (SA Rugby – previously South Africa Rugby Football Union)

Rugby World Cup Record: Winners 1995, 2007, Semi-finalists 1999, Quarter-finalists 2003

Current IRB Ranking: 2

Coach: Peter de Villiers

Captain: John Smit

On the web: www.sarugby.co.za

A two-time World Cup winner, South Africa quickly resumed its place as one of Australia’s fiercest on-field rivals, after returning to international sporting competition following an end to the apartheid-enforced isolation, in 1992. South Africa re-emerged at a time where Australia held the Rugby World Cup, and the state of competition between the two countries has generally been a lot tighter in the years since isolation ended, than it was in the period before apartheid South Africa was shunned. The current close links between the two SANZAR partnership member nations are reinforced by the participation of their respective provincial teams in the annual Investec Bank Super 14 competition. South Africa currently holds both the Rugby World Cup and the Tri-Nations title.

The Trophy – The Mandela Trophy

Established for competition in 2000, when it was won by Australia during a one off match in Melbourne, the Mandela Trophy was named for the former African National Congress activist, then post-apartheid era South African president, Nelson Mandela. The trophy is now contested across the annual matches that are played between the two countries during the Tri-Nations, with South Africa regaining the silverware by winning two of the three matches that were played last year.

The Last Meeting (in South Africa) – South Africa 29, Australia 17 at Cape Town, 8 August, 2009

South Africa continued its hot Tri-Nations form, after opening with back-to-back home wins over New Zealand, when it out-pointed a committed but error-ridden Qantas Wallabies side at Cape Town. Despite making the best possible start, with a third minute try by fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australia self destructed by giving away too many penalties. This allowed the Springbok sharp-shooter Morné Steyn to kick seven penalty goals and a dropped goal, punishing an Australian side that was at one stage reduced to 13 men, after having both flyhalf Matt Giteau and No 8 Richard Brown sin-binned.

The Last Meeting (in Australia) – Australia 21, South Africa 6 at Brisbane, 5 September, 2009

Australia gained its sole success of the 2009 Tri Nations, while forcing South Africa to wait another week to claim the title, after a gritty 15-point success at Suncorp Stadium. The win was Australia’s seventh on end against South Africa in Queensland, with the match being the third successive occasion that the Springboks had been held try-less. The young Australian combination on the night boasted an average age of 23.9 years of age, as opposed to the mean age of 27 in the experienced South African team. The loss was just the second sustained by the Boks, who went on to secure the Tri Nations by beating New Zealand a week later, since they had lost at home to Australia at Durban a year earlier.

Leading Australian Point-scorers against South Africa

150 Stirling Mortlock

140 Matthew Burke

122 Matt Giteau

39 Marty Roebuck

Leading Point-scorers for South Africa against Australia

140 Percy Montgomery

64 Piet Visagie

64 Joel Stransky

62 Jannie de Beer

54 Braam van Straaten

Leading Australian Try-scorers against South Africa

9 Matt Giteau

7 Stirling Mortlock

6 Stephen Larkham

5 Ben Tune

5 Joe Roff

5 Chris Latham

Leading Try-scorers for South Africa against Australia

7 Breyton Paulse

5 Jannie Engelbrecht

5 Bryan Habana

5 Piet Visagie

Most Australian Caps against South Africa

30 George Gregan

23 Stephen Larkham

22 George Smith

18 Stirling Mortlock

18 Matt Giteau

17 David Wilson

17 Phil Waugh

General Trivia

The Man in charge: He might seemingly attract more than his share of personal headlines, and appears destined to always polarize views; but the numbers still add up for Pieter de Villiers. ‘Div’ as the Bok media have taken to calling him, inherited a Rugby World Cup-winning outfit and made it even better. The country’s first coloured Bok coach in 2008 presided over South Africa’s first win in Dunedin for 100 years – which was just South Africa’s second Tri-Nations success on New Zealand soil in 13 years. He then backed that success up at Hamilton a year later to annex just the Boks third title in the 14-year history of the Tri Nations, completing a three-nil series Slam of the All Blacks in the process. De Villiers-coached Bok teams have also achieved record victories over Australia (53-8 at Johannesburg in 2008) and England (42-6 in London in 2008), as well as taking out the 2009 British & Irish Lions. He enters 2010 with a record of 17 wins and eight defeats as Bok coach, having won seven and lost five outside of South Africa. De Villiers followed a similar path to the top job as that of his predecessor Jake White, with both men having achieved international age-group success prior to assuming the top office.

King of the Captains: From humble beginnings, leading his country against the ‘might’ of Georgia during the Boks’ ill-fated 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign; John Smit has emerged as a national icon for South African sport. Now the most capped skipper of any nation, Smit ended 2009 having led South Africa on 67 occasions, which is three more times with the leadership armband that of his closest ‘rival’, Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll. To put those numbers in perspective; Smit has led on eight more occasions than George Gregan led Australia (59), 12 more than John Eales (55) and 16 more than the most capped All Black skipper, Sean Fitzpatrick, led New Zealand. Current All Black skipper Richie McCaw has captained his nation on 43 occasions. During his time as leader, Smit has taken the Boks to Tri Nations’ titles in 2004 and 2009, a British & Irish Lions series success in 2009 as well as the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

A Familiar Figure: As well as finishing his career with the most Test appearances of any player from any country against South Africa, former Qantas Wallabies skipper George Gregan also marked the occasion of becoming the most capped Australian player of all time up against South Africa. Gregan’s 102nd Test cap, which allowed him to surpass David Campese, came during the 2004 Durban Test which decided that year’s Tri-Nations. Gregan opposed South Africa on 30 occasions. By contrast Campese, whose career between 1982 and 1996 largely coincided with the period of South African sporting isolation, only appeared against South Africa seven times.

The numbers game: With 511,561 registered players; South Africa is second only to England among player registrations on IRB lists, boasting overall participation rates that dwarf those of its Tri-Nations rivals. Figures held by the International Rugby Board record New Zealand’s registration figure at 139,968, while Australia has 82,818 active playing participants.

Perth Party Poopers: South Africa has won three of its 17 Tri Nations matches on Australian soil since the tournament kicked off in 1996, but has had all of those successes at Subiaco Oval in Perth. The Springboks also drew at Perth in 2001, but have thus far not been able to beat Australian anywhere else!

Brisbane Bombers: In complete contrast to their record in Perth, the Boks seem to just hate playing in Brisbane, which is one of the reasons why they are back in the Sunshine State this year. Last year’s 21-6 victory was Australia’s seventh consecutive win over South Africa at Brisbane, and it’s eighth from 10 matches between the two nations in the city. It was the third Test in a row where the Springboks had failed to score a try and South Africa’s fifth defeat from five at Suncorp Stadium.

Drought Breaker: Playing South Africa in Brisbane has also twice proved a drought breaker for Australia in recent Tri-Nations tournaments. Last year’s success was Australia’s first of the 2009 Tri Nations, snapping a record equaling six game losing run in the tournament, which dated back to the team’s win over South Africa at Durban in 2008. Australia’s record 49-0 drubbing of the Boks in 2006 also ended a six-game losing run in the competition.

Mastering the High Veldt: Australia’s two Bundaberg Rum Tri-Nations Tests in South Africa will both be played on the high veldt, where the Springboks boast a formidable recent record. In the period from 2000 to 2009, South Africa played 49 Tests at its five major home venues – Johannesburg (1763 metres above sea level), Pretoria (1330 metres above sea level), Bloemfontein (1351 metres above sea level), Durban and Cape Town – winning 36 of them. The Boks batted at over an 80% success rate at all three of the high veldt venues, but were more beatable at sea level, returning just a 72% success rate in Cape Town, and just 54.5% in Durban, where the Wallabies won in 2000 and 2008.

The end of the golden weather?: While South Africa went on to annex its second Tri-Nations a week later in Hamilton; history may look back on the Boks’ loss to Australia in Brisbane last year as the first sign that the 2007 Rugby World Cup-winners and 2009 Lion Tamers were starting to get the wobbles. The 6-21 reverse, which came just a week after the Boks had beaten Australia in Perth, was just the second loss South Africa had sustained from 12 Tests since its defeat against Australia at Durban in 2008, with the previous one coming in the dead third rubber against the British & Irish Lions earlier in 2009, when the Springboks had fielded a much changed team. The Boks subsequently lost Tests to France and Ireland, as well as dropping two midweek matches, on their end of year tour.

Get Gits: South Africans shouldn’t need any reminding who the danger man is when they play Australia but, just in case they do; a quick check of the statistics sheet is all it takes to confirm that Matt Giteau is the man the Boks must stop. Giteau last year became just the third Australian to surpass a century of Test points against South Africa, while the nine tries that he has scored are the most by any Wallaby against the Boks.

Beware the ‘H-Bomb’: The most lethal winger in the game, Bryan Habana has won five of his 10 Tests since first encountering the Qantas Wallabies in 2005. The brilliant South African, who grabbed a hat-trick for the Barbarians against the All Blacks last year, has scored five previous Test tries against Australia – twice grabbing doubles during the wins at Perth in 2005 and last year.