As always there will be plenty at stake when the Springboks are back in action on Saturday, particularly as they seek an elusive Rugby Championship title.
It is also a must-win match for the Springboks if they hope to remain at the summit of the world rankings, with Ireland remaining right on their tail on the eve of the game in Perth where South Africa also can’t improve their ranking.
STATS ON MEN’S WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS AS THE SPRINGBOKS AIM TO REMAIN NO 1
- South Africa will surrender top spot in the rankings if they fail to beat Australia in Perth
with a draw seeing Ireland take over as the number one side by just 0.01 rating points. - The Springboks cannot improve their rating with back-to-back victories over Australia
in The Rugby Championship 2024 due to the 14.15 rating points between the teams
before home weighting is factored in. - Australia will climb above Italy into eighth place if they can turn a heavy defeat into
victory in Perth. - New Zealand cannot improve on third place even with a victory by more than 15 points
over Argentina as this would only be worth 0.34 rating points. - Back-to-back losses against Los Pumas for the first time would, however, see the All
Blacks slip one place to fourth with France the beneficiaries. - Argentina will climb at least one place in victory, swapping places with England, but a
win by more than 15 points would also lift Los Pumas above New Zealand into fourth. - Los Pumas last occupied fourth place during Rugby World Cup 2015, while fifth would
equal New Zealand’s lowest-ever ranking – a position they occupied on two separate
occasions in August 2022. - Brazil cannot improve their rating with victory over Paraguay in the Qualifier
Sudamericano 2025 Phase 2 opening match on Sunday. This is a consequence of the
8.51 point difference between the teams before home weighting is factored in. - However, Brazil will slip one place to 30th if they fail to beat the lower-ranked
Paraguay, who would jump three places to 38th with a draw. - Paraguay will climb four places with victory with a jump of six places to 35th possible if
the margin is by more than 15 points.
A big change in the rankings took place this past weekend as the Springboks thrashed the Wallabies, while the All Blacks suffered a shock loss to Argentina.
There are now 4.74 rankings points that separate the Springboks and All Blacks from first to third place, although there is still just 0.99 points between SA and Ireland.
Here is where the Boks stand in the latest official rankings:
Date: Saturday, August 17
Venue: Perth Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 17.45 (11.45 SA time; 09.45 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against Australia:
Played 94; Won 51; Lost 40; Drawn 3; Points for: 1 893, Points against: 1 660; Tries scored 223, Tries conceded 171; Highest score 61-22 (Pretoria, 1997); Biggest win 45 points (53-8, Johannesburg 2008). Win % 54.2%.
Miscellaneous:
The average caps per player in the backline is 28, the forwards 17, while the players on the bench average 52.
Should Eben Etzebeth take the field it will mark his 124th Test, which will see him equal with Bryan Habana in second place and three caps short from equalling Victor Matfield’s Springbok Test record (127).
Should Kwagga Smith take the field, he will need only five more Test caps to join the club of Springboks with 50 Test caps.
Morne van den Berg, Ruan Nortje, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Johan Grobbelaar will earn only their second Test caps in the match.
Should the Springboks win, it will be the first time they have won four successive tests against the Wallabies in more than half a century (they won seven matches in a row against Australia between 1969 and 1971).
A win for the Springboks would be their third in succession against the Wallabies in Australia – the first time that feat would have been achieved since winning four in a row between 1971 (3) and the return from isolation in 1993 (1).
The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 332.
There are 196 caps in the backline, with 136 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 419 caps.
