Head-To-Head: Ireland v South Africa

A statistical preview of Saturday’s opening Test match between hosts South Africa and Ireland in Cape Town (kick-off 5pm local time/4pm Irish time).

2016 SUMMER TOUR FIRST TEST: Saturday, June 11

SOUTH AFRICA v IRELAND, Newlands Stadium, Cape Town, 5pm local time/4pm Irish time (live Sky Sports 1 HD/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)

SOUTH AFRICA: Willie le Roux (Cell C Sharks); JP Pietersen (Cell C Sharks), Lionel Mapoe (Emirates Lions), Damian de Allende (DHL Stormers), Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks); Pat Lambie (Cell C Sharks), Faf de Klerk (Emirates Lions); Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks), Adriaan Strauss (Vodacom Bulls) (capt), Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Eben Etzebeth (DHL Stormers), Lood de Jager (Toyota Cheetahs), Francois Louw (Bath), Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers), Duane Vermeulen (Toulon).

Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers), Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), Julian Redelinghuys (Emirates Lions), Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Stormers), Warren Whiteley (Emirates Lions), Rudy Paige (Vodacom Bulls), Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions), Jesse Kriel (Vodacom Bulls).

IRELAND: Jared Payne (Ulster); Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht), Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster); Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), CJ Stander (Munster), Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster).

Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht), Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht), Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Craig Gilroy (Bangor/Ulster).

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)
Television Match Official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Head-to-Head:

Played – 22
South Africa – 16
Ireland Won – 5
Drawn – 1

Ireland v South Africa: IRFU Stats Vault

Previous Meetings:

November 24, 1906 – Tour Match – Ireland 12 South Africa 15, Balmoral Showgrounds
November 30, 1912 – Tour Match – Ireland 0 South Africa 38, Lansdowne Road
December 19, 1931 – Tour Match – Ireland 3 South Africa 8, Lansdowne Road
December 8, 1951 – Tour Match – Ireland 5 South Africa 17, Lansdowne Road
December 17, 1960 – Tour Match – Ireland 3 South Africa 8, Lansdowne Road
May 13, 1961 – Tour Match – South Africa 24 Ireland 8, Newlands
April 10, 1965 – Tour Match – Ireland 9 South Africa 6, Lansdowne Road
January 10, 1970 – Tour Match – Ireland 8 South Africa 8, Lansdowne Road
May 30, 1981 – Tour Match – South Africa 23 Ireland 15, Newlands
June 06, 1981 – Tour Match – South Africa 12 Ireland 10, ABSA Stadium
June 13, 1998 – Tour Match – South Africa 37 Ireland 13, Vodacom Park
June 20, 1998 – Tour Match – South Africa 33 Ireland 0, Loftus Versfeld
November 28, 1998 – Tour Match – Ireland 13 South Africa 27, Lansdowne Road
November 19, 2000 – Tour Match – Ireland 18 South Africa 28, Lansdowne Road
June 12, 2004 – Tour Match – South Africa 31 Ireland 17, Vodacom Park
June 19, 2004 – Tour Match – South Africa 26 Ireland 17, Newlands
November 13, 2004 – Tour Match – Ireland 17 South Africa 12, Lansdowne Road
November 11, 2006 – Tour Match – Ireland 32 South Africa 15, Lansdowne Road
November 28, 2009 – Tour Match – Ireland 15 South Africa 10, Croke Park
November 6, 2010 – Tour Match – Ireland 21 South Africa 23, Aviva Stadium
November 10, 2012 – Tour Match – Ireland 12 South Africa 16, Aviva Stadium
November 8, 2014 – Tour Match – Ireland 29 South Africa 15, Aviva Stadium

Biggest Wins And Margins:

South Africa: Points & Margin: 38-0, 1912 Tour Match
Ireland: Points & Margin: 32-15, 2006 Autumn Test

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Points In A Match: South Africa 20 (Stefan Terblanche, 1998 Summer Second Test); Ireland 17 (Ronan O’Gara, 2004 Autumn Test)

Most Tries In A Match: South Africa 4 (Stefan Terblanche, 1998 Summer Tour First Test); Ireland 2 (Harold Sugars, 1906 Tour Match)

Most Appearances – Ireland v South Africa:

8 – Malcolm O’Kelly
7 – Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, CJ van der Linde
6 – Girvan Dempsey, John Hayes, Victor Matfield, Percy Montgomery, Paul O’Connell, John Smit, Peter Stringer

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v South Africa:

56 – Percy Montgomery, Ronan O’Gara
52 – Jonathan Sexton
23 – Naas Botha, Gaffie du Toit
22 – Tom Kiernan
20 – Stefan Terblanche
16 – Eric Elwood, Morne Steyn
15 – Joost van der Westhuizen

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v South Africa:

4 – Stefan Terblanche
3 – Boetie McHardy, Jan Stegmann, Joost van der Westhuizen
2 – Bakkies Botha, Tommy Bowe, Johan Erasmus, Danie Gerber, Colin Greenwood, Shane Horgan, Tyrone Howe, Bob Loubser, Jacky Morkel, Harold Sugars, Basie van Wyk, Ben-Piet van Zyl

South Africa – Form Guide From Start Of The 2015 Rugby Championship:

Lost 24-20 v Australia away (Rugby Championship)
Lost 27-20 v New Zealand home (Rugby Championship)
Lost 37-25 v Argentina home (Rugby Championship)
Won 26-12 v Argentina away (World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 34-32 v Japan neutral (World Cup Pool B)
Won 46-6 v Samoa neutral (World Cup Pool B)
Won 34-16 v Scotland neutral (World Cup Pool B)
Won 64-0 v USA neutral (World Cup Pool B)
Won 23-19 v Wales neutral (World Cup Quarter-Final)
Lost 20-18 v New Zealand neutral (World Cup Semi-Final)
Won 24-13 v Argentina neutral (World Cup Bronze Final)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2015 Six Nations:

Won 26-3 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 18-11 v France home (Six Nations)
Won 19-9 v England home (Six Nations)
Lost 23-16 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 40-10 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 35-21 v Wales away (World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 28-22 v Scotland home (World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 16-10 v Wales home (World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 21-13 v England away (World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 50-7 v Canada neutral (World Cup Pool D)
Won 44-10 v Romania neutral (World Cup Pool D)
Won 16-9 v Italy neutral (World Cup Pool D)
Won 24-9 v France neutral (World Cup Pool D)
Lost 43-20 v Argentina neutral (World Cup Quarter-Final)
Drew 16-16 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 10-9 v France away (Six Nations)
Lost 21-10 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 58-15 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 35-25 v Scotland home (Six Nations)

South Africa – Most-Capped Players:

127 Victor Matfield
117 Bryan Habana
111 John Smit
109 Jean de Villiers
102 Percy Montgomery
89 Joost van der Westhuizen
88 Ruan Pienaar
86 Schalk Burger
85 Bakkies Botha
80 Os du Randt
79 Bismarck du Plessis
77 Mark Andrews
76 Fourie du Preez
75 Tendai Mtawarira
75 CJ van der Linde
72 Jaque Fourie
70 Jannie du Plessis
70 Juan Smith

South Africa – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

893 Percy Montgomery
694 Morne Steyn
320 Bryan Habana
312 Naas Botha
240 Joel Stransky
221 Braam van Straaten
190 Joost van der Westhuizen
188 Handre Pollard
181 Jannie de Beer
171 Andre Pretorius
160 Jaque Fourie

South Africa – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

64 Bryan Habana
38 Joost van der Westhuizen
32 Jaque Fourie
27 Jean de Villiers
26 Breyton Paulse
25 Percy Montgomery
23 JP Pietersen
21 Pieter Rossouw
20 James Small
19 Danie Gerber
19 Stefan Terblanche

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
94 Rory Best
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
85 Jamie Heaslip
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
72 David Humphreys
72 David Wallace
72 Geordan Murphy
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Eoin Reddan
69 Mike Gibson
69 Rob Kearney

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
574 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Keith Earls
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Ronan O’Gara
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 George Stephenson
13 Rob Kearney
12 Keith Crossan
12 Jamie Heaslip
12 David Wallace

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

64 David Campese (Australia)
64 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Gethin Jenkins (124-Wales, 5-Lions)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
119 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
114 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Alun Wyn Jones (99-Wales, 6-Lions)
104 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Matt Giteau (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Stephen Moore (Australia)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Ross Ford (99-Scotland, 1-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)