Opta Facts: South Africa v Ireland

Check out the Opta Facts, provided by Stats Perform, as Ireland continue their build-up for Saturday’s first Test against South Africa at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (kick-off 5pm local time/4pm Irish time – live on Sky Sports Main Event/Action).

– Ireland have won each of their last three Men’s Test matches against South Africa and could record four consecutive victories against the Springboks for the first time

– Five of the last six Tests between South Africa and Ireland have been decided by margins of just six points or fewer

– South Africa have won 11 of their last 12 Test matches (L1), including each of their last five, however, their only defeat during that period came against Ireland during the pool stages of last year’s Rugby World Cup (13-8) and three of their last four victories have come by a single point

– South Africa have won 11 of their last 13 Test matches on home soil (L2), including each of their last four, however, the Springboks’ most recent victory in South Africa only came by a single point (22-21 against Argentina in July 2023)

– Ireland have won 21 of their last 23 Test matches (L2), however, their two defeats during that time both came outside of Ireland, including their most recent away game, against England in the penultimate round of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations (23-22)

– Ireland have won four of their last five away Test matches against Southern Hemisphere opponents (L1), including back-to-back wins over New Zealand in their most recent two

– Ireland have won three consecutive away games in the Southern Hemisphere just once previously, between 2014 and 2016, the final match of which was a victory in South Africa (26-20 in June 2016)

– South Africa (3.9) and Ireland (3.8, also Fiji) won the most and joint-second most jackal turnovers per game respectively of any sides during the 2023 Rugby World Cup

– Ireland also conceded the joint-fewest turnovers per game of any team during this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations (12.2, also Scotland).

– Ireland moved the ball beyond the first receiver from 44% of their attacking phases during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the second highest rate of any team in the tournament (Italy 48%)

– South Africa did so from a lesser share of their phases than any other side (17%). Ireland were also the only team do so from 30%+ of their phases in the year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations (35%)

– South Africa duo Siya Kolisi (12) and Damian de Allende (11) were two of just three players to make more than 10 dominant tackles during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, while team-mate Franco Mostert was one of just three players to make 70+ tackles overall (73, also Ben Earl and Marcos Kremer)

– Ireland’s Caelan Doris was one of just two players to hit 50+ defensive rucks during the 2023 Rugby World Cup (50, also Ardie Savea), while South Africa’s Kwagga Smith won at least two more jackal turnovers than any other player in the competition (8)

– Ireland’s Dan Sheehan was the joint-top try scorer in the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations (also Duhan van der Merwe), with his tally of five being the most any forward has ever scored in a single edition of the Championship