De Allende & Kriel become the most-capped centre pairing

Erasmus named an unchanged starting XV with a total of 990 combined Test caps among them. The total surpasses the 987 caps amassed by the run-on team in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand in France last year.

Furthermore, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will become the most-capped centre pairing in South African history on Saturday when they combine in the midfield for the 30^th time in Tests.

Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie held the record with 29 tests.

More stats regarding Springbok squad

-Frans Malherbe will start at tighthead prop for the 59^th time, which moves him one clear of Jannie du Plessis into third on the list for the most starts at prop, behind Tendai Mtawarira (102) and Os du Randt (75).

-Cheslin Kolbe needs four points to reach 100 points in Tests for South Africa.

-Kwagga Smith is only seven Test caps away from earning his 50^th Test cap after this match.

-Willie le Roux needs only five Test caps after Saturday’s match to join the select club of Springbok centurions.

-The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 990, the most experienced starting XV ever selected by South Africa.

-There are 419 caps in the backline, with 571 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 190

-The average caps per player in the backline is 59, the forwards 71, while the players on the bench average 23.