Springboks-All Blacks kick-off time… don’t get caught out

For rugby fans, there will be a perfect start to your Saturday as the Springboks and All Blacks go head to head in the Rugby Championship. The clash will take place in Auckland, but it’s worth noting that it won’t be at New Zealand’s fortress of Eden Park, but rather at the smaller Mount Smart Stadium.

Kick off is at 09:05 (SA time), while the broadcast build up begins at 8am on both SuperSport’s Grandstand channel (201) and their rugby channel (211).

ALSO READ: De Allende and Am closing in on iconic Springboks record

Here is how the teams will line up:

All Blacks – 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith; 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Subs: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Braydon Ennor, 23 Caleb Clarke.

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Duane Vermeulen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.

ALSO READ | Springboks and All Blacks meet for the 104th time: Head-to-head record

Springboks’ record against New Zealand

Played 103; Won 38; Lost 61; Drawn 4; Points for: 1 674, Points against: 2 143; Tries scored 160, Tries conceded 234; Highest score 46-40; Biggest win 17 points. Win % 37%.

Milestones:

• Eben Etzebeth will captain the Springboks for the 13^th time on Saturday. His last Test as captain was on 20 July 2019 against Australia at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.
• Saturday’s clash will mark the 28^th time Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am join forces in the Springbok midfield.
• The last time the Springboks suffered a defeat in New Zealand was in 2017. They beat the All Blacks 36-34 in 2018, while the sides played to a 16-16 draw in 2019.

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 797.
• There are 320 caps in the backline, with 477 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 280 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 45, the forwards 59, while the players on the bench average 35.

MUST READ | Springboks goal-kicking dilemma – Faf or Kolbe to kick against NZ?

VIEW THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP APPOINTMENTS >>
VIEW THE REMAINING JULY-AUGUST APPOINTMENTS >>

REFEREES FOR THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

HAVE YOUR SAY | POLL | The new ‘BLUE’ Springbok jersey: Like it or loathe it?