Key facts & figures
Head-to-head
• These sides have never met in the Rugby World Cup. • By facing South Africa, Wales will now have taken on
opponents from all continents at RWC. • There have been 25 Test matches between these two nations,
South Africa winning 23 and Wales one with a single draw. • Wales’ lone win was a 29-19 triumph over the Springboks in
Cardiff on 26 June 1999. Graham Henry, who is now coaching
New Zealand, was coach of Wales at the time. • The one draw also took place in Wales, meaning the Welsh
have never managed any positive result against South Africa
outside of their own nation. • South Africa have won their last 12 Test encounters with
Wales. • South Africa
• South Africa are ranked at No. 3 in the IRB World Rankings, behind only New Zealand and Australia.
• South Africa are the defending RWC champions. No team has retained the Webb Ellis Cup.
• The Springboks have the best winning percentage of all teams in the Rugby World Cup. Their 21 wins and three defeats equates to an 87.5 per cent win rate. Other African nations have compiled a combined total of zero wins and 20 defeats in RWC matches.
• South Africa have a track record of 13 wins and one defeat in RWC pool matches. Their only defeat at this stage came against England (25-6 in 2003).
• That loss also ranks as South Africa’s only defeat against Six Nations opposition at the Rugby World Cup from six matches. • South Africa have won all of their four matches that opened a
RWC campaign, outscoring the opposition 204-60. • The only defending champions to start their title defence
with a defeat were Australia. In 1995, the Wallabies opened
with a 27-18 defeat by South Africa. • Need six more tries to reach 100 in RWC matches. • Have won their last seven RWC matches. The team record is
10, a run that started in 1995 and was ended by Australia in
1999. • South Africa are returning 18 players that took part in RWC
2007, more than any country at RWC 2011. This does not include Pierre Spies, who was named in the squad of 30, but had to withdraw when a blood clot was discovered on a lung.
• At 24, Frans Steyn is the youngest player from the 20 squads to take part in his second World Cup. In 2007, Steyn became the youngest player to win the World Cup.
Wales
• Wales are ranked at No. 6 in the IRB World Rankings. • Posted their best performance in the competition in the
inaugural World Cup of 1987, finishing third. That World Cup
was staged in New Zealand and Australia. • Require nine more points to record 700 in RWC history. • Wales have amassed five wins and one defeat in their six
opening World Cup matches. Their only defeat in a RWC
curtain-raiser came against Western Samoa (16-13) in 1991. • Wales’ track record in RWC matches against teams currently representing the Tri Nations is one win and six defeats. That
one victory was a 22-21 success against Australia in the 1987
bronze medal match. • At an average of 26 years and 54 days, Wales have sent the
second youngest squad to RWC 2011. The only younger squad is Australia’s at 25 years and 363 days on average.
The venue
• South Africa have lost all five Test matches they have played at Wellington Regional Stadium. These were all Tri Nations against New Zealand, including the 40-7 defeat in July this year.
• This venue is South Africa’s joint least favourite. They have also lost all five Test matches at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.
• Wales have never played a Test match at this venue. • Wales have not won in New Zealand since defeating Australia
in the bronze medal match of 1987. Five matches in New Zealand since then, all against the All Blacks, have ended in defeat.
The line-ups
• Five Springboks are guaranteed to join Os du Randt and Joost van der Westhuizen in participating in a team-record third RWC. They are John Smit, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw and Jaque Fourie. Bakkies Botha, who has been ruled out of South Africa’s opening match due to injury, can join that group later at RWC 2011.
• In 2007, Bryan Habana equalled the RWC record of Jonah Lomu (NZL) by scoring eight tries in a single World Cup. Lomu managed the feat in 1999.
• Habana has scored 38 Test tries, which ties him with Van der Westhuizen for the all-time Springboks record.
• Smit is one of three players to captain his team in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. The others are Richie McCaw (NZL) and Brian O’Driscoll (IRE).
• South Africa will start nine players from the RWC 2007 final against England in their opening RWC 2011 match against Wales. This equals a competition record.
• Only Tendai Mtawarira, Jannie Du Plessis, Heinrich Brüssow, Pierre Spies, Morné Steyn and Jean De Villiers did not start the 2007 final.
• The record for nine players making the leap between the last starting line-up in one World Cup to the first starting XV in the next was set by Italy in 1995 and later equalled by Argentina in 2003 and South Africa in 2011.
• Shane Williams has scored seven career RWC tries, which ties him with Ieuan Evans and Gareth Thomas for the Welsh record.
• Williams has scored at least one try in his last four RWC matches. If he makes it five, he will equal an all-time record. That record of crossing in five straight is shared by New Zealand’s Alan Whetton and Lomu.
• Since RWC 2007, Williams has scored 21 tries, which is tied with Takashi Kikutanu (JPN) for the world’s best mark during that time.
• George North (WAL) will become the fifth youngest player in RWC history on Sunday at 19 years and 151 days. He will also be the youngest player to represent Wales in the World Cup, beating Dai Young’s record by 167 days.
• Sam Warburton (WAL) is the only one of the 20 World Cup captains in New Zealand who is younger than 26. On Sunday, he will become the youngest player to captain a World Cup side at 22 years and 341 days.
• Warburton will shatter the record for youngest captain (23 years and 313 days) set by Takamichi Sasaki (JPN) in 2007.
• The previous youngest player to have captained Wales in a RWC match is Jonathan Davies, who was 24 in the 1987 tournament.
• Wales will start the tallest player at the World Cup, second row Luke Charteris, who stands at 2.06m.