How many times have Ireland played against South Africa? Ireland won their first test on South African soil when they beat the Springboks by 26-20 at Newlands, Cape Town, on the 11th June 2016. Irelands first victory against South Africa came on April 10th, 1965 in Dublin, with the home team recording a hard fought 9-6 triumph. They came close five years later at the same venue when they just failed to chalk up a second consecutive victory, tying with the Springboks 6-6. Their next victory was on the 13th November 2004, in Dublin, when they won 17-12. Irelands first victory against South Africa came on April 10th, 1965 in Dublin, with the home team recording a hard fought 9-6 triumph. They came close five years later at the same venue when they just failed to chalk up a second consecutive victory, tying with the Springboks 6-6. Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse will start the match with an impressive try-scoring record of 12 tries in 11 Tests. Springbok centre Damian de Allende will reach the 75 Test mark when he takes the field on Saturday. Saturday’s match will be the first time the Springboks and Ireland clash at a Rugby World Cup, making it the first Test between the two sides at a neutral venue. Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Faf de Klerk and Damian de Allende are the only players left from the last time the Boks beat Ireland – on 25 June 2016, in Nelson Mandela Bay. Kitshoff and Mbonambi made their Springbok debuts in the same match against Ireland seven years ago, while De Klerk and Mostert debuted earlier in that series against the Irish. Replacement forwards Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman and Marco van Staden will face Ireland for the first time. The Springboks have won their last seven Tests in the French capital. Their last defeat in the city was in 2005 by France (20-26). Miscellaneous: The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 833. There are 271 caps in the backline, with 562 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 208 caps. The average caps per player in the backline is 38, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 26 Date Status Team Score Team Score Venue 24/11/06 Test South Africa 15 Ireland 12 Belfast 30/11/12 Test South Africa 38 Ireland 12 Dublin 19/12/31 Test South Africa 38 Ireland 0 Dublin 08/12/51 Test South Africa 8 Ireland 3 Dublin 17/12/60 Test South Africa 17 Ireland 5 Dublin 13/5/61 Test South Africa 24 Ireland 8 Newlands 10/04/65 Test South Africa 6 Ireland 9 Dublin 10/01/70 Test South Africa 8 Ireland 8 Dublin 30/05/81 Test South Africa 23 Ireland 15 Newlands 06/06/81 Test South Africa 12 Ireland 10 Durban 13/06/98 Test South Africa 37 Ireland 13 Bloemfontein 20/06/98 Test South Africa 33 Ireland 0 Pretoria 28/11/98 Test South Africa 27 Ireland 13 Dublin 19/11/00 Test South Africa 28 Ireland 18 Dublin 12/06/04 Test South Africa 31 Ireland 17 Bloemfontein 19/06/04 Test South Africa 26 Ireland 17 Cape Town 13/11/04 Test South Africa 12 Ireland 17 Dublin 28/11/09 Test South Africa 10 Ireland 15 Dublin 6/11/10 Test South Africa 23 Ireland 21 Dublin 10/11/12 Test South Africa 16 Ireland 12 Dublin 08/11/14 Test South Africa 15 Ireland 27 Dublin 11/06/16 Test South Africa 20 Ireland 26 Newlands 18/06/16 Test South Africa 32 Ireland 26 Ellis Park 25/06/16 Test South Africa 19 Ireland 13 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 11/11/17 Test South Africa 3 Ireland 38 Dublin 05/11/22 Test South Africa 16 Ireland 19 Dublin Total Points: 537 374