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

      DateStatusTeamScoreTeamScoreVenue
      24/11/06TestSouth Africa15 Ireland12 Belfast
      30/11/12TestSouth Africa38 Ireland12 Dublin
      19/12/31 TestSouth Africa38 Ireland 0 Dublin
      08/12/51 TestSouth Africa8 Ireland3 Dublin
      17/12/60 TestSouth Africa17 Ireland 5 Dublin
      13/5/61TestSouth Africa24 Ireland8 Newlands
      10/04/65TestSouth Africa6 Ireland 9 Dublin
      10/01/70TestSouth Africa8 Ireland 8 Dublin
      30/05/81TestSouth Africa23 Ireland15 Newlands
      06/06/81TestSouth Africa12 Ireland10 Durban
      13/06/98TestSouth Africa37Ireland13Bloemfontein
      20/06/98TestSouth Africa33Ireland 0 Pretoria
      28/11/98TestSouth Africa27Ireland13 Dublin
      19/11/00TestSouth Africa28Ireland18 Dublin
      12/06/04TestSouth Africa31Ireland17 Bloemfontein
      19/06/04TestSouth Africa26Ireland17 Cape Town
      13/11/04TestSouth Africa12Ireland17 Dublin
      28/11/09TestSouth Africa10Ireland15 Dublin
      6/11/10TestSouth Africa 23Ireland21 Dublin
      10/11/12TestSouth Africa16Ireland12 Dublin
      08/11/14TestSouth Africa15Ireland27Dublin
      11/06/16TestSouth Africa20Ireland26Newlands
      18/06/16TestSouth Africa32Ireland26Ellis Park
      25/06/16TestSouth Africa19Ireland13Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
      11/11/17TestSouth Africa3Ireland38Dublin
      05/11/22TestSouth Africa16Ireland19Dublin

      Total Points:537374
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