Springboks VS Wallabies

28 August 2010 17h00 [GMT+2]

Loftus Versfeld – Pretoria

Springboks: 15. Frans Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Danie Rossouw, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Butch James, 22. Juan de Jongh

Wallabies: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Saia Faainga, 1. Benn Robinson.

Replacements: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. James Slipper, 18. Ben McCalman, 19. Scott Higginbotham, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Anthony Faainga.

  • Date: Saturday 28 August 2010
  • Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
  • Kick-off: 17h00 [GMT +2]
  • Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) 
  • Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland) 
  • TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A history of Australia VS South Africa in South Africa:

  • This will be the 73rd meeting between Australia and South Africa at all venues. Australia has won 28, including the two most recent meetings, and South Africa 43, while one match has been drawn.
  • Just eight of Australia’s previous wins have been attained on South African soil, with the Springboks taking the other 29 matches that have been played.
  • Australia has won just twice previously at high veldt venues – in 1933 at Bloemfontein and 1963 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Wallabies have been beaten on all four previous visits to Loftus Versfeld in 1963, 1997, 2001 and 2005.
  • Australia’s most recent win on South African soil was a 27-15 win at Durban in 2008 which secured the Mandela Trophy. That success was the first achieved by the Wallabies in the Republic for eight years.
  • Prior to South Africa’s readmission to international sport in 1992, Australia had won just seven of the 31 matches played.
  • The scoreboard stands at 21 wins to Australia and 19 to South Africa, with one drawn, for the period since then.
  • Loftus Versfeld, which is home to the Super 14 champion Bulls, has hosted 29 previous Tests featuring the Springboks, from which the home side has won 21 and lost eight.
  • The ground, which houses 50,000 seats, hosted the 2009 Super 14 final where the Bulls beat the Chiefs.
  • It was also used for six matches in the recent 2010 FIFA football World Cup which was held in South Africa.
  • The ground was zoned for sport in 1914, with the first grandstand accommodating 2000 people built in 1923, and changing rooms and toilet facilities added in 1928, largely paid for out of the profits of that year’s All Black tour of South Africa.
  • Known as the Eastern sports grounds until 1932, the grounds were re-named Loftus Versfeld to honour the memory of the founder of organised sport in Pretoria, who died that year.
  • The Northern Transvaal Rugby Football Union (now Blue Bulls RFU) was established in 1938 after breaking away from the Johannesburg-based Transvaal RFU.
  • Northern Transvaal won its first Currie Cup in 1946. That team included the immortal Springbok, (Dr) Danie Craven. Last year, when the team beat the Cheetahs in the final, the Blue Bulls clinched South African domestic supremacy for the 20th time.
  • The 1997 Tri Nations Test at the ground saw Australia concede its highest ever score against South Africa.
  • South Africa has lost just two of its last 10 Tests at the ground since 2000, with both of those being won by the All Blacks, in 2003 and 2006. Qantas Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans was coaching co-ordinator for the 2003 All Blacks who, in beating South Africa 52-16 at Loftus, inflicted the heaviest ever home defeat on the Springboks.