Wallabies Face Daunting Odds Against Springboks | Rugby By The Numbers
Wallabies Face Daunting Odds Against Springboks | Rugby By The Numbers
South Africa faces Australia in The Rugby Championship with a seven-game streak of home dominance in Johannesburg. See key player stats shaping this clash.
South Africa and Australia will meet this weekend in The Rugby Championship, with the defending world champions carrying both form and history into the contest.
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From dominant streaks to player milestones, here’s the statistical breakdown ahead of Saturday’s showdown at Ellis Park:
4 — South Africa is on a four-game winning streak against Australia in men’s tests.
- The Springboks have outscored the Wallabies by an average margin of 22.8 points across those matches. This is a stark contrast to their prior run against Australia, where they had won just two of their eight meetings (two draws, four losses).
8 — The Springboks are unbeaten in their last eight home tests against Australia.
- With seven wins and one draw, the last Wallabies win on South African soil came in 2011, a 14-9 victory in Durban.
31 — South Africa’s 43-12 win over Australia in their most recent home clash was the largest against the Wallabies.
- This victory ranks second all time behind the Springboks 53-8 triumph in 2008, and their third-biggest margin in the rivalry’s history.
6 of 7 — The Springboks have won six of their last seven tests in Johannesburg.
- Against Australia in the city, the streak is even stronger: seven straight wins, with no losses since 1963. That 11-9 defeat remains their only home loss to the Wallabies in the Highveld City.
7 — South Africa has won seven straight tests overall, scoring 40-plus points in each of the last four.
- Only twice in the last decade has any team produced such a run of high scoring in more consecutive matches (Georgia and Namibia, both with five-game streaks).
2 — The Springboks have trailed at halftime twice during that seven-game win streak and gone on to win both times.
4 of 5 — Australia has led at halftime in four of its last five tests, but won only two (three losses).
4 of 6 — The Wallabies have lost four of their last six tests outside Australia, including their last two.
8 — Australia has not conceded a try from a turnover in any of its last eight tests
- This streak is in stark contrast to the team's previous record of giving up eight such tries in eight previous matches. The Wallabies are the only team in the current World Rugby top 10 with that record since the end of the 2024 Rugby Championship.
10.5 — South Africa averaged 10.5 entries into the opposition 22 per game in the 2024 Rugby Championship
- This was the most of any team. only New Zealand (three points per entry) was more efficient than the Springboks (2.8 points per entry). Australia ranked last in both metrics with just 7.3 entries per game and 1.7 points per entry.
21 — Cheslin Kolbe beat 21 defenders in the 2024 tournament, four more than any other player.
- He has beaten 10 defenders in four career tests against Australia — but has never scored against the Wallabies. Australia is the only side Kolbe has faced more than twice without crossing the try line.
5 in 3 — South Africa wing Edwill van der Merwe has scored five tries in his first three test appearances.
- He will attempt to become the first player from a Rugby Championship or Six Nations nation to score in his first four tests since England’s Jamie Blamire in 2021.
7 — Australia’s Max Jorgensen made seven line breaks during the 2025 British & Irish Lions series.
- This was more than triple any other player in those tests. Across his 11-test career, Jorgensen has made 15 line breaks and scored three tries in his last five games.
1 — This will be the first Rugby Championship meeting between the sides since South Africa’s drawn home series against Ireland in 2024.
When Is South Africa Vs. Australia Rugby 2025?
There are two matches in The Rugby Championship between South Africa and Australia and the are each team's first two rounds of the competition.
South Africa Vs. Australia, Rugby Championship Round 1: Aug. 16
The opening match of The Rugby Championship is at Ellis Park, or now known as Emirates Airline Park, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The match kicks off at 11:10 a.m. Eastern.
South Africa Vs. Australia, Rugby Championship Round 2: Aug. 23
The second match of the series is at 11:10 a.m. ET at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
How To Watch South Africa Rugby Vs. Australia In The 2025 Rugby Championship
The match is streaming live in the United States on FloRugby and the FloSports app.
Match archives, replays and breaking news will be on both platforms.
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.