Can Australia Rugby Do It Again? Springboks vs. Wallabies Notes
Can Australia Rugby Do It Again? Springboks vs. Wallabies Notes
After a shocking upset in Round 1, the Wallabies are looking for their first sweep of the Springboks since 2012.
Australia Rugby will attempt to defeat South Africa twice in a single Rugby Championship campaign for just the second time since the tournament expanded in 2012 when the two sides meet Aug. 23 at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
The Wallabies stunned the Springboks with a 38-22 comeback victory in Round 1.
South Africa carries a seven-match home winning streak over Australia in Cape Town, though the Springboks have scored fewer than 30 points in each of those games.
The Springboks often have needed to rally late, coming from behind at halftime in two of their last four tests at the venue.
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The reigning world champions are trying to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since November 2022. They also have not started a Rugby Championship with back-to-back defeats since 2015.
Despite the Round 1 setback, South Africa showed creativity, completing 14 offloads, the most in over a year.
Australia enters on a run of five wins in their last nine tests, including two straight. A victory Saturday would give the Wallabies consecutive Rugby Championship wins to start a campaign for only the third time.
Tom Wright impressed in Round 1, running a team-high 106 meters with a try and an assist, while Joseph Sua’ali’i has contributed a score or assist in three straight tests.
South Africa’s Kurt-Lee Arendse remains a threat, with tries in four consecutive appearances and averages of 2.5 line breaks and three tackle breaks per match.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. ET on FloRugby and the FloSports app.
South Africa Rugby Stats In The Rugby Championship
| # | Player | Minutes | Points | Tries | Ball Carries | Kicks | Successful Tackles | Cards |
| 15 | Aphelele Fassi | 51 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Edwill van der Merwe | 59 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Jesse Kriel | 80 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | Andre Esterhuizen | 80 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Kurt-Lee Arendse | 67 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| 10 | Manie Libbok | 80 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 9 | Grant Williams | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| 1 | Ox Nche | 59 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2 | Malcolm Marx | 59 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 3 | Wilco Louw | 59 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 4 | Eben Etzebeth | 80 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 5 | Lood de Jager | 45 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Marco van Staden | 68 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 7 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | 80 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 8 | Siya Kolisi | 45 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 16 | Bongi Mbonambi | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Boan Venter | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | Asenathi Ntlabakanye | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Franco Mostert | 47 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 20 | Kwagga Smith | 39 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | Cobus Reinach | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | Canan Moodie | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Damian Willemse | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Total | - | 22 | 3 | 139 | 18 | 109 | 0 |
Australia Rugby Stats In The Rugby Championship
| # | Player | Minutes | Points | Tries | Ball Carries | Kicks | Successful Tackles | Cards |
| 15 | Tom Wright | 80 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | Max Jorgensen | 80 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 13 | Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii | 80 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 12 | Len Ikitau | 62 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 11 | Dylan Pietsch | 32 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | James O'Connor | 80 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | Nic White | 67 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| 1 | James Slipper | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | Billy Pollard | 67 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 3 | Taniela Tupou | 41 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | Nick Frost | 80 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 5 | Will Skelton | 80 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 6 | Tom Hooper | 80 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 7 | Fraser McReight | 80 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 8 | Harry Wilson | 65 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 16 | Brandon Paenga-Amosa | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | Angus Bell | 40 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 18 | Zane Nonggorr | 40 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | Jeremy Williams | 24 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Langi Gleeson | 15 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | Tate McDermott | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | Tane Edmed | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Andrew Kellaway | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Team Total | - | 38 | 6 | 97 | 29 | 157 | 0 |
Australia vs. South Africa All-Time Record
- Overall (96 Games): South Africa Wins: 52, Draws: 3, Australia Wins: 41
- South Africa at Home (49 Games): South Africa Wins: 37, Draws: 1, Australia Wins: 11
- Australia at Home (44 Games): South Africa Wins: 15, Draws: 2, Australia Wins: 27
- Neutral Venue (3 Games): South Africa Wins: 0, Draws: 0, Australia Wins: 3
Australia vs. South Africa Last 10 Match Results
- 2025 (16 Aug): South Africa 22-38 Australia — Ellis Park — Winner: Australia
- 2024 (17 Aug): South Africa 30-12 Australia — Optus Stadium — Winner: South Africa
- 2024 (10 Aug): South Africa 33-7 Australia — Suncorp Stadium — Winner: South Africa
- 2023 (8 Jul): South Africa 43-12 Australia — Loftus Versfeld — Winner: South Africa
- 2022 (3 Sep): South Africa 24-8 Australia — Sydney — Winner: South Africa
- 2022 (27 Aug): South Africa 17-25 Australia — Adelaide — Winner: Australia
- 2021 (18 Sep): South Africa 17-30 Australia — Suncorp Stadium — Winner: Australia
- 2021 (12 Sep): South Africa 26-28 Australia — Cbus Super Stadium — Winner: Australia
- 2019 (20 Jul): South Africa 35-17 Australia — Johannesburg — Winner: South Africa
- 2018 (29 Sep): South Africa 23-12 Australia — Port Elizabeth — Winner: South Africa
South Africa vs. Australia Rugby Championship Round 1 Stats
- Tries: Australia 1 – South Africa 5
- Conversions: Australia 1 – South Africa 4
- Penalty Goals: Australia 0 – South Africa 0
- Ball Carries: Australia 114 – South Africa 139
- Offloads: Australia 4 – South Africa 9
- Line Breaks: Australia 4 – South Africa 9
- Defenders Beaten: Australia 8 – South Africa 29
- Carry Metres: Australia 641 – South Africa 977
- Total Tackles: Australia 177 – South Africa 158
- Missed Tackles: Australia 29 – South Africa 18
- % Missed Tackles: Australia 16.4% – South Africa 11.4%
- Turnovers Won: Australia 6 – South Africa 3
- Turnovers Conceded: Australia 11 – South Africa 11
- Lineouts Won: Australia 18 – South Africa 14
- Lineouts Lost: Australia 2 – South Africa 2
- Total Penalties Conceded: Australia 15 – South Africa 12
- Kicks in Play: Australia 21 – South Africa 25
Rugby Championship Player Stats After Round 1
| Player | Team | Games | Points | Minutes | Pens | Conv | Drop Goals | Tries |
| T. Albornoz | Argentina | 1 | 14 | 80 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| B. Barrett | New Zealand | 1 | 11 | 80 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Reece | New Zealand | 1 | 10 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| H. Wilson | Australia | 1 | 10 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| S. Taukei'aho | New Zealand | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| J. O'Connor | Australia | 1 | 8 | 80 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Libbok | South Africa | 1 | 8 | 80 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Esterhuizen | South Africa | 1 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Kolisi | South Africa | 1 | 5 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Savea | New Zealand | 1 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Wright | Australia | 1 | 5 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Arendse | South Africa | 1 | 5 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Pietsch | Australia | 1 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Isgro | Argentina | 1 | 5 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Ratima | New Zealand | 1 | 5 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Oviedo | Argentina | 1 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| M. Jorgensen | Australia | 1 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Suaalii | Australia | 1 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Rugby Championship Goal-Kicking Stats
| Player | Team | Games | Minutes | Goals | Misses | Pens | Pens Missed | Conv | Conv Missed | Goal Kicking % |
| B. Barrett | New Zealand | 1 | 80 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 71.40% |
| J. O'Connor | Australia | 1 | 80 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 66.70% |
| T. Albornoz | Argentina | 1 | 80 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 80.00% |
| M. Libbok | South Africa | 1 | 80 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 75.00% |
The Rugby Championship 2025 Schedule
Aug. 16
Aug. 23
Sept. 6
Sept. 13
Sept. 27
Oct. 4
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