Earlier this week, SA Rugby confirmed that there would be a significant announcement involving SuperSport and the SABC, and in relation to the Springboks.
It’s now been confirmed that both SuperSport and SABC will air a ‘live’ broadcast of the Springboks’ second Test against Italy on 12 July at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, commemorating 30 years since the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in 1995.
Although this announcement will certainly be celebrated by SABC viewers, it remains to be seen whether this will be a one-off affair, or indeed open the doors for more Springbok games to be shown on the national broadcaster in the future.
THE SPRINGBOKS, SABC AND SUPERSPORT HAVE REACHED AN AGREEMENT
The Springboks will get their international season under way against Italy at Loftus this Saturday. The match will kick off at 17:10, and will be broadcast only on SuperSport.
What do you think of the announcement that was made?
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Springbok record against Italy:
Played 16; Won 15; Lost 1; Points for: 764, Points against: 195; Tries scored 102, Tries conceded 16; Highest score 101-0; Biggest win 101 points. Win % 94%.
Miscellaneous:
- The Boks have played Italy seven times in South Africa, but this will be the first Test between the sides at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where the hosts have a 78% win record (32 wins from 41 Tests).
- Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok to 132 caps when he takes the field.
- Damian Willemse will play his first match for the Springboks since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand, which the Boks won 12-11.
- Should Willie le Roux take the field, it will mark his 99th Test match for the Springboks, putting him in line to become only the eighth Springbok centurion in history. He made his Test debut against Italy in Durban in 2013.
- The Springboks have faced Italy 16 times and won 15 of those matches. Their only defeat was in Florence in 2016 where Italy pipped the Boks by 20-18.
- In the 15 matches the Springboks have won against Italy, they only scored fewer than 30 points on three occasions.
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 738.
- There are 351 caps in the backline, with 377 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 466 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 50, the forwards 47, while the players on the bench average 58.
