Wallabies could displace Boks at No.2
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:30
Could John have been a Lion?
Australia could replace South Africa in second place on the IRB world rankings when they meet for the second time in seven days.
The Springboks and Wallabies go head-to-head in Bloemfontein on Saturday - with the Wallabies having won 30-13 in Brisbane in their first encounter and the Boks winning 44-31 in Pretoria last week.
Apart from the IRB rankings points, the Mandela Plate is also on offer on Saturday.
South Africa will retain second place on the IRB standings if they draw with or defeat Australia.
However, the Springboks will still remain nearly seven ratings points behind New Zealand, even with a victory by more than 15 points.
If Australia win by any margin on Saturday they will move up to second, with South Africa dropping to third.
Even with a heavy loss, Australia will remain third in the rankings, over one rating point ahead of France.
South African captain John Smit will equal Percy Montgomery's South African record of 102 Test appearances in the penultimate Tri-Nations match this year.
There are currently eight players ahead of Montgomery in the all-time list, headed by Australia's George Gregan, with 139 appearances.
Other interesting facts:
- South Africa's starting line-up is an average of more than two years per man older than the Australians'. The Springboks have made 750 Test appearances between them compared to the Wallabies 551 appearances.
- Five of the Springboks 22-man squad are aged over 30, with 33-year-old lock forward Victor Matfield their oldest and most experienced Tri-Nations player. This will be his 42nd appearance in the competition, moving him up to second behind George Gregan, who is top of the list with 48 appearances.
- Wallabies second row forward Nathan Sharpe is the only member of their squad over the age of 30. The 32-year-old will be making his 87th Test appearance and his 38th in the Tri-Nations.
- South Africa will have a 26 kilogram weight advantage in the scrum over their opponents, including a 16kg advantage in the front row. The heaviest man on the pitch will be Australia's tighthead prop Salesi Ma'afu at 126kg.
- The Springbok forwards are an average of three centimetre per man taller than their Australian counterparts.