15. Willie le Roux (Wasps, England, 50, 60 - 12t)
14. Sbu Nkosi (Cell C Sharks , 4, 15 - 3t)
13. Jesse Kriel (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 37, 50 - 10t)
12. Damian de Allende (DHL Western Province, 34, 20 - 4t)
11. Aphiwe Dyantyi (Xerox Golden Lions, 10, 30 - 6t)
10. Handré Pollard (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 36, 299 - 3t, 55c, 55p, 3d)
9. Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks, England, 20, 15 - 3t)
8. Warren Whiteley (Xerox Golden Lions, 22, 15 - 3t)
7. Duane Vermeulen (Unattached, 43, 15 - 3t)
6. Siya Kolisi (captain, DHL Western Province, 38, 25 - 5t)
5. Franco Mostert (Gloucester, England, 26, 5 - 1t)
4. Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Western Province, 43, 20 - 4t)
3. Frans Malherbe (DHL Western Province, 26, 0)
2. Malcolm Marx (Xerox Golden Lions, 21, 20 - 4t)
1. Steven Kitshoff (DHL Western Province, 34, 5 - 1t)
Replacements:
16. Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Western Province, 23, 10 - 2t)
17. Thomas du Toit (Cell C Sharks, 6, 0)
18. Vincent Koch (Saracens, England, 10, 0)
19. RG Snyman (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 9, 0)
20. Francois Louw (Bath Rugby, England, 62, 45 - 9t)
21. Embrose Papier (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 5, 0)
22. Elton Jantjies (Xerox Golden Lions, 30, 223 - 2t, 42c, 43p)
23. Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse, France, 4, 10 - 2t)
Test caps:
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 444. There are 191 caps in the backline with 253 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 149 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline are 27, the forwards are 32 while the players on the bench average 19. The average age of the starting 15 is 26.
Handré Pollard needs one point to reach 300 career points in Test rugby. Should he score 14 points or more in this Test, he will surpass Naas Botha’s career record of 312 points and will move up to fourth position on the all-time point scoring list for South Africa.
The stadium:
• The Springboks’ first Test at the Stade de France was the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against England on 24 October 1999, which South Africa won by 44-21 in front of approximately 77,000 fans.
• Jannie de Beer scored 34 points through two conversions, five penalty goals and a world record of five drop goals.
• The Springboks played their first Test match against France at the Stade de France two years later, on 10 November 2001. South Africa lost 10-20 in front of 70,000 spectators.
• To date, South Africa has played eight Test matches at the Stade de France. The record is: P: 8; W: 6; L: 2; PF: 199; PA: 113; TF: 15; TA: 8; Average score: 25-14; Win%: 75%.
• Of the above-mentioned eight Tests, four were against France. The record: P: 4; W: 2; L: 2; PF: 67; PA: 73; TF: 6; TA: 7.
• The Springboks’ top scorers at the Stade de France are Percy Montgomery (54 points, 9 conversions and 12 penalty goals), JP Pietersen (three tries) and Jannie de Beer (5 drop goals).
• The match records are held by Jannie de Beer (34 points, 5 penalty goals and 5 drop goals), JP Pietersen and Bryan Habana (2 tries each).
Overall record against France:
Match officials:
• The referee is Nigel Owens of Wales, the most experienced referee in the world, carrying the whistle in 85 Test matches.
• To date, Nigel Owens has refereed 17 Test matches involving the Springboks, of which South Africa won 10 and lost seven for a 59% win rate.
• The assistant referees are Matthew Carley and Tom Foley, and Rowan Kitt is the TMO. All three are from England.