Despite a number of personnel changes in the starting 15 from the side that lost to Japan, the Boks can count on a fair amount of experience in Saturday’s match. The Boks’ starting lineup possesses a combined 891 caps, which is a Springbok record yet again, after the Japan squad emphasised experience with 40 less caps. The backline contains 400 caps, while the forwards have 491 caps and the bench benefits from a further 191 caps.
The match on Saturday will be the ninth time that South Africa and Samoa have clashed on the rugby pitch, with their first encounter coming 20 years ago in Johannesburg ahead of the Rugby World Cup when the the Springboks defeated their islander opponents by a solid margin, registering a score of 60-8. The Springboks have the edge from a psychological perspective, as they have a 100% winning record against Samoa.
Samoa and South Africa have been involved in four matches at previous Rugby World Cup competitions, with the biggest win for the Springboks coming in 2007 when the team went on to become world champions. On that occasion they emerged victorious with a scoreline of 59-7. That game will be particularly memorable for Bryan Habana, who scored a record four tries against the Samoans. He shares that record with Chester Williams, as the former Springbok scored four tries against Samoa in 1995.
Willie le Roux, Damien De Allende and Duane Vermeulen will take part in their first ever Rugby World Cup match on Saturday against Samoa in Birmingham, as they are in the starting lineup. In addition, Schalk Brits and Frans Malherbe may also make their World Cup debut if they come into the game from the bench.
Victor Matfield embodies all of the characteristics of the ideal professional rugby player, and he has also earned the records to prove his experience and dedication to the Springboks. The veteran will become the most capped Springbok against Samoa with five test caps against the islanders, while he will also achieve a record 125th cap for his country.
Bryan Habana may be giving the Samoans nightmares ahead of the encounter due to his four-try haul against them in 2007 and the possibility of him causing them further problems this weekend. He will extend his record of 110 caps as the most-capped Springbok wing when pulls on the green and gold on Saturday. If Habana scores a try against Samoa he will further his own record of 59 test tries for his country. He also has the Springbok record for most career tries in Rugby World Cups, with an impressive 10 tries to his name.
The skipper will extend his record as the most capped centre for the Springboks with 93 caps in this position, while he will lead South Africa as captain for the 37th time. That will make him the second most capped Springbok captain. Only John Smit would be ahead of him in the standings as the most capped Springbok captain, with a total of 83 appearances for the South Africans during his stellar career.
Veteran Schalk Burger is his team’s most capped Springbok in the flank position, having appeared in 74 tests playing that role, while the Samoa match will be his 81st for the Springboks. He is also the Springbok record holder for most tries in two positions, as a flank with 12 tries, and as a forward with 14, showing his versatility and value to the squad.
This weekend’s Rugby World Cup match between South Africa and Samoa will be held at Villa Park in Birmingham. The stadium is the home of Aston Villa Football Club, which plays in the English Premier League. The venue has a capacity of around 42,500 seats, which will be packed to see the Boks try to make amends for their surprise loss to Japan last week. The stadium is also used to host concerts, boxing matches and rugby league and union matches from time to time.
The side selected by Meyer for this encounter saw numerous changes from the team that lost to Japan. The Springboks have made eight changes to the starting 15 and included two new replacements for the game at Villa Park on Saturday.
Starting 15: Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Jean de Villiers (captain), Damian De Allende, Bryan Habana, Handré Pollard, Fourie du Preez, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Burger, Francois Louw, Victor Matfield, Eben Etzebeth, Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Tendai Mtawarira.
Substitutes: Schalk Brits, Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi, Ruan Pienaar, Pat Lambie, Jesse Kriel.
