The sides are out on the field, anthems to follow

Malcolm Marx runs out in his 50th test match for South Africa

The Rugby Championship gets underway with South Africa hosting New Zealand in the opening round. Head to head these sides have met on 101 occasions, with the All Blacks winning 60 to the 37 of the Springboks to go along with four draws. The last encounter in October last year saw the Springboks edge it 31-29.

The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 683.
There are 234 caps in the backline with 449 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 298 caps.
The average caps per player in the backline are 33, the forwards 55, while the players on the bench average 37.

The following could be a unique record if achieved: the three Barrett brothers need to score 38 points to reach a 1000 points in Test matches. Their contributions are currently: Beauden Barrett (708 points), Jordie Barrett (229 points) and Scott Barrett (25 points).

Beauden Barrett is third on the All Blacks vs South Africa points-scoring list with 102 points in 15 Test matches.

Handre Pollard is the second highest point scorer against New Zealand with 120 points in 12 Test matches – only 19 points fewer than Morné Steyn, with 139 points in 13 Test matches.

To date, the All Blacks have played in 50 Test matches on South African soil.

Only three Tests have previously been played at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit – 2013 against Scotland, 2014 against Wales and 2016 against Argentina.

Springbok record against New Zealand:

Played 101; Won 37; Lost 60; Drawn 4; Points for: 1625; Points against: 2098, Tries scored 156; Tries conceded 229; Highest score 46-40 in Johannesburg (2000); Biggest win 17-0 in Durban, 1928. Win % 36%.