World Champs Out To Continue Their Dominance

The Springboks get their Test year under way with the first of two Tests against Italy at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria tomorrow.

- Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Rassie Erasmus' team are the big favourites to win the match, having dominated against the Italians over the years.

Here are some of the key statistics, facts and figures you might not know about the teams and clashes between them.

History

The Boks and Italy have met 16 times, with the South Africans enjoying a 15-1 record against the Italians.

The first meeting between the teams took place on 12 November 1995 in Rome, when the Boks, then also newly crowned world champions, won 40-21.

The Boks have scored 764 points in total in these 16 meetings, while Italy have scored 195. The Boks have scored 102 tries to Italy's 16.

The biggest winning score is 101-0 to the Boks, recorded in Durban in June 1999.

Italy's only triumph