South Africa v Japan: By the numbers

SOUTH AFRICA v JAPAN – WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON – KO 6.10pm (SAST)

Referee

Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

Test debut: 18 December, 2021 – Netherlands 7-52 Spain

Tests as referee: 7

• Eoghan Cross will take charge of a team from the Six Nations or Rugby Championship for the first time.

• He has refereed Japan once before, a 55-28 defeat of Canada in the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2024.

• Cross will also referee Belgium v Brazil in the RWC 2027 Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai on 13 November and Georgia v Japan in Tbilisi on 22 November.

• This will be his fourth Test of the year, having refereed Georgia’s 62-32 defeat of Spain the Rugby Europe Men’s Championship in February, Fiji’s 63-10 victory over Canada in the Pacific Nations Cup semi-finals and Tonga’s 35-24 win over the same opponents in the third place play-off in September.

Head-to-head

Played: 3 – South Africa leads 2-1

Points for: South Africa 99/Japan 44 (Avg. score: 33-15)

Highest score: South Africa 41 (41-7 on 6 September, 2019)/Japan 34 (34-32 on 19 September, 2015)

Biggest winning margin: South Africa 34 (41-7 on 6 September, 2019)/Japan 2 (34-32 on 19 September, 2015)

First met: 19 September, 2015 – RWC 2015 – Japan 34-32 South Africa – Brighton Community Stadium, England

Last met: 20 October, 2019 – RWC 2019 QF – South Africa 26-3 Japan – Tokyo Stadium, Japan

Head-to-head notes

• This is the first meeting between the teams in six years and the first time they have met on English soil since the Brave Blossoms famously beat the Springboks 34-32 at Rugby World Cup 2015, a match that has since been immortalised in film.

• However, South Africa gained revenge for that upset in Brighton at the 2019 tournament, beating the host nation 26-3 in the quarter-finals.

• After a tight first half, which finished with the Springboks leading 5-3, the soon-to-be champions pulled away after the break when Faf de Klerk crossed and Makazole Mapimpi got his second of the match.

• Handré Pollard’s 11 points also put the Springboks out of reach.

• Mapimpi had been Japan’s destroyer-in-chief on the eve of the tournament, crossing for a hat-trick of tries in a 41-7 warm-up victory in Kumagaya.

• South Africa led 22-0 at half-time in that match.

• Only five of the current Springbok touring squad played in the ‘Miracle of Brighton’ match at RWC 2015: Pollard, centre Jesse Kriel, second-rows Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Team notes

• South Africa claimed back-to-back Rugby Championship titles for the first time when they beat Argentina 29-27 at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on 4 October.

• New Zealand's victory over Australia earlier in the day meant the Springboks knew any form of victory in London would be enough to secure the title because of their superior points difference.

• However, they found themselves 13-10 behind at half-time.

• Cobus Reinach scored a try two minutes before the break, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converting to add to his earlier penalty.

• Malcolm Marx crossed twice, either side of Reinach’s second try, Feinberg-Mngomezulu converting twice, as the Springboks pulled clear.

• However, only two points separated the sides at the final whistle after the Springboks conceded two converted tries in the final quarter without reply.

• Canan Moodie became the fourth Springbok player to be sin-binned in The Rugby Championship 2025 when he saw yellow in the opening minute.

• The win over Los Pumas left South Africa and New Zealand tied on 19 points at the top of the standings but the Springboks finished top as their points difference was +57 to the All Blacks’ +8.

• Both teams conceded 151 points, the joint fewest in the tournament but South Africa’s tournament-high tally of 208 points scored saw them retain the trophy.

• The Springboks’ 27 tries were also the most in the competition.

• Almost half of the tries the Springboks scored came from turnovers (13/27).

• However, they conceded two more tries (19) than both New Zealand and Australia (17).

• South Africa made more line-breaks and offloads (both 48) than any other team.

• They also kicked the ball the most in open play (180), an average of 30 per game.

• South Africa had the lowest penalty count in the tournament (56), conceding an average of just 9.33 per game.

• Marx was the tournament’s joint-top try scorer (four, along with Australia’s Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii).

• Feinberg-Mngomezulu made the most tackle breaks (20).

• The reigning champions began their title defence with a 38-22 loss to Australia at Airline Emirates Park but won the return match in Cape Town, 30-22.

• The Johannesburg defeat was their first on the opening weekend of The Rugby Championship in 10 years.

• It was the first time they’d been beaten since they lost 29-28 to Argentina in the penultimate round of the 2024 Rugby Championship, ending a seven-Test winning run.

• South Africa led 22-0 after 20 minutes of this Rugby Championship opener, a match in which Willie le Roux became the Springboks’ latest Test centurion, after tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse, Andre Esterhuizen and Siya Kolisi.

• However, they conceded 38 unanswered points to lose by 16 points, a margin of defeat that saw the Springboks temporarily lose top spot in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings.

• A week later, a much-changed team bounced back with tries from Moodie, Kwagga Smith and Etzebeth, together with 15 points from the boot of Pollard, to secure a 30-22 win.

• South Africa fell to a 24-17 defeat to New Zealand at Eden Park in round three, after mounting a late fight-back, before coming from behind to register the record 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington.

• It was a triumphant return for No 8 Jasper Wiese, as it was his first game back from the four-match suspension he received for his red card in the 45-0 win over Italy in July.

• In round five, Feinberg-Mngomezulu broke the South Africa record for points scored in a single Test with 37 in a 67-30 win in Durban over Argentina.

• The flyhalf scored a hat-trick of tries, converted eight of South Africa's nine tries and kicked two penalties to beat the previous record of 35 points set by Percy Montgomery against Namibia in 2007.

• Du Toit bagged a brace in the second half as the Springboks built on their slender 25-23 half-time lead.

• South Africa’s other try scorers were Marx, who also picked up a yellow card, Cheslin Kolbe, Morne van den Berg and Manie Libbok.

• It was the most points South Africa have scored against Argentina in 12 years – since a 73-13 win in August 2013.

• South Africa’s year started with a 54-7 win over the Barbarians before beating Italy twice – they also won 42-24 – and Georgia 55-10 in the July internationals.

• Coming up, the Springboks have Quilter Nations Series matches against France (8 November in Saint-Denis), Italy (15 November in Turin), Ireland (22 November in Dublin) and Wales (29 November in Cardiff).

• Japan go into this match on the back of last weekend’s 19-15 defeat to Australia in Tokyo.

• It was their smallest margin of defeat in the 50 years Japan have been playing Australia in Test rugby.

• Hit by yellow cards to Charlie Lawrence and Shuhei Takeuchi, Japan struggled in the first half and trailed 14-3 at the break.

• Their only points of the first half came from Seungsin Lee’s 26th-minute penalty.

• Japan scored their two tries in an eight-minute spell in the second half through Shuhei Takeuchi and Ben Gunter, with Lee converting on one occasion.

• Japan made 208 tackles in the match and only missed 10 for a success rate of 96%.

• Japan finished runners-up to Fiji in the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup for the second consecutive year back in September.

• The Brave Blossoms lost 33-27 to Fiji in the final in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

• Lee converted all three of Japan’s tries as well as slotting two penalties to finish the tournament with a 90% success rate in front of goal (28/31).

• He ended up as the tournament’s leading points scorer, with 61.

• Hooker Hayate Era scored a try at the start and the end of the match, with fullback Ichigo Nakakusu crossing in between.

• Japan finished the tournament as the top try scorers (26) and points scorers (193).

• They also made more tackles (536) and kicks in open play (99) than any other team.

• Japan were more prolific points scorers in the second half of matches at the Pacific Nations Cup, with 61% (117/193) scored after the break.

• Sixteen of their 26 tries were scored in the second half.

• Japan reached the final after a convincing 62-24 semi-final victory over Tonga in Denver, Colorado.

• Seven different players crossed the whitewash: Era, Amato Fakatava, Warner Dearns, Dylan Riley, Shinobu Fujiwara, Kenji Sato and Keijiro Tamefusa. Japan were then awarded a penalty try on the stroke of full-time.

• Lee was successful with all seven conversion attempts and slotted two penalties.

• Japan finished top of Pool B with two bonus-point wins, giving them a maximum of 10 points.

• 2024 runners-up Japan kicked off their bid to go one better this year with a rousing 57-15 win over Canada in Sendai.

• Japan only led 17-10 at half-time after tries from Fakatava and captain Dearns and seven points from the boot of Lee.

• The Brave Blossoms finished the half down to 14 men when Waisake Raratubua was sent to the sin-bin in the 31st minute.

• Fakatava crossed for his second try in the third quarter and Sam Greene also got in on the act before an hour had passed.

• But Japan really exploded into life in the final quarter, scoring four tries, all of them converted by Lee, who finished with 17 points.

• Ben Gunter and Tomoki Osada added their names to the scoresheet before Kippei Ishida helped himself to a late double.

• In their second match, Japan beat the USA 47-21 in Sacramento.

• No 8 Fakatava and Dearns bagged a brace of tries apiece.

• Gunter, Kanji Shimokawa and Ishida also got on the scoresheet for the Brave Blossoms, with Lee converting six of the seven tries.

• Japan beat 24 defenders in the match – three times as many as their opponents.

• Japan went into the Pacific Nations Cup on the back of a drawn home series (1-1) against Wales.

• Japan won the first game 24-19 before becoming the first team to lose to Wales in 19 Tests, after falling to a 31-22 defeat.

• Coming up, Japan have games against Ireland and Wales in the Quilter Nations Series, in Dublin on 8 November and Cardiff on 15 November, before they take a trip to Tbilisi to play Georgia on 22 November.

Team news

• South Africa hand former Junior Springboks captain Zachary Porthen a Test debut in the front row alongside the experienced Marx and Ox Nche. Tight-head prop Porthen will become Springbok #953 at Wembley.

• Arendse, Franco Mostert and De Jager also return to the starting line-up after missing recent matches through injury.

• De Jager partners RG Snyman in a new second row pairing with captain Kolisi to play his 99th Test in a back row featuring Mostert and Wiese.

• Reinach and Feinberg-Mngomezulu continue their half-back partnership with Damian de Allende having a familiar face outside him this weekend in Kriel with the pair starting a Test together for a record 40th time.

• Arendse starts on the left wing which means a move over to the right wing for Ethan Hooker with Kolbe to start at fullback.

• Six members of South Africa’s starting line-up play their club rugby in Japan – Marx, De Jager, Mostert, De Allende, Kriel and Kolbe.

• Two players also earn a first appearance of the year in a match-day 23 in replacement front-row duo Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp, while centre Esterhuizen is named as back-row cover.

• mith, meanwhile, is in line for his 60th cap for South Africa off the bench.

• Eddie Jones has made just two changes to his starting line-up from the narrow loss to Australia in Tokyo last weekend.

• The first comes at hooker with Kenji Sato earning a maiden Test start after five appearances off the bench this year. He is joined in the front row by Kenta Kobayashi and Takeuchi, a try-scorer against the Wallabies.

• Jack Cornelsen again partners Dearns in the second row with try-scorer Gunter, Shimokawa and Michael Leitch completing the forward pack.

• The half-back combination is once again Shinobu Fujiwara and Lee, although Lawrence gets the nod at inside centre this weekend to partner Dylan Riley.

• Tomoki Osada and Ishida line up on the wings, with Yoshitaka Yazaki at fullback.

• Replacement hooker Shodai Hirao is set for his Brave Blossoms’ debut as one of two players to come onto the bench for this encounter, the other being back-row Faulua Makisi.

Coach notes

• Rassie Erasmus returned to the Springboks’ head coach role in February 2024, signing a contract that takes him through to the end of 2027.

• He has overseen 22 Tests in his second spell as head coach, winning 18 and losing four (82%).

• Erasmus was the mastermind behind the Springboks’ back-to-back Rugby World Cup successes of 2019 and 2023 – as head coach and then director of rugby.

• He also led South Africa to their first Rugby Championship title in five years in 2024 and a clean sweep of victories in the Autumn Nations Series that followed.

• His first reign in charge started with a defeat to Wales in Washington DC in June 2018.

• Erasmus won 36 caps for South Africa as a back-row forward from 1997-2001.

• Jones is in his second spell as Japan head coach after leaving his position as Australia head coach after RWC 2023.

• Jones famously led Japan to victory against South Africa at RWC 2015 and also to a then record position of ninth in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings.

• Jones won 32 of his 49 Tests (65%) in his first spell as Japan head coach (2012-15).

• However, his record second time around is just 44% (8/18).

• As England head coach, Jones won 59 out of 81 Tests; his 73% success rate is better than any other England head coach, including Sir Clive Woodward, who led England to Rugby World Cup glory in 2003.

• Jones achieved a record 17-Test winning run in his early years in charge and won successive Six Nations title, including a first Grand Slam since 2003.

• In Jones’ first spell in charge of Australia, he led the Wallabies to the final of RWC 2003.

• He was also part of the coaching staff for the second of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup wins in 2007.

Rankings permutations

• South Africa’s position at the top of the rankings is safe for at least another week if they beat Japan, even though they can’t improve their rating with a win.

• The points differential between the Springboks and Japan is too big – at 18.95 points – for a victory to be rewarded.

• Neither the All Blacks nor Ireland, who meet in Chicago, can better their rating of 92.20 points in victory, unless the Brave Blossoms can repeat the Miracle of Brighton, or hold the Springboks to a draw.

• The best that Ireland can achieve is 91.36 points, while the All Blacks will move on to 91.49 points if they prevail by more than 15 points.

• If South Africa are held to a draw at Wembley Stadium, the winning margin in the Chicago game would have to be more than 15 points for either team to move to No 1.

• A beaten South Africa will lose their No 1 ranking to the winning team in Chicago, irrespective of the scoreline.

• A draw for Japan would move them into the second band of teams for the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 Draw, with Wales dropping out of the top 12 and replacing the Brave Blossoms in 13th.

• Japan will climb an additional place, to 11th, in victory with Georgia the team to fall as a result of the outcome at Wembley.

• Ireland will replace the All Blacks in second place if they repeat their 2016 victory over them in Chicago.

• With fourth-ranked France not in action and unable to improve their rating, New Zealand cannot fall lower than third with a defeat this weekend.

• Australia will enter the top six – and the Band 1 positions come Draw time – if they avoid defeat against England, climbing above Argentina into sixth in the event of a draw.

• A win by more than 15 points will also lift the Wallabies above England into fifth.

• England will themselves move up to fourth – for the first time since August 2022 – at France’s expense if they beat Australia, who will hang onto seventh place even if they are well beaten at Allianz Stadium.

• This is because Scotland, their nearest rivals, will not be rewarded for beating the USA, given they have home advantage and are 14.17 points better off than the Men’s Eagles.

• Scotland will drop below Fiji if they fail to win, while a first-ever victory at Murrayfield for the USA will see them leapfrog Spain into 14th.

• There are also three matches this weekend in Rugby Europe competitions which can all impact the rankings.

• In the Rugby Europe Men’s Trophy 2025-26, Sweden can’t improve on 30th place as they will not receive any points for beating Lithuania.

• Sweden are currently at an all-time high of 30th – 25 places and 10.29 points ahead of their opponents before home weighting is factored in.

• The other Trophy match between Croatia and newly-promoted Denmark does have points riding on it for both teams,

• However, with only marginal gains possible for Croatia, a win will not result in the hosts moving up the rankings.

• Denmark could climb by as many as four places if they win on the road and condemn Croatia to a plummet of at least 10 places.

• In Rugby Europe Men’s Conference 2025-26, Latvia are at home to much lower-ranked opposition, meaning a win over Norway will not lead to any improvement in their rating or position.

Saturday: Springboks v Japan (Wembley Stadium, London)

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

Assistant Referee 1: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR)

Assistant Referee 2: Adam Leal (RFU)

TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)

FRPO: Tual Trainini (FFR)

Springbok starting XV: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach; 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt); 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman; 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Malcolm Marx; 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.

Japan starting XV: 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Charlie Lawrence, 11 Tomoki Osada; 10 Lee Seung-sin, 9 Shinobu Fujiwara; 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Ben Gunter; 5 Warner Dearns (capt), 4 Jack Cornelsen; 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Kenji Sato, 1 Kenta Kobayashi. Replacements: 16 Shodai Hirao, 17 Ryosuke Iwaihara, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Faulua Makisi, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Tiennan Costley.