Springboks face bizarre All Blacks curse ahead of second Test
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Cursed.
The Springboks will attempt to end a bizarre piece of history when they face the All Blacks in the second Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in Cape Town on Saturday.
Pieter-Steph du Toit is set to become just the 11th Springbok to reach 100 Test caps when he takes to the field at DHL Stadium, joining an exclusive group of South African greats.
But there is an unusual statistic hanging over his landmark appearance.
Four Springboks have previously earned their 100th cap in a Test against New Zealand – and all four ended up on the losing side.
Percy Montgomery was the first in 2008, when the Springboks were beaten 19-0 by the All Blacks at Newlands. Two years later, John Smit celebrated his century against the same opposition at FNB Stadium, only for New Zealand to spoil the occasion with a 29-22 victory.
Jean de Villiers suffered the same fate in Wellington in 2014, with the Springboks falling to a narrow 14-10 defeat in his 100th appearance.
Remarkably, the sequence continued just last weekend.
Damian de Allende became South Africa’s 10th Test centurion at Ellis Park, but his milestone was overshadowed as the All Blacks claimed a 33-16 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series.
That leaves Du Toit with the opportunity to become the first Springbok to defeat the All Blacks on his 100th Test.
The milestone will be particularly special for the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, who was born and raised in the Swartland outside Cape Town and will bring up his century in front of a home crowd.
Du Toit has already enjoyed some of the biggest moments of his career against New Zealand, most notably his immense performance in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final victory in Paris.
Saturday’s occasion carries considerably more significance than his individual milestone, however.
After losing the opening Test in Johannesburg, another Springbok defeat would leave them 2-0 down and unable to win the series, with a 2-2 draw the best result they could achieve.
South Africa therefore need to end two unwanted sequences in Cape Town – get their first victory of the series and finally allow a Springbok to celebrate his 100th Test with a win over the All Blacks
