Lions vs South Africa: Who has the heavier pack? And more interesting stats

Friday, 23 July 2021 at 19:18

byRugby Rucker

The British & Irish Lions and South Africa clash in their 2021 test series opener in Cape town on Saturday – here’s how the two teams shape up.

After making a miraculous recovery from a dislocated shoulder, Alun Wyn Jones will become the first player in the professional era to win 10 successive Test caps for the Lions.

The Springboks announced their XV on Tuesday, with captain Siya Kolisi included after his recovery from Covid-19.

The three-match Test series will be played at the Cape Town Stadium at the same time (17:00 BST) on successive Saturdays from 24 July to 7 August.

MOST CAPS:

South Africa: Eben Etzebeth - 86
Lions: Alun Wyn Jones - 148

FEWEST CAPS:

South Africa: Ox Nche - 2
Lions: Duhan van de Merwe - 10

YOUNGEST PLAYER:

South Africa: Kwagga Smith - 25
Lions: Tom Curry - 23

OLDEST PLAYER:

South Africa: Willie le Roux - 31
Lions: Alun Wyn Jones - 35

HEAVIEST PLAYER:

South Africa: Trevor Nyakane - 121kg
Lions: Alun Wyn Jones - 122kg

LIGHTEST PLAYER:

South Africa: Cheslin Kolbe - 80kg
Lions: Ali Price - 88kg

PACK WEIGHT:

South Africa: - 892kg
Lions: 917kg

Odds

South Africa: Evens

Draw: 18/1

Lions: Evens

Prediction

South Africa 23-18 Lions

MATCH FACTS:

The match will kick off at 5pm BST in Cape Town a on Saturday 24 July
Sky Sports will air the fixture live

LINE-UPS:

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk; 1 Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Kwagga Smith.

16 Ken Owens, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Liam Williams.

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse.

British and Irish Lions: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Ali Price; 1 Wyn Jones, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Jack Conan.

Replacements: