A history of the Springboks v Wallabies at Ellis Park
The Springboks will be up against the Wallabies at fortress Ellis Park on Saturday evening, where the hosts will be looking to extend their impressive record at a ground they have only lost at once against the visitors in their history.
The Boks hold a strong 11-1 win-loss ratio against the Aussies at the iconic stadium, and have yet to be beaten there in the professional era, which kicked off in 1995.
The first game between the teams at the ground was back in 1933, with the Boks picking up a 12-3 win, followed by triumphs in 1953 (25-3) and 1961 (28-3).
Their sole loss against the Wallabies at Ellis Park came in 1963, with the Aussies edging a tight match 11-9, before the Boks got back to winning ways in 1969 (30-11).
Since the game turned professional, the Boks and Wallabies have clashed at Ellis Park six further times; these are the matches:
Tri Nations 1998: Springboks win 29-15
It was an unblemished Tri Nations for the Boks as they clinched their first title, winning all four of their games. The Ellis Park match was the last of the tournament and proved to be a decider with the Aussies still in with a chance of winning.
But two tries, from Adrian Garvey and replacement Bobby Skinstad, and two conversions and five penalties from Percy Montgomery was enough to get the Boks over the line, with all the Wallabies' points coming from the boot of fullback Matt Burke.
Tri Nations 2002: Springboks win 33-31
It wasn't a good tournament for the Boks as they finished bottom of the log with just one win from their four matches, and that came in a thriller at Ellis Park in the final game of the tournament, that was decided after the fulltime hooter.
Two tries to Breyton Paulse, and one each to Brent Russell and Joe van Niekerk, along with three conversions from Werner Greeff, saw the Boks trailing 26-31 to the Wallabies when the clock went red, only for Greeff to become the hero, hitting a great line to score and convert with the last play of the game to send the fans wild.
Mid-year Internationals 2005: Springboks win 33-20
With the All Blacks entertaining the British and Irish Lions, the Boks played five mid-year Tests, thrashing Uruguay 134-3 in East London, while they drew to France 30-all in Durban and beat them 27-13 in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha).
They then travelled to Australia where the Wallabies downed them 30-12 in Sydney. Two weeks later the Boks got their revenge, hosting them in Johannesburg where tries to Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie, and 18 points from the boot of Percy Montgomery gave them a solid win.
Tri Nations 2006: Springboks win 24-16
In a chastening tournament the Boks finished as the wooden spoonists, including a record 49-0 defeat against the Wallabies in Brisbane in their competition opener. But they bounced back towards the end, including beating the All Blacks 21-20 in Rustenburg.
It was then a tight final match at Ellis Park, with the teams locked 3-all at halftime, before two penalties from Andre Pretorius and a converted try to Fourie du Preez had them 19-16 up going into the final 10 minutes, when Breyton Paulse sealed the win with their second try.
Tri Nations 2008: Springboks win 53-8
The Springboks somehow finished bottom of the Tri Nations, despite beating the All Blacks in Dunedin, and picking up a record win over the Wallabies at Ellis Park, while they lost their other matches in the competition.
Jongi Nokwe was the star of the show, running in an incredible four tries, while Andries Bekker, Adi Jacobs, Ruan Pienaar and Odwa Ndungane also dotted down. Butch James slotted three conversions and a penalty, and Percy Montgomery one conversion. The 45 point winning margin remains the Boks' biggest over the Aussies.
Rugby Championship 2019: Springboks win 35-17
The only game between the two sides at Ellis Park since the competition became the Rugby Championship after Argentina joined, came during a World Cup year. The Springboks won a shortened version that saw each team play each other once.
The Boks got off to the perfect start to the competition with a well-deserved bonus point win on the Highveld, as Herschel Jantjies enjoyed a dream debut scoring a double, with Lood de Jager, Sbu Nkosi and Cobus Reinach also dotting down, while Elton Jantjies slotted all five conversions.
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