The biggest victories in Springbok history

South Africa’s recent 73-0 victory over Wales in Cardiff ranks as the country’s seventh-biggest test victory in history.

Since the current rugby scoring system was introduced in 1992, South Africa has won two matches by a margin of more than 100 points.

The largest of these victories was against Uruguay in 2005, when the Springboks managed to score 134 points and conceded only three.

The match took place at the Basil Kenyon Stadium in East London in front of just under 10,000 fans. Head coach Jake White fielded an experienced XV with 228 caps between them. John Smit captained the side.

A total of 21 tries were scored and only one penalty, with 12 of the starting lineup managing to dot the ball down across the goal line.

Western Province winger Tonderai Chavhanga, who was playing his test debut at age 21, scored the most points in the game with six tries, a new record for South African rugby and one that is still held today.

This was followed by full back Percy Montgomery, who converted one penalty and made six conversions.

Four other players managed to score two tries each, including Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers, Solly Tyibilika, and Albert van den Berg.

The second most significant victory achieved by the Springboks came against Italy in 1999, when they scored 101 points and conceded zero.

The team, coached by Nick Mallett and captained by Corné Krige, played in front of over 36,000 fans at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.

At a combined 115 caps, the team was relatively inexperienced, with several players having only one cap to their name. Among the more experienced players in the team was flanker Rassie Erasmus.

Winger Stefan Terblanche scored five tries during the match, setting a new record, the same one Tonderai Chavhanga would go on to break against Uruguay.

Reserve Deon Kayser came on to score another three, with flyhalf Gaffie du Toit also significantly contributing to the tally with his eight conversions.

Less than a 100-point margin

South African neighbour Namibia has been a common victim of a Springbok hiding over the past two decades, the greatest of which occurred in August 2007.

The game, which was played at Newlands, the second-oldest test venue in the world before it was closed, resulted in the hosts scoring 105 to Namibia’s 13.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a winger that walked away with the most tries, but the two flankers, Schalk Burger and Juan Smith, who scored three each.

Percy Montegomery, who was 33 at the time and had 85 caps to his name, scored the most points with one try, 12 conversions, and two penalties. Eight other players scored tries during the contest.

Montgomery held the record for the most points scored by a Springbok player in a single match after this performance. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu recently broke this record against Argentina in October.

Namibia was also on the receiving end of the Springboks’ fourth-largest victory in history. However, this time it was during the group stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

South Africa managed to score 11 tries, with Francois Hougaard and Gio Aplon each scoring two. Flyhalf Morne Steyn also scored a try, in addition to six conversions and one penalty.

Wales’ loss against South Africa at the end of November wasn’t the first time a heavy victory had been inflicted on the Northern Hemisphere side by the Boks.

In 1998, a touring side that played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria conceded 98 points and only managed to score 13.

The South African side, coached by Nick Mallett and captained by Gary Teichmann, scored a total of 15 tries.

Percy Montgomery contributed the most points to the tally at 31 with two tries, nine conversions, and one penalty. He is currently tied fourth for the most points scored by a Springbok in a single match following this performance.