Saturday’s opening ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ Test between the Springboks and All Blacks at Ellis Park saw veteran South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth claim sole possession of sixth place in the list of most Tests played.
Etzebeth has now played 143 Tests and finds himself one ahead of now-retired Italian No 8, Sergio Parisse.
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The 34-year-old also closed the gap on All Blacks utility back Beauden Barrett who was not selected in the All Blacks’ matchday 23-man squad.
Barrett currently has 144 caps to his name.
Retired Wales and British & Irish Lions lock Alun Wyn Jones leads the way with 170 overall Test matches played.
There is plenty of time for Etzebeth to further climb the list before he hangs up his studs.
Latest centurion
Meanwhile, Saturday’s Test saw Springbok centre Damian De Allende become just the 10th Springbok to reach 100 Tests.
For the record, there have been 958 Springboks to date.
De Allende joined an illustrious list of South African centurions which includes Etzebeth (143*), Victor Matfield (127), Bryan Habana (124), ‘Beast’ Mtawarira (117), John Smit (111), Jean de Villiers (109), Siya Kolisi (104*), Percy Montgomery (102) and Willie le Roux (101*).
*denotes still playing
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| Rank | Caps | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 170 | Alun Wyn Jones | Wales (158), British and Irish Lions (12) |
| 2 | 154 | James Slipper | Australia |
| 3 | 153 | Sam Whitelock | New Zealand |
| 4 | 148 | Richie McCaw | New Zealand |
| 5 | 144 | Beauden Barrett | New Zealand |
| 6 | 143 | Eben Etzebeth | South Africa |
| 7 | 142 | Sergio Parisse | Italy |
| 8 | 141 | Brian O’Driscoll | Ireland (133), British and Irish Lions (8) |
| 9 | 139 | George Gregan | Australia |
| 10 | 137 | Cian Healy | Ireland |
| Full names: Eben Etzebeth |
| Date of birth: 29 October 1991 |
| Place of birth: Cape Town |
| School: Tygerberg |
| Springbok #833 |
| Physical: 2.03m, 117kg |
| Current age: 34 |
| Test summary: Tests: 143 Tries: 9 |
| First Test: 9 June 2012 – Lock against England at Kings Park, Durban |
| Last Test: 22 August 2026 – Lock against New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
Teams
South Africa
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok
New Zealand
15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Simon Parker, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Leroy Carter
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
How many Tests will Eben Etzebeth have played by the time he retires?
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