Eben Etzebeth became the sole holder of the record for most Springbok Test caps against Argentina at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.
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Etzebeth broke out of a tie with Victor Matfield and is now the lone holder of the record with 128 caps – and counting.
Where does that put the 32-year-old worldwide in terms of caps won?
The answer?
Sixteenth.
Fellow lock, Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones is the current record holder with 171 (158 for Wales and 13 for the British & Irish Lions).
He’s followed by yet another second-rower, New Zealand’s Sam Whitelock (153).
The backline player with the most Test caps is Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll with 141 (133 for Ireland and eight for the British & Irish Lions).
Immediately ahead of Etzebeth are a trio of players on 129 Tests: Stephen Moore, Florin Vlaicu and Ben Youngs.
Etzebeth still has ample time on his side – considering he will only turn 33 in late October – to take giant strides up the list before he hangs up his studs.
| Rank | Caps | Player | Teams | Position |
| 1 | 171 | Alun Wyn Jones | Wales (158), British & Irish Lions (13) | Lock |
| 2 | 153 | Sam Whitelock | New Zealand | Lock |
| 3 | 148 | Richie McCaw | New Zealand | Flank |
| 4 | 142 | Sergio Parisse | Italy | No 8 |
| 5 | 141 | Brian O’Driscoll | Ireland (133), British & Irish Lions (8) | Centre |
| 6 | 140 | James Slipper * | Australia | Prop |
| 7 | 139 | George Gregan | Australia | Scrumhalf |
| 8 | 134 | Gethin Jenkins | Wales (129), British & Irish Lions (5) | Prop |
| 9 | 132 | Keven Mealamu | New Zealand | Hooker |
| T10 | 131 | Beauden Barrett * | New Zealand | Fullback / Flyhalf |
| T10 | 131 | Cian Healy * | Ireland | Prop |
| 12 | 130 | Ronan O’Gara | Ireland (128), British & Irish Lions (2) | Flyhalf |
| T13 | 129 | Stephen Moore | Australia | Hooker |
| T13 | 129 | Florin Vlaicu | Romania | Centre |
| T13 | 129 | Ben Youngs | England (127), British & Irish Lions (2) | Scrumhalf |
| 16 | 128 | Eben Etzebeth * | South Africa | Lock |
Meanwhile, heading into Saturday’s match at the Mbombela Stadium, Etzebeth, Matfield and Bryan Habana had all tasted victory on 79 occasions while wearing the famed green and gold jersey.
Thanks to South Africa’s resounding 48-7 win, Etzebeth now holds that record alone.
| Victor Matfield | Eben Etzebeth | Bryan Habana | |
| Springbok # | 705 | 833 | 766 |
| Position | Lock | Lock | Wing |
| Tests played | 127 | 128 * | 124 |
| First Test | v Italy, Port Elizabeth, 2001 | v England, Durban, 2012 | v England, London, 2004 |
| Age on debut | 24 | 20 | 21 |
| Last Test | v Argentina, London, 2015 | v Argentina, Nelspruit, 2024 | v Italy, Florence, 2016 |
| Age in final Test | 38 | 32 * | 33 |
| Test points | 35 | 30 | 335 |
| Tests won | 79 | 80 | 79 |
| Tests lost | 46 | 43 | 42 |
| Tests drawn | 2 | 5 | 3 |
* Denotes still active
Below, every Springbok – past and present – to have played 80 or more Tests:
| Player | Tests | Tries |
| Eben Etzebeth * | 128 | 6 |
| Victor Matfield | 127 | 7 |
| Bryan Habana | 124 | 67 |
| Tendai Mtawarira | 117 | 2 |
| John Smit | 111 | 8 |
| Jean de Villiers | 109 | 27 |
| Percy Montgomery | 102 | 25 |
| Willie le Roux * | 97 | 15 |
| Joost van der Westhuizen | 89 | 38 |
| Siya Kolisi * | 89 | 12 |
| Ruan Pienaar | 88 | 8 |
| Schalk Burger | 86 | 16 |
| Damian de Allende * | 85 | 11 |
| Bakkies Botha | 85 | 7 |
| Pieter-Steph du Toit * | 84 | 11 |
| Steven Kitshoff * | 83 | 2 |
| Os du Randt | 80 | 5 |
How many Tests will Eben Etzebeth play before hanging up his boots?
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