The Springboks will be desperate to bounce back from their disappointing 24-17 defeat last weekend at Eden Park to stay in the running for the Rugby Championship title, as well as retain the Freedom Cup, when they face the All Blacks this Saturday (kick off is at 09:05 SA time).
Rassie Erasmus has named a new-look backline, while bringing Jasper Wiese in at No 8. Meanwhile, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has made five changes to the run-on XV, which includes handing debutant Leroy Carter a start on the wing.
Here is all the match information ahead of the highly-anticipated kick off between the Springboks and All Blacks
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.
All Blacks – 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Ruben Love.
Date: Saturday, September 8
Venue: Wellington Regional Stadium
Kick-off: 09.05 SA time
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 109, Won: 42, Lost: 63, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 807; Points against: 2 259; Tries scored: 175; Tries conceded: 247. Win %: 38.6%.
Miscellaneous:
- Should the Springboks win the match, they will retain the Freedom Cup against New Zealand, which they won for the first time last year since 2009.
- The last time the teams met at the Sky Stadium was in 2019, where they played to a 16-16 draw, with the Boks winning the previous encounter between the sides 36-34 at the stadium.
- Springbok flanker Siya Kolisi will play his 96th Test match, leaving him only four matches short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game. He will lead South Africa for the 64th time.
- Jasper Wiese will return to the Springbok team for the first time since the team’s 45-0 victory against Italy in Gqeberha after serving a four-match suspension.
- The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up is 626. There are 173 caps in the backline, with 453 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 193 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 25, the forwards 57, while the players on the bench average 24.
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