Rassie Erasmus has named a largely settled side for Saturday's third Castle Lager Double Malt Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Test against New Zealand at FNB Stadium in Soweto, with the match kicking off at 17h10.
The front row reverts to Ox Nche, Wilco Louw and Malcolm Marx, who start ahead of Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit and Deon Fourie — all three moving to the bench. Erasmus explained that last week's front-row switch was driven by the weather conditions in Cape Town, with Johannesburg conditions now favouring the original selection.
The only other change is injury-enforced: Damian Willemse is unavailable after taking a knock in the first half last week, prompting Cheslin Kolbe to shift to fullback and Kurt-Lee Arendse coming onto the wing. Handré Pollard also remains unavailable.
Arendse's return was overdue — he missed last week after Kolbe recovered from a pre-match niggle. Erasmus noted his record of 25 tries in 33 Tests as evidence of his value to the side.
The Boks head into the match level at one apiece, following their 33-26 win in Cape Town. The winner on Saturday will go two-up with one Test to play, with the series finale scheduled in the United States. Erasmus expects a sharpened All Blacks response, drawing on the Boks' own experience of how a series loss galvanises a team after the first Test defeat in Johannesburg.
Playing at FNB Stadium — capacity around 80,000 — represents a first for many in the squad, and Erasmus flagged the noise and atmosphere as a factor both sides will have to manage.