Rassie Erasmus has made four changes and a positional switch for Saturday's third Greatest Rivalry Test against the All Blacks at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, largely maintaining the combinations that secured a 33-26 victory in Cape Town last week.
The most significant structural change sees Cheslin Kolbe shift from the wing to full-back, forced by an injury to Damian Willemse, who is unavailable this weekend alongside Handré Pollard. Kurt-Lee Arendse comes in on the right wing — the position he was set to start last week before Kolbe was passed fit. Erasmus noted that Arendse's record of 25 tries in 33 Tests underlines why the recall is straightforward.
In the front row, Erasmus reverts to the combination he originally named before Cape Town: Ox Nche and Wilco Louw at prop with Malcolm Marx at hooker. Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit and Deon Fourie, who started in Cape Town, move to the bench. Erasmus attributed the original switch to the weather conditions in Cape Town and indicated Johannesburg's drier conditions favour returning to his preferred combination, while stressing that the three replacements remain critical to managing the full 80 minutes against the All Blacks.
With the series locked at 1-1, the winner on Saturday moves two Tests clear ahead of the series finale in the United States next week, giving this match a different weight to the opening two. Erasmus drew a direct parallel with how his own squad felt after losing the first Test in Johannesburg, warning that the All Blacks will arrive equally galvanised.
The match will be played in front of a capacity crowd of up to 80,000 at FNB Stadium, a venue Erasmus highlighted as a new experience for much of the current squad.