South Africa go into Saturday's series decider at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium holding a 2-1 lead in the 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry' series, with Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick both flagging the threat posed by Dave Rennie's heavily reshuffled All Blacks.
Rennie has overhauled his starting line-up after the 29-24 defeat in Johannesburg last Saturday, most notably across the front row, where Codie Taylor returns as captain alongside props Ethan de Groot and Fletcher Newell. The recall of Richie Mo'unga at fly-half has drawn particular attention from the Springbok coaching group.
"Richie Mo'unga, he's world class," Stick said. "We expected he would get an opportunity in this game, and I think they're going to be even more bold tomorrow when it comes to keeping the ball alive and trying to use the space in the wider channels. We know how dangerous he is, but we've played against him many times. We've done our homework."
Kolisi acknowledged the selection changes had added a fresh dimension to South Africa's preparation. "It's a new team that they have, so that's also good for us in terms of, it gives you something. We had to look at new players because we know they're going to bring something different this coming weekend. We'd definitely love to win the series. We don't want to draw the series."
A sell-out crowd of 71,000 is expected at M&T Bank Stadium for what is the highest-profile Test ever played on US soil, with the fixture part of World Rugby's broader push ahead of the 2031 Rugby World Cup. Kick-off is at 23:00 on Saturday night.