Overview
- South Africa suffered a 33-16 defeat to New Zealand in the opening Test last Saturday that cost them the world No.1 ranking and turned the second Test in Cape Town into a must-win to keep the series alive.
- Coach Rassie Erasmus named a mostly unchanged starting XV on Monday while making four key changes that bring Handre Pollard and Cobus Reinach into the halfback pairing and Ethan Hooker onto the wing after Cheslin Kolbe was ruled out with a niggle.
- Siya Kolisi was bracketed because of a hamstring concern but came through training and was confirmed on Tuesday as fit to start and resume the captaincy for the Cape Town Test.
- Pieter-Steph du Toit will win his 100th cap and Ox Nche his 50th on Saturday, while veteran Deon Fourie has been recalled to the bench and would become the oldest Springbok to play a Test if he is used.
- Erasmus has prioritised experience, set-piece control and Pollard’s game management to address repeated failures to convert territory and to limit breakdown turnovers with only three training sessions before the match.