The decision to keep the majority of the side that beat the All Blacks in Cape Town was never a difficult one - because despite initial plans to rotate a lot more during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, coach Rassie Erasmus knows this is one he wants to win.
The Bok coach made just two changes to the side that won 33-26 in Cape Town on Saturday night - moving Cheslin Kolbe to fullback and bringing in Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wing in his place, keeping the entire side together.
Erasmus’s reasoning is clear - the Boks should be a lot fresher than the All Blacks going into the game, plus there is the odd-factor of continuity that will drive them forward in the match as well.
They feel they have the measure of the Kiwis after losing the first test and are desperate to make it 2-1 in their favour before both teams head to Baltimore in the United States.
Erasmus confirmed at his Monday team announcement that although he would have liked to refresh the team with a few changes, the goal was certainly to win the test match now.
“Obviously we always have the World Cup in mind, and I think the first couple of games that we played (in the Nations Championship), we really tested some guys and got to know them outside the field, on the field, and at training sessions — we get to know their personality, and give them a chance to get a little bit more comfortable with the environment.
The #Springboks have named their match-23 for Saturday's third Test in #RugbysGreatestRivalry - more here: https://t.co/sJ2laG8ea8 🇿🇦#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/xPHoGxHOFw
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 31, 2026
A MUST-WIN SERIES
“But this is a series which you must win, and we lost the first game, and we won the second game, and we thought continuity would be the best thing for one of the more important games of the series. Because even though the series won’t be won this weekend, it certainly can determine if it's going to be a draw or we are closer to winning the series. So yeah, we just thought that's the best way to beat the team.”
Erasmus was asked if the Springboks were concerned that their history shows that in World Cup knockouts, the side had struggled after a massively physical playoff game to reset and produce a similar display a week later.
But the Bok coach countered with stats that the Boks have played collectively 60 minutes apiece less than their All Black counterparts, and that should ensure freshness for the third tough consecutive week of test rugby.
“If you take it back to those specific World Cup games, the teams that played against us had seven-day turnarounds, and we had six-day turnarounds, and we were flat, but we managed to pull it through in most of those games when we beat back-to-back teams.
“We always thought that this series - because I've been involved with the Lions series and way back in '96 with the Springboks as well as a player - the series only really gets really, really competitive — not that these two games weren't competitive — week three is where you start to get injuries. I know a lot of people said four-nil and three-one and things like that, but we think it'll always come down to the wire in the last game.
“In the first two games we've used 30 players, so it's already a lot of guys that have chopped and changed. And I guess by the time we get to the last game, we would have used 36, and that's almost our whole squad that we have here. There will be four players that I think won’t get a run in this series.
“I looked at the time that the New Zealand players played minutes over the last six tests, because for me that's normally the indication, and I look at the minutes we played over the last six tests, and we probably, per man, played 60 minutes less than them, so hopefully we won’t be punch-drunk for this game.”
Erasmus said that Damian Willemse’s hamstring injury wasn’t serious and that he, Canan Moodie, Grant Williams and Handre Pollard would all be fit to play in Baltimore in the final test match.
The match kicks off at 5:10pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Springbok team to face the All Blacks at the FNB Stadium:
15 Cheslin Kolbe (DHL Stormers) – 52 caps, 170 pts (22t, 12c, 12p)
14 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 33 caps, 125 pts (25t)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 92 caps, 120 pts (24t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 101 caps, 60 pts (12t)
11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 11 caps, 10 pts (2t)
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 22 caps, 177 pts (9t, 45c, 14p)
9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 55 caps, 100 pts (20t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 47 caps, 20 pts (4t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 100 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Siya Kolisi (captain, DHL Stormers) – 105 caps, 75 pts (15t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) - 22 caps, 5 pts (1t)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 144 caps, 45 pts (9t)
3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 33 caps, 10 pts (2t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 91 caps, 135 pts (27t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 50 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 14 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 21 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 35 caps, 10 pts (2t)
19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 75 caps, 25 pts (5t)
20 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 33 caps, 30 pts (6t)
21 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 5 pts (1t)
22 Morne van den Berg (10bet Lions) – 8 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 32 caps, 143 pts (2t, 47c, 13p)
STATS AND FACTS:
Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 112, Won: 44, Lost: 64, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 899; Points against: 2 328; Tries scored: 185; Tries conceded: 257. Win %: 39,2%.
Miscellaneous:
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Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok of all time to 145 caps when he takes the field.
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The loose trio of Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Jasper Wiese will pass the record they currently share with Francois Louw, Willem Alberts, and Duane Vermeulen as the loose trio with the most Test starts at 17 – three more than Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, Andre Venter and Gary Teichmann, who started 14 Tests together.
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Should he take the field, Deon Fourie will stretch his record as the oldest Springbok player to play in a Test match at 39 years by a further week.
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The teams have only met twice at the FNB Stadium in history in 2010 and 2012, with the All Blacks winning both matches (29-22 and 32-16).
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Jasper Wiese requires only two more Test match appearances after this match to join the group of players who have earned 50 Test caps.
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The Springboks have won six of the last eight matches between the teams dating back to August 2023.
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The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up is 958. There are 366 caps in the backline, with 592 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 222 caps.
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The average caps per player in the backline is 52, the forwards 74, while the players on the bench average 28.