The Springboks know that while the series won’t be won on Saturday in the third test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry at FNB Stadium, it can certainly be lost if they don’t get the result they desire.
The Boks will go into what is a mini-decider at the FNB Stadium, knowing that if they lose not only can they not take the series honours, but they will have been beaten two out of three times on home soil.
That in itself is a massive thing for the team, and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick noted that the team had taken cogniscence of the talk in New Zealand media that they see this week, and not the game in Baltimore next week as the decider.
First it was captain Siya Kolisi who underlined the importance of the fixture and getting the win.
“It's definitely important. Like Coach said, we treated this as playoffs, we lost the first one, and we had to dig our way back and fight the second one, and we won that,” Kolisi said.
“And tomorrow we want to win the series, we're not playing to draw the series. We've got a lot to defend, not just the trophy for the tournament, but also the Freedom Cup. It's something that we want to keep as well.
“So we don't want to draw the series, we're going there to try and win the game. So as Coach said, they're going to come out and run and bring tempo to the game. We're going to play rugby the way we know how to play rugby, and we know how to win games.
“So we're not taking it lightly in any way, we know how important the game is, because our ultimate goal is to win the series, not to draw it. And I'm sure they have the same mindset too.”
Stick added that the mini decider talk had spurred on the team.
“If you listen to their media also, if they win tomorrow, for example, they will claim that they beat South Africa 2-1 in South Africa. So they will own the (bragging) rights. We are well aware of what their motivation is in this game.
“We also want to protect what we stand for as South Africans. Tomorrow's game, again, just to go deep on it, the team that's going to win tomorrow has got a better chance to win the series when you go to America. The team that loses tomorrow won't win the series.
“They can only play to draw. So you will understand the mindset of both teams - they will be desperate to have proper results tomorrow. We have to protect our rights in South Africa in the sense of them not winning 2-1.
“As coaches, we have hawk eyes in every department and we know what's happening.Using the past two games as a reference - the first game when we played at Ellis Park, we dominated the scrums.
“And in Cape Town, we were still dominating, but it wasn't the same as the one at Ellis Park. We struggled with the breakdowns, where they were slowing and spoiling our ball. We couldn't stop it.
“Then last week, there was not even one turnover on the breakdowns against us. So that's why we've managed to convert into those points. Both teams will use what they have learnt as a reference.”
“We created a lot of opportunities in the first game, and nothing will change. The team that's going to create opportunities and better them and turn them into points, they've got a better chance to win the game.
Kolisi said the political significance of playing on the outskirts of Soweto was one that wasn’t lost on the side, especially given the history of the stadium and the area.
“We drive into the people. Soweto is a big part of our history in South Africa. So many things that have happened there, that helped shape the South Africa we have today. So many heroes come from there. And I know a lot of the football history is from there.
“Our heroes, the people that we looked up to when we were young and people who won Afcon in 1996. You know, those are the memories that we have and the people that have come from there.
“We know how special that is. And I'm grateful that it can be at a place like that in a big game like this. And hopefully we can turn things around. We know the last time we played against New Zealand, it wasn't successful. So that's another thing to play towards.
“So we won’t act as if it is not a special ground to play at. We are thankful for the people that came from there and fought for me and coach Mzwandile to be sitting here today. So it's a way for us to say thank you, because we know there are so many that fought for the freedom that we have today. We never got to experience it.
“So us giving our best is part of us saying thank you. Us using opportunities every day is part of us saying thank you . So hopefully we can do that with the win and change the history between the two teams.”
The game kicks off at 5pm and is live on SuperSport.