After the Springboks levelled the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series 1-1 in Cape Town, Rassie Erasmus' side will face the All Blacks in Johannesburg again on Saturday in the third Test of four in the series and the last on South African soil.
The series kicked off with New Zealand winning 33-16 at Ellis Park on August 22, but the Springboks struck back 33-26 at DHL Stadium a week later. Now, the teams will face off at FNB Stadium - which hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.
The curtain-raiser will be a one-off Test between the Springbok Women and the Black Ferns at 1:30 p.m. CAT (11:30 p.m. in Mainland New Zealand).
At 5:10 p.m. CAT (3:10 a.m. on Sunday in Mainland New Zealand), the Springboks and All Blacks will kick off the men's Test.
A heated back-and-forth between Erasmus and All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie after the Cape Town Test ensured that the scrums would be a subject of focus.
"The scrums were better tonight. I think (referee) Angus [Gardner] was pretty strong around setting a mark and trying to keep hookers in the same sort of space. The Springboks moved across further left and he stopped them," Rennie said on Saturday in the post-match press conference.
"We'll give [officials] a bit of feedback around that. It's still a bit of an issue for us, because they're able to walk around and then go straight through our tighthead.
"There are a couple of little technical things we'll share, again, but I thought at the end - at the scrums - both teams were able to play off them - so I think Angus did a reasonable job there."
Erasmus responded: "We've been playing with the pack of these guys together. It's the first time ever in history that people are talking about us walking around. Why would we, all of a sudden, walk around?"
Pointing to what he perceived to be a pattern of the scrum collapsing on New Zealand's feed rather than South Africa's, Erasmus added: "I wouldn't come with that nonsense and say we are walking around and try to put those things out in the media. If I'm starting to put things out, the last lineout was skew and we contested. I'm not going to moan my arse off about that.
"If they just want to start moaning about stuff like that, then they are under pressure. Last week (in a 33-16 Springboks loss in the opening Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Test in Johannesburg), we didn't moan after there was clear head contact a lot of times.
"Today, in the first 40 [minutes], there were four head contacts and nothing was done about it. Then, Lood [de Jager] gets the first [yellow card late in the game].
"Don't try to convince the people through the media - that's what happened in the first week. They tried to convince people in the media that we're slowing the game down and we're not. If the referees get caught up by that, then there's a plan to get that message out.
"We're not going to stay quiet and say: 'Yeah, you're right. We're walking around.' We're not f***ing walking around. We're scrumming through."
Also of significant interest on Saturday was RGR Tour sponsor Airlink's flyover, with two planes narrowly clearing the DHL Stadium roof.
Low flyovers have been common in South African rugby since the 1995 World Cup final win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, but Saturday's event generated significant attention on social media. Critics argued that insufficient regard was given to safety risks, but the airline insisted all went to plan.
"Airlink notes the concerns expressed in various social media and online forums regarding yesterday's formation flyby over Cape Town's DHL Stadium," Airlink said on Sunday.
"The flight demanded careful planning and rehearsal, as it required navigating at low altitude, at around 150 knots. The South African Civil Aviation Authority and Air Traffic Navigation Services provided valuable guidance, approval and support to ensure a safe flyby."
Key details
Date: Saturday, September 5 at 5:10 p.m. CAT (4:10 p.m. BST, 3:10 p.m. GMT, 3:10 a.m. on Sunday, September 6 in Mainland New Zealand)
Venue: FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
How to watch: The match will air on SuperSport's channels 201 and 211 in South Africa. For fans in New Zealand, Sky Sport holds RGR rights. UK viewers will be able to watch the games on Sky Sports
Match officials
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR) FPRO: Brett Cronan (RA)
Team news
The Springboks announced their team on Monday, with Kurt-Lee Arendse replacing the injured Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe shifting to fullback from winger. Arendse will partner Ethan Hooker on the wings.
Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw are in as the starting front row, with Thomas du Toit, Deon Fourie and Gerhard Steenekamp benched.
Springboks: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Manie Libbok
All Blacks: TBC
Stats
The All Blacks have beaten the Springboks in both of their previous clashes at FNB Stadium. New Zealand won 29-22 in the 2010 Tri-Nations and 32-16 in the 2012 Rugby Championship.
South Africa have won 6 of their last 8 matches against the All Blacks in a spell of dominance dating back to a 35-7 win at Twickenham in 2023 during the warm-up matches for the 2023 World Cup in France (where the Springboks later beat the All Blacks again 12-11 in the final).
