South Africa head into Saturday's fourth Rugby's Greatest Rivalry (RGR) Test against New Zealand in Baltimore 2-1 up, and a win would leave Dave Rennie's side in no doubt about the size of the gap they have to close ahead of next year's World Cup.
If the All Blacks manage to force a series draw against the reigning back-to-back world champions in the USA, they will head home feeling they are on solid ground for a challenge next year in Australia.
Rennie's side started the series with a 33-16 win in the first Test at Ellis Park, but the Springboks fought back with a 33-26 victory at Cape Town's DHL Stadium. The teams returned to Johannesburg for the third Test at FNB Stadium, with South Africa securing the series lead in a 29-24 win.
The third Test was South Africa's most convincing performance despite a relatively tight scoreline in the end due to a late All Blacks try.
Rassie Erasmus has hailed New Zealand's progress this year, but Rennie will be hoping his side can demonstrate the same resilience when on the back foot that the Springboks have shown in recent years - including this series.
If they can snatch this series draw, that will not yet be enough to prove that the tables have turned in world rugby, but it will show that the All Blacks are still strong enough to go toe-to-toe even after being on the receiving end of the backlash - or 'Boklash' - after winning the first Test.
Key details
Date: Saturday, September 12 at 5 p.m. EDT (11 p.m. CAT, 9 a.m. on Sunday, September 13 in Mainland New Zealand)
Venue: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
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: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
Team news
Cheslin Kolbe is set to miss the series decider for the Springboks after breaking his jaw in the third Test, with Damian Willemse returning from his own injury to start at fullback. Morne van den Berg gets the nod at scrumhalf, with Cobus Reinach benched.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 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 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok
All Blacks: TBC
Stats
The Springboks have won 14 of the 15 Tests in which Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has started as their flyhalf - with the only exception being the defeat to the All Blacks in this series at Ellis Park.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has appeared in 8 further games as a substitute, with 6 of those being victories.
Siya Kolisi picked up his 55th win as Springbok Test captain in the 29-24 win at FNB Stadium, surpassing John Smit to become the most successful Springbok captain of all-time by this metric.
