The All Blacks can put one hand on the trophy in the first four-test series between New Zealand and South Africa when they run out at DHL Stadium in Cape Town this weekend. New Zealand Rugby has confirmed the second test kicks off at 5.10pm local time on Saturday, which is 3.10am on Sunday New Zealand time.
The tourists lead the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 1-0 after a 33-16 win at Ellis Park last Saturday, a result almost nobody outside the squad picked. New Zealand scored five tries to one in Johannesburg and did it the hard way. South Africa kicked the first points of the night and led 13-12 at the break, then went 16-12 up early in the second half before the game turned. Lock Fabian Holland charged down a clearing kick inside the South African 22 and beat the last defender to score. Luke Jacobson barged over from close range soon after. With the Springboks down to 13 men in the closing stages, Will Jordan claimed his second try of the night in the right corner.
That win ended a 12-match winning run for the world champions and lifted the All Blacks to the top of the World Rugby rankings. It also set up the situation the team now finds itself in. If New Zealand wins in Cape Town, it is guaranteed at least a share of the series trophy, which is split if the four tests finish level. Two more matches follow on consecutive weekends, back in Johannesburg on 5 September and then in Baltimore in the United States.
Coach Dave Rennie has made four changes to the starting side. Prop George Bower, who steadied the scrum after coming off the bench at Ellis Park, replaces Ethan de Groot, who is out with concussion. Lock Josh Lord is also unavailable with concussion after the two clashed heads in the same tackle, so Tupou Vaa’i shifts from blindside flanker to lock alongside Holland. Chiefs loose forward Simon Parker comes in at six, ahead of Wallace Sititi and Ethan Blackadder. In the backs, Leroy Carter takes the left wing from Josh Moorby, who drops to the bench. Hurricanes prop Xavier Numia and lock Patrick Tuipulotu provide the extra cover among the reserves.
Ardie Savea captains the side from number eight, with Cam Roigard at halfback, Ruben Love at first five-eighth and Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea in midfield. Damian McKenzie is at fullback for what will be his 34th consecutive test. Jordan starts on the right wing as the All Blacks all-time leading try scorer, having moved to 53 tries last weekend, which puts him level with England’s Rory Underwood in sixth place on the men’s international list.
Rennie has been careful not to let the win at Ellis Park settle into complacency. “We’re aware of what the potential bounce back is. Obviously they’ll be really disappointed with last weekend,” he told RNZ. “We’re well aware that Springboks at their best are tough to beat anywhere, but we’ve talked a lot about us being better. We think we can be a lot better than we were last weekend, and so that’s the key. We’ve got to be able to lift our level.”
He does not expect a new South African game plan, just a sharper version of the old one. “They’ll just try and do what they did last week, but try and do it better,” Rennie said. “Attack us at set-piece, put more ball in the air, try and get a big wall in front of us and try and spend as much time in our 22 as they can.” The scrum is the area he most wants fixed, calling it “a massive in for them” last week.
Carter is getting his first crack at the Springboks from the start. “As they say, it’s the greatest rivalry, so you want to be putting your name forward for those test matches, and yeah, just can’t wait, I’m itching,” he said. Rennie described the call between Carter and Moorby as tight. “I think if you looked at Leroy, he’s probably a better defender and we think that’ll be important.”
South Africa made two late changes on Saturday morning. First five-eighth Handre Pollard has pulled out with a calf strain, so Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is promoted from the bench to start, with Manie Libbok named among the replacements. Wing Cheslin Kolbe, who left the field with a knock in Johannesburg and was not in the team named on Monday, has been passed fit and comes in for Kurt-Lee Arendse, who drops out of the match-day 23 altogether.
Captain Siya Kolisi will play after recovering from a grade two hamstring tear. “Siya will be starting and he will captain the team,” coach Rassie Erasmus told media. “It was a hamstring niggle, not something major like he had before 2019 or 2023. It was a grade two tear, and it takes a little time to recover, and that’s why we’ve been cautious.”
Halfback Cobus Reinach, who was one of the two Springboks sin-binned late at Ellis Park, said the home side has to get quicker ball. “They put us under pressure and made us do things that led to my yellow card,” he told reporters. “The review after a loss is never good, but it’s learnings, and as long as we take the lessons and grow as a team, we will be in a good place.”
History gives New Zealand some comfort and some warning. The All Blacks have played South Africa 111 times for 64 wins, 43 losses and four draws, and they have won seven of their 11 previous tests in Cape Town. But the last of those wins came in 2017, and the Springboks took the most recent meeting in the city 31-27 in 2024. This will be only the second All Blacks test at DHL Stadium, with the other 10 Cape Town matches played at the old Newlands ground. Despite leading the series, the All Blacks go in as underdogs with the bookmakers, a fact Rennie says he pays no attention to.
“We need to be really accurate, and we need to be disciplined,” he said. “If we can hang on to a bit of ball, then we have an opportunity to stress them, but if we don’t get that part right, then we play into their hands.”
Will the All Blacks go two up in Cape Town, or do the Springboks square the series at home? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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