Springboks looking to upset 31-year New Zealand streak

Rassie Erasmus has picked out an experienced lineup for the Springboks’ first game of their tour of New Zealand on Saturday morning at Eden Park, the site where the hosts have not lost at since 1994.

This follows the South Africans’ unconvincing first two matches of the Rugby Championship, in which they came away with one win and one defeat against the Wallabies at home.

New Zealand, which played Argentina away in their first two games, also walked away with a win and a loss. However, it sits at the top of the table thanks to two bonus points earned against the Pumas.

South Africa is currently in third place after the Wallabies scored a bonus point in a shock victory at Ellis Park in August.

While the Boks have won four of their last five meeting against the All Blacks, Head Coach Rassie Erasmus is taking no chances with a combined 939 caps between the starting 15.

The match will see veteran Eben Etzebeth extend his record as the most-capped Springbok in history to 136 Tests following Saturday’s game.

Despite skipper Siya Kolisi starting the match on Saturday, Jesse Kriel will captain the side. Erasmus explained that Kolisi was “touch and go” for the match earlier in the week, and it was only recently confirmed that he would start.

Ox Nche will start in the front row alongside Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit. Ruan Nortje, the player with the fewest caps on the team, will team up with Etzebeth as the two locks.

The loose forwards will consist of Marco van Staden and Piter-Steph du Toit on either side of the scrum, with Kolisi at number eight.

This is only the second time Kolisi has played number eight after starting in the position for the first time in the first Test against the Wallabies a few weeks ago.

Grant Williams will start at scrumhalf, having not missed a single game of the championship so far, and Handré Pollard at flyhalf.

The veteran centre-duo of Kriel and Damian de Allende, with 172 caps between them, will make another appearance together on Saturday.

Cheslin Kolbe and Canan Moodie will be playing on the flanks of the backline, with Willie le Roux set to play his 101st game at fullback.

The match kicks off at 9.05 a.m. SAT on Saturday 6 September.

Team lineups

Bench:

• Jan-Hendrik Wessels
• Boan Venter
• Wilco Louw
• Lood de Jager
• Kwagga Smith
• Cobus Reinach
• Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
• Ethan Hooker

Bench:

• Tamaiti Williams
• Tyrel Lomax
• Fabian Holland
• Du’Plessis Kirifi
• Kyle Preston
• Quinn Tupaea
• Damian McKenzie

Ardie Savea’s start at wing will see him become the fifteenth All Black to reach 100 caps for his country. 

He will be the third-most experienced New Zealander on the pitch with hooker Codie Taylor having reached a century in their second match against Argentina, and Beauden Barrett sitting at 138 caps.

However, the All Blacks have a 50-game winning streak to defend at Eden Park that has spanned 31 years.

All Blacks Head Coach Scott Robertson said he decided to play the Springboks at this ground, which will be at capacity for the match.

“These are the occasions you have to look forward to as a rugby player, team, and country. That’s why there’s so much interest in it,” he said.

“Probably the big thing, it’s Saturday night that matters. Those records were made on those nights, on those days, so we’re looking forward to the occasion.”

Regarding the game, Robertson said that the back-three coverage and the collisions around the back row will be critical, adding that it will be an emotional game with a lot of physical contact.

Erasmus said in a press conference on Thursday that both teams and the coaching staff are expecting a tight game on Saturday and that scrums will be essential for both teams.

“We selected the best possible team we could for the match, knowing that this will be an epic encounter against the All Blacks at Eden Park, and many of these players have done the job for us before against them,” he said.

“We’ve been working hard on the detail we wanted to iron out following the matches against the Wallabies since arriving in Auckland, so it’s now up to us to implement our plans and deliver a performance we can be proud of.”