S Africa v All Blacks: Teams
South Africa captain John Smit has warned his side to beware of a backlash from New Zealand on Saturday.
By Tony Curtis
Last Updated: 31/07/09 10:25am
South Africa captain John Smit has warned his side to beware of a backlash from New Zealand on Saturday.
The Springboks registered a 28-19 victory over the All Blacks in Bloemfontein on July 25 to make a winning start to the 2009 Tri-Nations.
And despite having drawn first blood, Smit admits it will be a much tougher challenge to register back-to-back wins over the New Zealanders.
"I don't think there are any greater challenges really for any Test playing nation than to face the All Blacks two weeks in a row," said Smit, who will captain the Boks for a record 60th time.
"It's a great challenge and it's a great task to do that. To beat them once is great; to be able to do it back-to-back is a far greater challenge.
"I think we can take it for granted that they were never going to be satisfied with their performance last week. There was always going to be a backlash and we are certainly going to face one on Saturday.
"They will be a far better team and we need to make sure that we can bring more than we did last week."
Coach Peter de Villiers has made just one change to his starting XV, with Morné Steyn starting ahead of Ruan Pienaar, while Andries Bekker and Adi Jacobs are named among the replacements.
Confident
New Zealand coach Graham Henry is confident of a better display from his side in Durban after an impressive week in training.
"The players looked good on Thursday and we've had a very positive week of training," Henry said.
"The guys are in good shape mentally and have enjoyed their time in Durban. But we'd be conning ourselves if we thought having a good week meant we can just turn up and win."
And skipper Richie McCaw insisted the All Blacks had to cut out the silly mistakes.
"Last week we made too many mistakes, we were maybe overly physical and ended up giving away penalties at the wrong end of the field," McCaw said.
"Mistakes and penalties just allow the pressure to build."
New Zealand have made two changes of the match, with Jimmy Cowan and Owen Franks selected ahead of Brendon Leonard and Neemia Tialata at scrum-half and loosehead respectively.
South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Wynand Olivier.
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Cory Jane.