Springboks

Etzebeth, a major enforcer in the Springbok pack, had been struggling with a shoulder problem picked up in the 18-3 victory over Scotland, but will line up alongside Franco Mostert in the second row.

It is the same starting XV that defeated the Scots, bar Bongi Mbonambi at hooker as he replaces Malcolm Marx, who has since been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

Deon Fourie and Marco van Staden are the replacement hooker options, while the Munster lock pairing of RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn are also on the bench.

Warrick Gelant will start on the right wing in the place of the injured Jesse Kriel, while the experienced de Klerk returns to the halfback position after he was concussed playing against the All Blacks earlier this month.

Gelant is the fourth right wing in as many tests for the Springboks after Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Kriel were all ruled out through either injury or suspension.

Captain Sam Cane and hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho also scored tries as the All Blacks silenced the 61,519 crowd to claim what will be viewed as a famous win having lost five of their previous six tests.

The Springboks were not as clinical as they had been in the 26-10 victory over the visitors the previous week as they scored tries through sublime centre Lukhanyo Am and winger Makazole Mapimpi, but faced opponents who were vastly improved.

Another loss would draw further ire from fans and New Zealand Rugby administrators and even a victory might not be enough to save his skin.

Adding to the drama, the test is at the Springboks' spiritual home of Ellis Park, where winning is considered one of the toughest challenges in world rugby.

All Blacks captain Sam Cane said they were "desperate to improve".

Rassie Erasmus's Springboks used their bench players to great effect in winning the Rugby World Cup in 2019, bringing on powerful forwards in the second half to grind teams down with physical intensity.

His successor Jacques Nienaber has stuck with the tactic, keeping a 6-2 split of forwards and backs on the bench for the clash at Mbombela Stadium, a few weeks after his team crushed Wales 30-14 with a dominant last quarter in the series decider.

England fashioned excellent early tries for Manu Tuilagi and Freddie Steward but four penalties for Handre Pollard kept South Africa within five points at the break.

The Springboks then took command, cashing in on a series of England penalties to kick their way into the lead.

A try for Raffie Quirke on a rare second-half England attack briefly restored the home lead but Makazole Mapimpi crossed for the visitors and Fran Steyne edged them ahead.

With the test locked at 15-15, Liam Williams was forced to evade the wandering fan as the Welsh winger attempted to outsprint the cover defence into the corner.

Soon after the Springboks won a penalty, kicking for the corner and scoring the match-winning try through hooker Malcolm Marx to secure a 23-18 victory.

The try was the only five-pointer of the match, helping the World Cup holders come from behind to record their first victory in Cardiff in eight years.

According to Rapport newspaper, while Nkosi does has a valid passport, but he doesn’t have the requisite number of blank pages in it to be able to apply for a visa. The technicality means he is highly likely to be out of contention for selection against Wales.

The Cell C Sharks speedster – who has a reported 100-metre time of 10.59 seconds – has not joined the squad in Cardiff as a result.

It will be the first time since March 2020 that Scotland will play in front of a full stadium, with Jacques Nienaber’s South Africa providing some stiff opposition in the third match of the 2021 Autumn Nations Series on Saturday 13 November.

Scotland have been victorious in five out of their 19 encounters with the Boks to date, but haven’t won against them since a 21 – 17 in the capital stadium in 2010.

The All Blacks are favourites going into their penultimate match of the competition in Townsville and will lift the 2021 title if they get a bonus-point against the battered and bruised Springboks, who are coming off demoralising back-to-back losses to Australia.

Certainly in the second of those defeats, by 30-17 in Brisbane on Saturday, they moved away from their tactical kicking game, but committed an unusually high number of errors and looked flustered at times.