Rassie Erasmus made four changes. Dave Rennie made three, and two of those were made for him. Both matchday squads for Cape Town are below.
South Africa play New Zealand at DHL Stadium on Saturday 29 August, the second of four Tests on New Zealand’s first full tour of South Africa in 30 years. New Zealand lead the series 1-0 after winning 33-16 in Johannesburg. Lose this one and the Springboks cannot win it with two Tests still to play.
Both sides are named, and neither coach has hidden behind rotation. Kick-off is 17:10 in Cape Town, 16:10 in the UK and Ireland.
Add a winning margin for points
What changed for South Africa
Handré Pollard comes in at fly-half, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu dropping to the bench. Cobus Reinach replaces Grant Williams at scrum-half. Ethan Hooker starts on the left wing after Cheslin Kolbe was ruled out with a hamstring and an ankle, with Kurt-Lee Arendse switching to the right. And Siya Kolisi came through the fitness test and takes the armband back from Pieter-Steph du Toit, starting at blindside in place of Paul de Villiers.
Four changes, and the shape of them is not subtle. This is a halves pairing picked to turn field position into points rather than manufacture more of it, after Erasmus put the eleven 22 entries and the one try on himself. Pollard takes the goal-kicking tee along with the No.10 jersey, and that matters more than it sounds: Kolbe kicked eleven of South Africa’s sixteen points last week.
Three milestones land on the same night. Du Toit plays his 100th Test, the 11th Springbok to get there. Ox Nché brings up 50. Deon Fourie, who turns 40 on 25 September and has not played a Test since the 2023 World Cup final, would become the oldest Springbok in history if he gets off the bench.
The starting XV carries 1,012 Test caps. No South African side has ever carried more.
What changed for New Zealand
Rennie’s hand was forced up front. Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord both took head knocks late in the first half at Ellis Park and neither has been cleared, with Jamie Hannah and Ofa Tu’ungafasi flown out as cover. Anton Segner is out of the rest of the tour after minor surgery to wash out an infection in his ankle joint.
George Bower starts at loosehead. Tupou Vaa’i shifts from blindside into the second row alongside Fabian Holland, which opens the No.6 jersey for Simon Parker. The one free selection is on the wing, where Leroy Carter comes in and Josh Moorby drops to the bench, so two head knocks picked New Zealand’s forward pack more than the coach did.
The spine is untouched: Savea, Roigard, Love, Barrett, Jordan, McKenzie.
The squads
South Africa
- Ox Nché
- Malcolm Marx
- Wilco Louw
- Eben Etzebeth
- Ruan Nortje
- Siya Kolisi (captain)
- Pieter-Steph du Toit
- Jasper Wiese
- Cobus Reinach
- Handré Pollard
- Ethan Hooker
- Damian de Allende
- Jesse Kriel
- Kurt-Lee Arendse
- Damian Willemse
Replacements: Deon Fourie, Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Lood de Jager, André Esterhuizen, Cameron Hanekom, Morné van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
New Zealand
- George Bower
- Codie Taylor
- Tyrel Lomax
- Tupou Vaa’i
- Fabian Holland
- Simon Parker
- Luke Jacobson
- Ardie Savea (captain)
- Cam Roigard
- Ruben Love
- Leroy Carter
- Jordie Barrett
- Quinn Tupaea
- Will Jordan
- Damian McKenzie
Replacements: Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Fletcher Newell, Patrick Tuipulotu, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown, Josh Moorby.
Two selections that decide Saturday
Bower and Vaa’i, in the first three scrums. New Zealand spent 54 minutes at Ellis Park on a 57% success rate at their own put-in, according to Opta’s first-Test numbers. Bower’s introduction off the bench was the thing that steadied it. He starts now, in front of a reshuffled second row. Watch the opening three scrums and you will know by the tenth minute whether the tourists have bought parity, because that is the entire experiment up front.
Pollard, at the first kickable penalty. The corner or the posts. If South Africa go to the corner twice inside the opening quarter, nothing has actually changed and the selection was decoration.
The variable: sea level, and a referee named late
Cape Town takes the altitude out of it, which removes New Zealand’s explanation for fading at Ellis Park and removes South Africa’s excuse if they are the ones who fade. There is a new official, too. Angus Gardner takes the whistle after Nika Amashukeli failed to recover from illness, with Karl Dickson and Sam Grove-White on the touchlines and Brett Cronan on TMO. Given how much of the argument out of the first Test was about the whistle, it is worth reading what the late referee swap actually hands Angus Gardner.
Springboks vs All Blacks second Test kick-off times
| Country | Local time |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 17:10, Saturday |
| UK and Ireland | 16:10, Saturday |
| France | 17:10, Saturday |
| Australia (AEST) | 01:10, Sunday |
| New Zealand | 03:10, Sunday |
Frequently asked
What time is the second Test in Cape Town?
Kick-off is 17:10 local time on Saturday 29 August at DHL Stadium, Cape Town. That is 16:10 in the UK and Ireland, and 03:10 on Sunday morning in New Zealand.
Who referees the second Test?
Angus Gardner of Australia, appointed late in Test week after Nika Amashukeli failed to recover from illness. Karl Dickson and Sam Grove-White are the assistants, with Brett Cronan on TMO. Amashukeli now takes the third Test in Johannesburg on 5 September.
How many changes did the Springboks make?
Four to the starting XV: Handré Pollard for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fly-half, Cobus Reinach for Grant Williams at scrum-half, Ethan Hooker for the injured Cheslin Kolbe on the wing, and Siya Kolisi for Paul de Villiers at blindside. Kolisi also takes the captaincy back from Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Why are Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord missing?
Both took head knocks in a collision with each other late in the first half at Ellis Park and neither has been cleared to play. George Bower replaces de Groot at loosehead and Tupou Vaa’i moves from flanker to lock to cover Lord.
How many Tests are in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry?
Four, on New Zealand’s first full tour of South Africa in 30 years. New Zealand lead 1-0, so a second defeat would put the series beyond South Africa with two Tests left.
Read next: the case for a Cape Town scoreline, with a number attached, plus the reader predictor and the argument behind the call.
The call on this site stands: South Africa by seven, 27-20. Pollard kicks them into an early lead, the scrum gives them the platform Ellis Park never converted, and a New Zealand side carrying more injuries than it had seven days ago runs out of road. Lock your own score in before kick-off and it can be held against you on Saturday night.
