South Africa v New Zealand: Rugby World Cup semi-final key points
Last Updated: 24/10/15 6:09pm
No team has caused New Zealand as much trouble either side of the move to professionalism as South Africa.
The first Test between the two nations took place in 1921 and since then there have been 90 matches between the great rivals.
In recent times the All Blacks have put some distance between themselves and the rest of the world, but their rivalry with the Springboks has produced some of the most dramatic matches since the last World Cup.
Now the two giants face off in a Rugby World Cup semi-final, and we take a look at five talking points ahead of their latest clash.
The replacements
Sean Fitzpatrick spoke earlier in the week about why the Rugby Championship sides dominated the four semi-final spots ahead of their Six Nations counterparts, and his response was that strength in depth separated the two hemispheres.
"Probably the big difference is the depth of the squads, and obviously a little bit of skill level and being able to close out games," said the 1987 World Cup winner.
"The real tell-tale factor is when you lose that key experience, hence why we've seen New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and, to a degree, Argentina being able to cover positions when they lose players."
The backline replacements of South Africa and New Zealand are almost identical in make-up; a scrum-half, a fly-half capable of playing full-back, and a centre able to play in the No 12 and No 13 jerseys.
But it is the dynamism of the New Zealand replacements that will spark a big difference in the semi-final.
The All Blacks have built their franchise on high-tempo rugby with the belief that their superior fitness will get them through the tight games, so the Bok backs will need to be able to hit the ground running when they take the field at Twickenham.
All Black rugby is Total Rugby
After the All Blacks' 62-13 demolition of France, Philippe Saint-Andre compared Steve Hansen's men to the dominant force of world football.
"They are the Brazilians of rugby, they go fast and they won 80 per cent of the game," said Saint-Andre.
But it is a European brand that closer resembles their approach to rugby. Johan Cruyff's Dutch side coined the phrase Total Football and the rugby version of that is what define this New Zealand team.
If you look back to the Rugby Championship, Dane Coles scored two tries that would have been the pride of any centre, but are even more impressive when you consider they were scored by a hooker.
Second rowers Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock offload in the tackle comfortably, while Conrad Smith is happy to play the role of fetcher when the battle for the ball take places out wide.
Delport: Boks defence key
South Africa's defensive organisation will be crucial, says Thinus Delport
All 15 men on the pitch have the skills to control the ball and manipulate defences, which makes them a threat from any position on the pitch.
If South Africa are to progress to the final, they will have to live with total rugby.
Hunting as a pack
In modern rugby the breakdown is fast becoming the key area of every match. Few games are won unless dominance in the tackle area offers a platform from which to do so.
With Richie McCaw in the No 7 jersey New Zealand have one of the best fetchers in world rugby, and he is ably deputised by No 8 Kieran Read at the breakdown.
However, South Africa have a greater spectrum of forwards who are strong over the ball. Openside Francois Louw will provide a great opponent to McCaw, while blindside flanker Schalk Burger has played fetcher for the Boks on numerous occasions.
Duane Vermeuelen is not only a jackal in this area, but as strong as he is, he's virtually impossible to move once he's got his hands on the ball.
Finally, there's hooker Bismarck du Plessis. The younger of the Du Plessis brothers may not have the free-running style of Dane Coles, but he is the fourth fetcher in Heyneke Meyer's side.
Those who aren't stealing the ball at the tackle are removing the All Blacks trying to do the same. 'Beast' Mtawarira, Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth will provide big collisions in the rucks, and attempt to nullify the threat of the New Zealanders at the tackle.
Stop the Bus
He may be called 'The Bus', but rumours that the Speed movies were based on Julian Savea because he's a bus that nobody can slow down are mostly untrue.
The Hurricanes winger scored a hat-trick against France in the quarter-final, his second of the tournament, and he has now equalled the record for the most tries in a single tournament - jointly held by Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana.
It's not the first time Savea has been mentioned in the same light as Lomu, but the 25-year-old is quick to diffuse the lofty comparison.
"I've always said that no one can come close to Jonah," said Savea after the Cardiff quarter-final. "He's amazing. It's awesome to be compared to him and it's an honour but I'm just doing my job as best I can."
Savea may well be modest about a comparison with the legend, but he has already surpassed Lomu's try-scoring record in all Tests.
However, the two also share an unwanted stat: neither have managed to score a try against the Springboks.
The Boks will have to work hard this weekend, particularly out wide, if they want to keep one half of that record intact.
Missing specialists
The All Black forwards may have the ascendancy over their opponents when it comes to ball skills, but the scrums and lineouts have been dominated by the men in green and gold over the course of history.
In recent times the All Blacks have closed that gap, but there are two forwards in their match-day 23 that the Boks will look to exploit.
Ben Franks has been named on the bench as a loosehead prop, but his preferred position is on the other side on the scrum, while loose forward Victor Vito has been named as the back-up lock.
Should the All Blacks lose Joe Moody and one of their locks early, the physical Bok pack will look to add pressure to the task of the replacement players.
The Boks can also call upon Victor Matfield from the bench, one of the great lineout operators in world rugby.
"Again it's the set piece that's important," said Thinus Delport of the semi-final clash. "Especially at scrum time.
"With the clinical execution of the All Blacks there are less scrums, but when those opportunities come up the Boks will have to put them under pressure so that they have that in the back of their minds when they're throwing the ball around."
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (c); 1 Tendai Mtawarira, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 3 Frans Malherbe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Lood de Jager, 6 Francois Louw, 7 Schalk Burger , 8 Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.
New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Joe Moody, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Owen Franks, 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Sam Whitelock, 6 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 8 Kieran Read.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.