South Africa v New Zealand preview: Five talking points
By Robert Mulhern
Last Updated: 06/10/17 9:09pm
Having won the tournament with a round to spare, New Zealand are targeting new records while South Africa will attempt to recover some pride following last month's worst defeat at the hands of the All Blacks.
Here are some of the talking points ahead of the clash, live on Sky Sports Action from 3.30pm on Saturday.
Two-tier championship
New Zealand have scored 221 points and 32 tries in this tournament. If they were to add another 42 points and seven tries to this running total on Saturday, they would break a competition points scoring record they set last season.
This statistic - and others that catch the eye like the 100 per cent return from their own scrum this tournament - are not just dispiriting details for South Africa but for a Rugby Championship competition that appears in danger of receding in the face of ever improving All Black quality.
New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere dominance has yielded five championships in six years. And this latest instalment has featured record winning margins and a depth in quality opponents can't keep pace with.
The trend looks set to continue.
Can South Africa win?
If South Africa are still trying to make sense of that 57-0 beating they suffered at the hands of the All Blacks last month in Auckland, then the high-octane first-half posted by the champions in Argentina last weekend must loom like an ominous sign ahead of Saturday's clash.
How South Africa dearly needed Elton Jantjies to nail that last penalty and by doing so, convert a draw against Australia into a win that would blow some confidence into their preparations.
The positives in last week's performances will need to be teased out and hammered home if the Springboks are to make this contest competitive.
Pundits have been busy reviewing plays and data, but not all of the top stats belong to the All Blacks. South Africa currently lead the tournament in offloads, registering 63 to the All Blacks 56. But that stat is a rare gem in what has been an uncomfortable tournament.
Allister Coetzee has made some interesting changes to the side that drew with Australia last weekend. Prop Tendai Mtawarira, South Africa's most experienced prop with 95 caps, will miss the game due to family reasons and has been replaced by Steven Kitshoff, while Lood de Jager moves into the second row
But it is in the backrow where the real interest lies. Lock Pieter-Steph du Toit comes into the No 7 jersey while flanker Francois Louw will make his first start at No 8.
It will be a case of third time lucky for du Toit who first played on the flank for South Africa during their shock 34-32 World Cup loss to Japan. A year later he was stuck on the side of the pack again - this time against England where Ben Youngs ran rings around him as England won 37-21.
The inclusion of du Toit will give the Boks another option at the lineout - an area that went horribly wrong in Auckland - and his ball carrying abilities will be useful, however, if the Boks cannot slow down the All Blacks' momentum then the likes of Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett could have a field day against him.
Tactical approach
In the record win in Albany last month, the All Blacks stole five South African lineouts and the visitors have made no secret of their intent go after the Springboks set-piece in Newlands again this weekend.
Lock Sam Whitelock has revealed how he spent last weekend on the sidelines concentrating on how to make the All Blacks' lineout more efficient.
And as mentioned previously, the visitors are unlikely to concede anything in the scrum with a perfect return in this area to date this championship.
So a supply of possession that almost feels guaranteed spells more bad news for South Africa who will be defending plenty and often against Beauden Barrett and full-back Damian McKenzie, if both start as expected.
Pitted against the strength of the All Blacks set-piece and this expected stream of possession - will South Africa try and contain the visitors or throw caution to wind in favour of an attacking embrace?
Non- event?
Despite scoring that huge victory in Albany, All Black Sam Cane say there's no complacency in the camp ahead of this, their final victory lap.
New Zealand's obvious intent to build again on their incredibly high standards suggests the intensity - which has set them apart in this season's championship - will continue as it has done.
For them, the contest remains a barometer upon which to measure their improvement. And by contrast South Africa will be reaching into the depths of their reserves to measure theirs and prove the gulf between the sides last time out is much more narrow this time around.
Coming soon for both sides...
Once the final whistle blows on Saturday there will be little enough time to regroup ahead of the Northern Hemisphere's autumn series of internationals that begins with Tests for both teams. The All Blacks play the Barbarians in Twickenham on November 4 while South Africa play Ireland in Lansdowne Road on November 11.
The feeling is one however that even a marked improvement by the Springboks by way of performance on Saturday, will not stave off the cries of crisis which have stalked them throughout this tournament.
By contrast, Steve Hanson's All Blacks will fly into the Northern Hemisphere brimming with the confidence of a squad whose edge can't be dulled.
South Africa: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 1Steven Kitshoff, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 6 Siya Kolisi, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Francois Louw.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilko Louw, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Handre Pollard, 23-Damian de Allende.
New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Kane Hames, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Nepo Laulala, 4 Sam Whitelock, 5 Scott Barrett, 6 Liam Squire, 7 Sam Cane, 8 Kieran Read (c).
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 David Havili.