New Zealand vs. South Africa: Springboks aim to keep Rugby Championship title hopes alive against All Blacks in Wellington
South Africa out for revenge against All Blacks after Eden Park defeat
The latest instalment of the greatest rivalry in rugby will be written into the history books this weekend, when South Africa step out at the Wellington Regional Stadium to take on the All Blacks in round four of the 2025 Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks brought an end to a 13-year wait to reclaim the Freedom Cup from their Southern Hemisphere foes last year, but they are in serious danger of handing it straight back after their 27-17 defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park last week.
According to our South Africa vs. New Zealand prediction, our experts are leaning toward the world champions suffering a whitewash this season, but as we know, Rassie Erasmus is sure to have a few tricks up his sleeve to try and stun the current table toppers.
The Boks have only won one of their first three matches in this year’s competition - a less than convincing 30-22 victory over Australia at the Cape Town Stadium last month - and they are now at risk of seeing their title hopes fade to dark unless they find a way to stop Scott Robertson’s charges.
However, the one factor that the Green and Gold have in their favour is that they have fared well in Wellington in recent times, having beaten this opponent here 36-34 in 2018 before holding the home side to a 16-16 draw 12 months later.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 88 | 70 | 18 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 88 | 76 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 69 | 84 | −15 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 92 | −15 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
New Zealand vs. South Africa: Key stats ahead of Wellington showdown
Digging deeper into the key stats in this storied rivalry, the underlying numbers paint a picture of contrasting styles, with the Boks leaning on their power and experience, while the All Blacks rely on speed and precision.
South Africa’s average player age this year is 30.4 years compared to New Zealand’s 28.4 years, though the Kiwis have balanced their youth with experienced heads, such as brother Beauden and Scott Barrett, as well as the marauding Ardie Savea.
Rassie Erasmus’s side have maintained a flawless 100% scrum success rate over the first three weeks of this competition, while Scott Robertson’s men have managed 96.5%, which could be a crucial factor in this match if the visitors make it a battle of brute strength.
However, it is the home side that holds the advantage at the breakdown, boasting an incredible 96.5% success rate, led by Savea who has already forced four turnovers in the Rugby Championship this season.
Savea has also been a monster with the ball in hand, having already made up 190 metres this season, while his opposite number Pieter-Steph du Toit leads the Springboks' ranks with 160 metres gained.
New Zealand vs. South Africa: Date, time and confirmed lineups
Rassie Erasmus wasted no time in making his intentions clear for this match by announcing his matchday 23 just 48 hours after the defeat at Eden Park, and it is clear that the Boks’ head coach is looking to his new generation to push the team forward.
The majority of South Africa’s changes come in the backfield, where only Cheslin Kolbe retains his spot from the match in Auckland, while Canan Moodie has been shuffled into midfield to form a new-look partnership alongside Damian Willemse.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach are brought into the starting lineup in the half-back pairing, while Ethan Hooker and Aphelele Fassi are set to line up at left wing and fullback, respectively. Notably, Handre Pollard has been left out of the matchday 23 completely.
Meanwhile, Scott Robertson has made six changes to his squad for this weekend’s clash, headlined by the axing of Rieko Ioane. He has been replaced by former sevens star Leroy Carter, who will be making his All Blacks debut.
Emoni Narawa sustained an injury at Eden Park last week and is forced to sit out this match, which sees Will Jordan moved out to the right wing and Damian McKenzie set to start in the number 15 jumper for the home team.
Into the pack and Codie Taylor is unable to feature this week due to concussion protocol, which has allowed Samisoni Taukei’aho to start in the front row alongside Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot. Fletcher Newell and Brodie McAlister are brought onto the bench.
New Zealand vs. South Africa Match Details:
Date: Saturday, September 13
Time: 19:05 (NZ), 09:05 (SAST), 07:05 (GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli
Assistants: Angus Gardner, Jordan Way
How to watch: New Zealand vs. South Africa livescore
All Blacks squad: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Ruben Love
Springboks squad: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen
