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2021 Rugby Championship
Round 5
New Zealand v South Africa
Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Saturday, 25 September 2021
Kick-off is at 09h05
South Africa will face off with New Zealand in round five of the
2021 Rugby Championship at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium on September 25.
The Springboks suffered a 30-17 defeat to Australia's Wallabies in their fourth game in the competition that was played on September 18.
It was South Africa's heaviest loss in 29 Tests since losing by the same margin to Argentina in Mendoza in 2018.
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The Wallabies scored four tries to one from Springboks centre Lukhanyo Am, to see the visitors’ hopes of retaining the Rugby Championship hit the buffers.
The Springboks are winless in their last two matches having also lost to the Wallabies in Round 3 of the Rugby Championship with the game ending in a 28-26 win in favour of Australia.
As a result, South Africa are placed second on the Championship standings and they will face a New Zealand side that will be keen to secure a victory and clinch the Rugby Championship.
New Zealand's All Blacks are coming into this encounter having secured a 36-13 win over Argentina at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on September 18.
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Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids has stated that they have made the necessary mental switch to their titanic against New Zealand.
“We know we didn’t perform to our standards and we had an in-depth discussion about that, but we have a new challenge in the next two weeks against the All Blacks, so we cannot dwell on the past," Davids said.
“We know what New Zealand will bring, and we have to look at what we want to do now because a new game brings a new challenge. We must be good in all areas against New Zealand – technically, tactically, and as individuals.
"This team has been here before against the British & Irish Lions and against New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup (in 2019), and there is an understanding in the squad about what went wrong and what we have to fix, so we know what we need to improve on.”
The last match between New Zealand and South Africa was on 21 September 2019.
The All Blacks defeated the Springboks 23-13 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B at the Japan International Stadium Yokohama in Japan.
head-to-Head - across all competitions
Matches - 99
New Zealand - 59
South Africa - 36
Draws - 4
Springbok team to face New Zealand:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 68 caps, 60 pts (12t)
14 – Sbu Nkosi (Cell C Sharks) – 14 caps, 40 pts (8t)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 21 caps, 25 pts (5t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Munster) – 53 caps, 30 pts (6t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 20 caps, 80 pts (16t)
10 – Handre Pollard (vice-captain, Montpellier) – 55 caps, 544 pts (6t, 83c, 112p, 4d)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks) – 34 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 – Duane Vermeulen (Vodacom Bulls) – 56 caps, 15 pts (3t)
7 – Kwagga Smith (Yamaha Júbilo) – 14 caps, 5 pts (1t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 58 caps, 30 pts (6t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Sale Sharks) – 51 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) – 92 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 45 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers) – 43 caps, 45 pts (9t)
1 – Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls) – 49 caps, 5pts (1t)
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 41 caps, 45 pts (9t)
17 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 54 caps, 5pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (Saracens) – 26 caps, 0 pts
19 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 46 caps, 5pts (1t)
20 – Marco van Staden (Leicester Tigers) – 8 caps, 0 pts
21 – Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers) – 16 caps, 25 pts (5t)
22 – Elton Jantjies (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes) – 40 caps, 300 pts (2t, 64c, 54p)
23 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 69 caps, 141pts (11t, 7c, 21p, 3d)
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