One out of two of the Springbok squads which Rassie Erasmus selected for the Rugby Challenge currently finds themselves in New Zealand in preparation for the Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks on Saturday July 27.

Erasmus sent the core of the squad to New Zealand last week while the Boks were preparing to take on Australia. That match against Australia saw Erasmus play around with certain combinations including a debut for Herschel Jantjies.

After that victory only a few players left South Africa to join the team in New Zealand. This weekend's team will see Duane Vermeulen captain the Boks side against  the All Blacks, and his team will see Du Toit, Etzerbeth, and Mapimpi as the only 3 players to retain their place in the starting 15 for the match. Herschel Jantjies, after a fantastic debut, makes the bench along with Frans Steyn and Jesse Kriel. 

However, Rassie Erasmus is not the only coach to play with combinations in this years Rugby challenge. 

Steve Hansen, All Blacks coach has also made 12 changes to his team which beat Argentina by 4 points last weekend. Returning to the team is Sonny Bill Williams who has been in and out of the New Zealand setup battling injury. Williams will be playing outside Crusaders Flyhalf Richie Mo'unga who's been brought in to complete the half back pairing while Beauden Barret moves to fullback for the match. 

Erasmus has said that the winner of this Rugby Championship encounter will have a slight mental edge going into their World Cup opening clash where these two Nations will meet on September 21 in the World Spectacle. 

Teams:

New Zealand
15. Beauden Barrett; 14. Ben Smith, 13. Jack Goodhue, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 11. Rieko Ioane; 10. Richie Mo'unga, .9 TJ Perenara; 8. Kieran Read (captain), 7. Matt Todd, 6. Shannon Frizell; 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Brodie Retallick; 3. Owen Franks, 2. Codie Taylor, 1. Joe Moody.

Substitutes: 16. Dane Coles, 17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18. Angus Ta'avao, 19. Vaea Fifita, 20. Dalton Papalii, 21. Aaron Smith, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. George Bridge

South Africa
15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Kwagga Smith, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Malcolm Marx, 1. Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Tendai Mtawarira, 18. Trevor Nyakane, 19. RG Snyman, 20. Francois Louw, 21. Herschel Jantjies, 22. Frans Steyn, 23. Jesse Kriel

@Samludidi - OFM Sport