The three-time World Champions are playing in South Africa for the first time in close to four years.

The last time the All Blacks played in South Africa was in October 2018 when they beat the Springboks 32-30 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

It is, however, the first time they will be playing in the Lowveld and the lock Sam Whitelock said they are enjoying the change of scenery.

The All Blacks head into the 102nd encounter against the Springboks under a lot of pressure following their 2-1 series defeat to Ireland in New Zealand and they want to make a statement against the World Champions.

The seasoned All Blacks second-rower, Sam Whitelock, said that their old enemy won’t be making it easy for them, and the forwards battle will be key.

“We do know there are some areas where we need to be better at, and conceding a couple of maul tries is an obvious one, so that’s a key area. Individually, as a tight-five forward, it’s something I’m focusing on, and it’s also the main thing we’ve talked about as a team,” he said.

“The Springboks will definitely play to their strengths, as they always do, but in saying that you can go out there and think you have their game plan in your head... they’ve got a number of smart guys who play around the world so they’ve got a number of styles they can go to.

“We just need to make sure that we can stop their plan A and if they change that, we can stop that as well.

“But that’s the cool thing about playing South Africa. They’re the old foe as such.”

Saturday’s Test at the Mbombela Stadium kicks off at 17:05.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport