Vermeulen makes his long-awaited return to the field after being named in the starting XV for the game on the Highveld.

Vermeulen will start at the back of the scrum with Jasper Wiese being rotated to the bench.

The 36-year-old Vermeulen said that while he has not played in quite some time, it’s all mind over matter.

“Mentally, you're always switched on,” said the 61-time capped Springbok veteran.

“It's international rugby and you have to be. You sit with the coaches and you receive a lot of info to work through, such as reviewing line-outs and plays.

“Being mentally switched on is probably the easiest part for me. That comes when you’ve been in the game for a number of years.”

The big loose-forward added that physically he is also ready to meet the challenge and he will give it his best, even if it’s just for 40-minutes.

“Physically, you just have to wait and see. It's very much a 50-50 thing. I haven’t played for the past eight weeks.

“That’s the only big thing really and it's going to be at altitude too. But we've got a really strong group of players, you don't play just alongside 15 guys, it's 23.

“I'm just going to give my best and see how far I can push myself and then we have replacements to take over.”

Saturday’s Test between the Springboks and All Blacks in Johannesburg kicks off at 17:05.

Springboks - 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nché.

Replacements - 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Willie le Roux.

All Blacks - TBA

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport