The last time the Boks faced the All Blacks they got off to a slow start which resulted in a 35-20 defeat in Auckland, and ultimately cost them the Rugby Championship.

The Boks have made it one of the priorities to start stronger and faster as this was evident on the weekend during the 62-15 win over Wales in Cardiff. The match at Twickenham will be Boks last warm-up game before their Rugby World Cup campaign kicks off against Scotland in Marseille on 11 September.

On Monday the Springboks named a strong side to face the All Blacks with eight personnel changes and one positional switch. The most interesting change is at outside centre with the 20-year-old Canan Moodie set to run out in the number 13 jersey. It’s not a totally unfamiliar role for the young speedster, but it’s the first time at senior international level and he could be up against Rieko Ioane.

The Springbok coach, Jacques Nienaber, said this week it’s a good opportunity to set the record straight, especially after their opening 20 minutes in Auckland earlier in the season.

“That's the nice thing about playing against a team that can put you under pressure,” said Nienaber.

“You can see where there is an opportunity for attack and you must find new solutions. You must look for new solutions and you've got new plans, and that's the beauty of playing against the All Blacks again this weekend.

“You've got an opportunity to implement those new plans and to try and rectify those areas where they last put under pressure. That's the beauty of it.”

Friday evening’s Test in London kicks off at 20:30.

Springboks - 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Replacements - 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Willie le Roux

Morgan Piek OFM Sport