Preview: South Africa v New Zealand

Polish the silverware and call on the engraver, Johannesburg should be the venue where the All Blacks put the seal on Tri-Nations 2010.

Polish the silverware and call on the engraver, Johannesburg should be the city where the All Blacks put the seal on Tri-Nations 2010.

New Zealand know what is required of them. Just one bonus point would see the title return to Richie McCaw's grasp, but there is not a chance the visitors will head into this one with a restricted mindset. They will play to type and look to arrive in Sydney on September 11 with a swagger.

And what a fillip this trophy would be in the locker as a World Cup year closes in, even if the doubters continue to talk up that choke theory.

The fact is that the All Blacks are winning and winning well, with their price for 2011 glory cut from evens to 8/11 since the tournament began. Graham Henry is also refusing to rotate his side too much too soon – until they head to the SFS one would think – and he is probably right not to.

So why are the All Blacks ahead at this juncture? Well one discovery that has been downplayed in my opinion has been the Franks factor. Both Owen and Ben have injected something raw and destructive into this line-up and might, I say might, cause many supporters to ask: 'Carl who?!' These two are highly-mobile around the park and have not been backwards in coming forwards at scrum-time also, which has given New Zealand a real abrasive edge.

That mobility leads to my next point … should the All Blacks make it five from five this week then surely it would leave the Springboks questioning many aspects of their set-up, like their game-plan, age and…no, not conditioning as fitness at this top level cannot be doubted. Can it?

We are sure that even the die-hard fans from South Africa would agree though that their team has not been even lukewarm in the lead-up to their three-game home leg, which they finish by taking on Australia twice in the coming weeks. But even with the tournament dead and buried and the trophy set no longer to be in their hands, a restoration of pride will be driving them forward as the possibility of a winless term is one they want to kill off.

So can they begin that revival at FNB Stadium? It looks like they will be throwing caution to the wind going on their line-up as Juan de Jongh takes an outside centre berth alongside Jean de Villiers in two of eight alterations made by Head Coach Peter de Villiers. Other players getting a starting jersey are JP Pietersen, Francois Hougaard, Flip van der Merwe and Jannie du Plessis, but it is the return of flank Juan Smith that will please many locals.

Smith brings with him a huge amount of big-game experience that Francois Louw does not have. But that is not to say Louw has performed badly, far from it. But Smith's know-how will be vital at the formerly-named Soccer City too as New Zealand's back-row of McCaw, Kieran Read and Jerome Kaino has been combining nicely up until now. Behind them the swap deal between Piri Weepu and Jimmy Cowan continues while it's as you were wider out.

New Zealand will certainly go into the game as favourites and with so many options on the bench, who would put it past them to do what they did to Australia in Melbourne? They will move the ball and run from deep once again – even with the altitude – and it will be interesting to see how the bigger Boks cope against their mobile visitors. And finally: congratulations to Springbok captain John Smit who is set to run out for his 100th cap.

Ones to watch:

For South Africa: This versatile youngster is most definitely the future when Fourie du Preez heads to Japan after the World Cup. Equally at home at scrum-half or wing, Francois Hougaard gets his first start on Saturday and will inject some life into this line-up. However, he can occasionally be suspect to trying to do too much by himself so he will need to mix his game in Johannesburg.

For New Zealand: A tough one for this section. While captain Richie McCaw and lock Brad Thorn have been two stars for Graham Henry during the 2010 competition, Kieran Read has also been putting his hand up and getting the better of Pierre Spies. Keep an eye on him.

Head-to-head: Although having been blooded in the thirteen jersey for Western Province of late, Currie Cup rugby is a far cry from the Tri-Nations. Juan de Jongh is who I am talking about, with the light-footed centre starting alongside Jean de Villiers for the first time in green. His personal duel with Conrad Smith should be very interesting indeed as the Hurricanes man is at the top of his game right now.

Previous results:
2010: New Zealand won 31-17 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington
2010: New Zealand won 32-12 at Eden Park, Auckland
2009: South Africa won 32-29 at Rugby Park, Hamilton
2009: South Africa won 31-19 at Absa Stadium, Durban
2009: South Africa won 28-19 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
2008: New Zealand won 19-0 at Newlands
2008: South Africa won 30-28 at Carisbrook, Dunedin
2008: New Zealand won 19-8 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington
2007: New Zealand won 33-6 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch
2007: New Zealand won 26-21 at Absa Stadium, Durban
2006: South Africa won 21-20 at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
2006: New Zealand won 45-26 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Prediction: Home field advantage will have a positive effect for South Africa but it won't be enough. All Blacks by 7 points!

The teams:

South Africa: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Josevata Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 John Afoa, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

Date: Saturday, August 21
Kick-off: 17:00 (15:00 GMT)
Venue: FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

By Adam Kyriacou