Whenever South Africa and New Zealand meet on the rugby field, the whole of the rugby world waits in expectation. It is bound to be a remarkable clash and a tough, demanding one, breathtaking in its relentlessness.

Frequent repetition has not quite staled that. Certainly not this week.

This week promises to be a  really tough encounter - desperate All Blacks against ambitious Springboks.

The All Blacks were taken apart in Bloemfontein last Saturday by a rampant South African pack. They will not like that and are sure to fightback in as manly a way as possible.

The Durban Test may suit them better and may in fact be the one targetted - not the second in a row with long-distance travelling in between, not at altitude but almost on the beach, just a metre or two above sea level.

It may well be a different All Blacks' side this week. It would need to be as they were a fairly dilapidated unit in the first half last Saturday when only wayward goal-kicking made them respectable.

The Springboks may well know that there is a backlash on its way. If they really believe that then perhaps they will avoid South Africa's besetting sin of overconfidence. It is just possible that they can step up their game and give New Zealand an even bigger hiding. Just possible.

For one thing they have a more settled team, not the jumble that saw 29 players play in three Tests against the British & Irish Lions recently. There is just one change and in has come one of the best goal-kickers in the world, Morné Steyn.

If it comes to kicking he is unbeatable.

Injured Ruan Pienaar is more athletic, faster, a better rugby player but he is not nearly as reliable a goal-kicker. That said, if Morné Steyn settles his side into Bulls' style attack, the All Blacks are liable to suffer unless they can grab hold of each other and dig in.

The Springboks need to win this and the next one to have a realistic chance of winning the Tri-Nations for the first time since 2004. They know they can win it.

The All Blacks have the long-term momentum. Winning, they say, is a habit and New Zealand certainly has that habit.

It all makes for an intriguing game.

In Bloemfontein the Springbok pack had the upper hand, partly because of their ability to outjump the All Blacks, outmaul them and outsprint them. Those three virtues are again possible. There was parity in the scrums last week and it is hard to find a reason why that should change.

The tackle was a contest, not just between Richie McCaw and new-find Heinrich Brüssow, but between two teams with the Springboks more effective than usual, which they will need to be again.

Behind a struggling pack, Brendon Leonard was not effective and, when he came on, Piri Weepu positively disastrous. Instead there is combative Jimmy Cowan who will try to make things as unpleasant as possible for his opponents.

It will be interesting to see if Stephen Donald and Ma'a Nonu will target Morné Steyn or not. After all it was his girlish tackle that set Conrad Smith on his way to New Zealand's only try of the match. And there will be no Schalk Burger to tackle for Morné Steyn.

On the Springbok side it will be interesting to see if the Springboks can use their wings for something more than just chasing kicks. In 80 minutes of rugby the two last week received one pass of note.

If kicking will decide the game, Morné Steyn can kick longer and straighter than Stephen Donald. If Saturday is anything to go by the All Blacks are liable to concede more penalties than the Springboks but then the forwards must again get the side within range.

A nagging doubt: the Springboks were better, after a long lay-off in the first Test against the Lions than they were in the second Test which followed soon after. Was that because they did not really have the hardness that comes with playing to carry them through to a second match? Will they fade this week as well? On the other hand the All Blacks will be playing their third Test on two continents in three weeks. Will they be suffering from battle fatigue?

Players to watch:

For South Africa: No doubt Heinrich Brüssow is the man who has captured the nation's imagination and he will be a target for the All Blacks at tackle time. It will be a test of his resilience and durability.

For New Zealand: Last week Conrad Smith was  the best centre on the field. It will be interesting to see how the man they call Snake creates opportunities this weekend. He certainly plays with commitment.

Head to Head: The obvious one is Richie McCaw v Heinrich Brüssow, but there are others - John Smit against taller Tony Woodcock, tough Bismarck du Plessis, who had a great game last week, against tough Andrew Hore, who did not. Then there is the contest of the hard men - Bakkies Botha against Brad Thorn - and the tall men - young Isaac Ross against experienced Victor Matfield. Those battles will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the match.

Recent Results
2009: South Africa won 28-19 in Durban
2008: New Zealand won 19-0 at Newlands
2008: South Africa won 30-28 in Dunedin
2008: New Zealand won 19-8 in Wellington
2007: New Zealand won 33-6 in Christchurch
2007: New Zealand won 26-21 in Durban
2006: South Africa won 21-20 in Rustenburg
2006: New Zealand won 45-26 in Pretoria
2006: New Zealand won 35-1`7 in Wellington
2005: New Zealand won 31-17 in Dunedin
2005: South Africa won 22-16 at Newlands
2004: South Africa won 40-26 in Johannesburg
2004: New Zealand won 23-21 in Christchurch
2003: New Zealand won 19-11 in Dunedin
2003: New Zealand won 52-16 in Pretoria
2002: New Zealand won 30-23 in Durban
2002: New Zealand won 41-20 in Wellington
2001: New Zealand won 26-15 in Auckland
2000: South Africa won 46-40 in Johannesburg
2000: New Zealand won 25-12 in Christchurch
2001: New Zealand won 12-3 at Newlands

Prediction: South Africa by 10 or more.

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Wynand Olivier

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Conrad Smith, 12. Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock,
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Cory Jane,

Date: Saturday, 1 August 2009
Venue: Absa Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Expected weather: Scattered showers. More clouds than sun and cool.  High 19°C, low 14°C. Wind 28km/h SW
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

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