Winger Canan Moodie and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse scrumhalf have been called up for the first time this year by the Springboks – while World Cup winners Willie le Roux (fullback) and Lukhanyo Am (utility back) also return to the match day 23 face New Zealand in Cape Town.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus made seven changes – two of them positional – to the starting XV which defeated the All Blacks 31-27 last weekend.

Grant Williams (scrumhalf) earns his first start of the season in partnership with Handre Pollard (flyhalf) who is promoted from the bench along with Eben Etzebeth (lock), while Le Roux and Moodie come straight into the XV.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, who took a hard blow to the cheek last week, has been cleared to play, which will see him start in a powerful loose trio with Jasper Wiese (No 8) and Pieter-Steph du Toit, who reverts from lock to flanker.

Etzebeth will pair up with Ruan Nortje in the second row. Ben-Jason Dixon, Aphelele Fassi and Cobus Reinach have been left out.

Moodie replaces Kurt-Lee Arendse, who has been ruled out of the match due to concussion, with his inclusion seeing Kolbe move from the right to left wing.

The Boks have reverted to a five-three split on the bench with Am joining Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (among the back replacements.

“This match is going to be massive,” said Erasmus.

“New Zealand are a world class outfit and we know that they’ll be desperate to bounce back after leading in the second half last week.

“They’ll also be fully aware of the fact that a victory could give them a huge boost on the Rugby Championship standings, and they’ll be playing to retain the Freedom Cup, which they’ve held since 2010. It’s going to be another epic encounter.

“They’re a quality team with a lot of pace and several players who have a great X-factor. We also saw last week what they can do if they get a strong start, while they have proven time and time again that they are a team that can close out games under a lot of pressure in the last 20 minutes, so it’s going to take a huge team effort to register a victory against them.”

Erasmus was boosted by Kolisi’s fitness.

“Siya is a world-class player and captain, and he adds immense value to the team with the way he leads by example and galvanises the team when the pressure is on,” he said.

“Similarly to the call we made with Eben last week, our team policy is that if a player trains on a Monday and gets through training during the week pain free, they can be selected for the weekend, and Siya did just that.

“Honesty from the players about whether they can play and deliver fully on what we expect from them is a key part of our team culture, so have full faith in Siya to give everything on the field.”

Thirteen of the team played in the Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks, which the Springboks won 12-11. They are: Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Etzebeth, captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Pollard, Kolbe, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Ox Nche, Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese and Le Roux. The squad features 19 Rugby World Cup-winners in total.

A victory would also see the Springboks take a major step toward winning the competition for the first time since 2019.

“It would be fantastic to achieve that as a team, but if you look too far ahead it comes back to bite you,” said Erasmus.

“The focus for us all week is to try to deliver the best possible performance we can against New Zealand and to correct the wrongs of last week.

“New Zealand have not been the best team in the world for some many years for nothing. They’re a formidable team and they’ve shown in the past against us that you never write them off. We saw how they bounced back against Argentina after losing their first match of the tournament.

“They’ll also be motivated by the fact that Cape Town has been a good hunting ground for them; they’ll be inspired to make a strong statement this week.

“Like us, they’ve a lot to play for, so we know it’ll be as intense and as tight as it ever has been between us. It’s going to take another hard grind for the full 80 minutes.”