Rassie Erasmus had picked his fly-half. A calf decided otherwise.
The South Africa head coach had named his side as early as Monday. Handre Pollard, a two-time world champion, was back in the number 10 shirt for the second Test against the All Blacks, on Saturday at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who started at Ellis Park, dropped to the bench.
According to Netwerk24, Pollard hurt his calf in training and will not keep his place. Feinberg-Mngomezulu takes back the position he had just lost. Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse is also ruled out, with Cheslin Kolbe starting.
It is the second time this summer that Pollard has had to give up his place through injury: he had already missed the final Nations Championship match against Wales in July with a hamstring problem.
A choice the staff struggled to defend
Pollard’s selection had divided opinion. It punished Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s performance in Johannesburg, where South Africa led 13-12 at the break before collapsing to a 33-16 defeat. Former fly-half Morne Steyn backed the choice, rating Pollard as more “solid” and his kicking game as more reliable. Joel Stransky saw it as a sign that Erasmus was doubling down on his game plan.
Erasmus spent the week taking responsibility for the defeat, putting it on the staff rather than the players. “I can’t say I’m not nervous,” he admitted ahead of the Cape Town fixture. He also reshuffled his back row, picking Siya Kolisi and Paul de Villiers at number 6, a choice that drew plenty of comment in the South African press.
What the history says
The two sides have met 83 times since 1976 in our records, with 53 New Zealand wins, 28 South African wins and 2 draws. The balance of power has been much more even in recent years.
| Date | Match | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 22/08/2026 | South Africa – New Zealand | 16-33 |
| 13/09/2025 | New Zealand – South Africa | 10-43 |
| 06/09/2025 | New Zealand – South Africa | 24-17 |
| 07/09/2024 | South Africa – New Zealand | 18-12 |
| 31/08/2024 | South Africa – New Zealand | 31-27 |
| 28/10/2023 | New Zealand – South Africa | 11-12 |
| 25/08/2023 | New Zealand – South Africa | 7-35 |
South Africa have won six of the last ten meetings. The 43-10 in September 2025, in New Zealand, remains the biggest statement of the recent run, and the defeat at Ellis Park was the Springboks’ first at home since August 2025.
Three Tests after this one
The tour has four matches, a format that had not been seen between these two teams for a long time. After Cape Town, they will meet in Johannesburg and then Baltimore. A defeat on Saturday would leave the world champions 2-0 down, with two Tests to draw level.
Kick-off on Saturday at 17:10.
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