Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus will announce his side to face the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship Round Four fixture in Wellington on Monday.
South Africa go into the away clash reeling after suffering a disappointing 24-17 loss at Eden Park in Auckland and know that it’s must-win if they are to retain their title.
Currently the All Blacks lead the way on the Rugby Championship table on 10 points, with the Wallabies second on nine and the Springboks and Argentina on five points.
Key game
As mentioned, that means South Africa simply have to pick up serious points against the All Blacks, via either a win or draw, at Sky Stadium or risking being out of sight.
Erasmus is clearly eager to right some wrongs from Eden Park and it has been confirmed that he will name his side on Monday evening (New Zealand time). That converts to 09:00 South African time on Monday, which is 08:00 in the United Kingdom. The head coach will be joined by a selected Springbok for the announcement in Wellington.
South Africa found themselves 14-0 down to the All Blacks with just 17 minutes on the clock after backs Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan had crossed for converted scores.
The Springboks did manage to claw themselves back into the game with tries from Malcolm Marx and Cobus Reinach but just came up short of drawing the Auckland Test.
A Monday team announcement isn’t a new occurrence from Erasmus as he opted for this ahead of their Round One game with the Wallabies which they lost at Ellis Park.
Early call
The head coach then reverted to a Tuesday for the rematch in Cape Town, but it appears he wants to put any speculation around his Round Four team to bed at the earliest opportunity.
After facing the All Blacks in Wellington the tournament takes a break before the Boks face Argentina in Durban on September 27 and again at Twickenham on October 4.
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