- 1 Springboks vs All Blacks: the game that will decide the series in Johannesburg
- 2 The Springboks have Etzebeth and a front row back where it belongs
- 3 The All Blacks arrive with several personal milestones and their confidence intact despite Cape Town
- 4 Rugby prediction Springboks vs All Blacks – 3rd Test
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information that moves
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Springboks vs All Blacks: the game that will decide the series in Johannesburg 
1-1, all square. The All Blacks nicked Ellis Park (33-16), the Boks hit back the hard way at DHL Stadium in Cape Town (33-26). On Saturday at 17h10, FNB Stadium hosts the decider in this Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry 2026 series.
The loser of this third Test can no longer win the series. Only a win on Saturday keeps hopes alive for the final in Baltimore the following week.
It is the ninth time in 13 series between these two nations that the third match has come with the scores tied at 1-1. History says these ones rarely drift along quietly.
Johannesburg’s altitude, sitting at 1700 metres, plus 80,000 fans armed with their vuvuzelas, makes for a very specific atmosphere. The All Blacks know it, but the Springboks own it. Rassie Erasmus made the point in his press conference: at this stage of the series, both sides know each other inside out. Accuracy and nerve will decide it.
The scrum row, stoked by the public comments from Erasmus and Dave Rennie during the week, adds a psychological edge that suits the Boks boss just fine.
Erasmus in this sort of set-up is rarely the one under pressure.
The Springboks have Etzebeth and a front row back where it belongs 
Rassie Erasmus goes back to his first-choice front row: Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw. Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit, who started in Cape Town in very different weather, drop to the bench.
Eben Etzebeth makes his 145th Test appearance in green and gold, making him the most-capped player in Boks history.
Alongside Ruan Nortje in the second row, he brings a level of grunt at the ruck and the maul that few teams on earth can live with.
The back row is unchanged: Jasper Wiese at the base of the scrum, Pieter-Steph du Toit at flanker, and Siya Kolisi leading the side. That trio bossed the second Test.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu keeps the half-back partnership with Cobus Reinach. The young fly-half has not been caught out yet in this series when it comes to his kicking game.
The only enforced change is at full-back: Damian Willemse is injured and unavailable. Cheslin Kolbe moves to 15, and Kurt-Lee Arendse comes in on the right wing. Arendse has 25 tries in 33 caps, so you know exactly what he brings. Handre Pollard is also out, with Manie Libbok named on the bench as fly-half cover.
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The All Blacks arrive with several personal milestones and their confidence intact despite Cape Town 
Dave Rennie makes a few tweaks from the second Test. Asafo Aumua gets the starting hooker spot back, with Samisoni Taukei’aho heading to the bench. Sam Darry starts at lock in place of Fabian Holland.
Peter Lakai wears No 6, while Wallace Sititi comes on as an impact option off the bench.
Ardie Savea captains a side with a string of personal landmarks to chase: Tupou Vaa’i hits his 50th cap, Damian McKenzie plays his 80th Test, Will Jordan reaches 60 caps, and Fletcher Newell gets his 40th appearance.
That gives them extra fuel, even if they are not flying to Johannesburg to make up the numbers.
Cam Roigard stays at scrum-half, Ruben Love at fly-half. That partnership has not changed since the start of the series, a clear sign Rennie is backing his plan despite the Cape Town defeat.
The Barrett pairing in the middle and McKenzie at the back is pure dynamite. A pinpoint territorial kick, a sharp counter, and the Boks will pay for even the smallest lapse in shape.
The All Blacks have two famous wins at FNB Stadium: 29-22 in 2010 and 32-16 in 2012. But those were two different groups of players, in a very different series context.
Likely Springboks team: 15 Kolbe, 14 Arendse, 13 Kriel, 12 de Allende, 11 Hooker, 10 Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Reinach ; 8 Wiese, 7 du Toit, 6 Kolisi (cap.), 5 Nortje, 4 Etzebeth, 3 Louw, 2 Marx, 1 Nche
Replacements: 16 Fourie, 17 Steenekamp, 18 du Toit T., 19 de Jager, 20 Esterhuizen, 21 Hanekom, 22 van den Berg, 23 Libbok
Likely All Blacks team: 15 McKenzie, 14 Jordan, 13 Tupaea, 12 Barrett J., 11 Carter, 10 Love, 9 Roigard ; 8 Savea (cap.), 7 Jacobson, 6 Lakai, 5 Darry, 4 Vaa’i, 3 Lomax, 2 Aumua, 1 Bower
Replacements: 16 Taukei’aho, 17 Numia, 18 Newell, 19 Holland, 20 Sititi, 21 Preston, 22 Lienert-Brown, 23 Moorby
Rugby prediction Springboks vs All Blacks – 3rd Test
Our pick: Springboks to win
The Boks did not flinch in the second Test. Leading 24-14 at half-time, they held their nerve against the New Zealand fightback to see it out 33-26. Cold-blooded control, Erasmus style, where the result matters more than anything else.
Erasmus has home advantage, the Johannesburg altitude and 87,000 supporters making communication on the field close to impossible for the visitors. That is not a detail. It is a weapon built into the Boks’ plan.
The starting front row is back after the weather-forced switch in Cape Town. Etzebeth, on 145 caps, remains one of the heaviest-hitting locks in the game, and his partnership with Nortje puts relentless pressure on the floor. The scrum could once again sit at the heart of everything.
The All Blacks have class all over the park, and their back line can flip a match in two phases. But this is 1700 metres up, in a stadium at full roar, with no margin for error.
We are backing the Boks. The scrum and the final 20 minutes should tilt green and gold, just as they did in Cape Town.
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