The only change to the match-day squad is at replacement lock, where Victor Matfield has overcome his hamstring injury and takes over from Pieter-Steph du Toit, bringing even more experience to the bench.

It’s the first time since last November that head coach Heyneke Meyer has been able to name an unchanged team for back-to-back Tests and only the sixth time since his appointment in 2012.

“It’s great to be able to give another run to the team that got us through to the semi-finals in the biggest Test of the year,” said Meyer.

“Victor’s inclusion on the bench gives us even more experience there and, as we saw last weekend against Wales, when the replacements did very well towards the end of the match, this will be crucial.His influence will also be pivotal against a strong New Zealand line-out.”

Meyer said his team is braced for a massive onslaught on Saturday.

“We’re playing against the defending champions and the top-ranked side in the world, but the current New Zealand side can also be regarded as arguably one of the best Test teams ever,” said Meyer.

“We have the utmost respect for their players and coaching staff and although there is an intense rivalry we actually get along very well away from the field.

“But we have to believe we can beat them otherwise we’ll be wasting our time on Saturday. We will have to be at our ultimate best and although we played some excellent rugby against Wales, there are always things to improve on.

“Tests against New Zealand are very intense and the margins over the last couple of years have been small. We’re not expecting anything different this weekend and the self-belief is there.

“Everyone in our group is massively excited about Saturday’s challenge. For many players this will be an once-in-a-lifetime occasion and we want to go out there and make it count in front of what will be a magnificent crowd at a superb stadium.”

Lood de Jager will undergo a late fitness assessment on Friday after which a call on his availability will be made. If he can't play, Matfield will start with Pieter-Steph du Toit on the bench.

The Springbok team to face New Zealand in Twickenham:

Position	Name	Franchise / Club	Test Caps	Test points
15	Willie le Roux	Toyota Cheetahs	32	45
14	JP Pietersen	Cell C Sharks	64	110
13	Jesse Kriel	Vodacom Bulls	9	15
12	Damian De Allende	DHL Stormers	11	5
11	Bryan Habana	Toulon	115	320
10	Handré Pollard	Vodacom Bulls	18	159
9	Fourie du Preez (captain)	Suntory	75	80
8	Duane Vermeulen	DHL Stormers	33	10
7	Schalk Burger (vice-captain)	DHL Stormers	84	80
6	Francois Louw	Bath	41	40
5	Lood de Jager	Toyota Cheetahs	17	20
4	Eben Etzebeth	DHL Stormers	42	5
3	Frans Malherbe	DHL Stormers	10	0
2	Bismarck du Plessis	Cell C Sharks	77	55
1	Tendai Mtawarira	Cell C Sharks	73	10
Replacements:
16	Adriaan Strauss	Vodacom Bulls	52	30
17	Trevor Nyakane	Vodacom Bulls	21	5
18	Jannie du Plessis	Cell C Sharks	68	5
19	Victor Matfield	Vodacom Bulls	125	35
20	Willem Alberts	Cell C Sharks	36	35
21	Ruan Pienaar	Ulster	87	135
22	Pat Lambie	Cell C Sharks	48	131
23	Jan Serfontein	Vodacom Bulls	24	10

Louw in unchanged Bok XV for World Cup semi-final

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