“We just want to make it clear from the outset that we have decided to give Ruan a rest this week so that we can manage him effectively during the international programme. As you know, he is an important part of our plans for the future, and we will be expecting him back in the squad shortly,” said Bok manager Arthob Petersen.

Pienaar is replaced by Morne Steyn, who played in the second half of the 28-19 win in Bloemfontein, as the only change to the starting team. There are two changes on the bench, with fit again Andries Bekker replacing loose-forward Ryan Kankowski on the bench, while Adrian Jacobs is back in the position previously occupied by Steyn.

De Villiers was a bit cryptic when asked how he justified having two centres on the bench in Jacobs and Wynand Olivier: “If you look at the starting team you will see that it is not just directed by the changes on the bench,” he said.

By that he probably means that fullback Frans Steyn will move into flyhalf if there is an injury to his namesake from the Bulls, with JP Pietersen possibly moving to fullback, and Olivier has occasionally filled in at fullback for the Bulls in the distant past.

The announcement that Pienaar was being rested was a bit at odds with De Villiers’ later contention that the utility back was not fit to sit on the bench, but regardless of what the case is, the inclusion of Steyn in the No10 jersey was hardly surprising.

Steyn is a more reliable goalkicker than Pienaar, and the Bok players would not bank on their ability to overcome in the Durban match a similar poor start to the one that Pienaar endured in Bloemfontein when he left 11 points on the table in the first half.

Both De Villiers and skipper John Smit expressed their utmost confidence in Steyn’s abilities.

“He has had a dream season and we saw in the series against the Lions that he can be a matchwinner,” said Smit.

De Villiers pointed to Steyn’s excellent Super 14 form with the Bulls, and said that he was the perfect replacement to have.

“Ruan is an excellent player, but then so is Morne, so it is a nice situation to be in, you could hardly call it a problem for us,” said De Villiers.

The selection of Steyn and the retention of the midfield duo who did well at Vodacom Park in the face of the challenge from Jacobs answers the question about what type of game the Boks will play on Saturday – they will stick to the forward orientated territory approach that shut out the All Blacks in the first half.

It is a type of game the Boks execute very well, as they did in Bloemfontein, and the All Blacks would probably readily acknowledge that they don’t have field kickers in their team to match the two Steyns, or for that matter the real pivot in the Bok team, Fourie du Preez.

Apart from a bit of an imbalance on the bench which is hard to criticise if you don’t know the real condition of Pienaar, this team is probably the best equipped of any Bok combination assembled in the last while to beat the All Blacks, with Steyn’s selection at flyhalf taking away the potential weakness of goalkicking inconsistency that they started with in Bloemfontein.

Springbok team:

Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Heinrich Brussow, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, John Smit (captain), Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.

Reserves: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Jannie du Plessis, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Ricky Januarie, Adi Jacobs, Wynand Olivier.

Source:  supersport.co.za