New Zealand hope to ease pressure with Cape Town win

New Zealand must beat world champions South Africa on Saturday to revive their flagging Rugby Championship hopes, but also at stake is their wounded pride and the belief in their future direction under new coach Scott Robertson.

A third defeat in four tests – and a fourth in a row against old foes South Africa – would not quite be a crisis for the All Blacks, but it would be not far from it given the incredibly high standards they have set over decades.

They were shocked 38-30 at home by Argentina earlier in the Rugby Championship before bouncing back in fine style to record a 42-10 win a week later.

New Zealand led by 10 points with 12 minutes to go against the Springboks in Johannesburg last Saturday before losing 31-27, and their ability to bounce back will be tested again in Cape Town, where they have won seven of their previous 10 tests.

"We had a game on the weekend where we had the opportunity to win. We have another opportunity this weekend," Robertson told reporters. "We have to be better at finishing games."

Perhaps in response to the way his side were outplayed in the closing stages at Ellis Park, Robertson has dropped vastly experienced fullback Beauden Barrett and scrumhalf TJ Perenara to the bench to make them ‘finishers’ with fresh legs to counter the pressure the home side’s replacements bring.

Blindside flanker Wallace Sititi, with two previous caps, has been brought in for the injured Ethan Blackadder but a fit-again Dalton Papali'i is overlooked.

"He (Sititi) is a hell of an athlete," Robertson said. "And built for these sorts of games. He's a great defender, has a great skill set and we have been impressed with him."

Robertson will hope his roll of the dice pays off, or there will be more uncomfortable questions back home.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus likes to rotate players match-to-match and has made seven changes, two of which are positional.

He has brought back stalwarts Handre Pollard at flyhalf and Willie le Roux at fullback, at the expense of two young players who stood out last weekend, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Aphelele Fassi respectively.

Erasmus says it is in part because of his side’s tendency to drop their performance level after a big win.

"It is a fact," Erasmus said. "That is one of the reasons why we mix it up a lot of the time, to try and get over that hurdle of not backing it up.

"Sometimes we stick with players and they really believe they are up for the game, but then in the first five minutes they get a shock.

"We have explained to the players how difficult it will be to beat New Zealand in Cape Town with no altitude."

South Africa lead the Rugby Championship table with 14 points after three rounds, ahead of second-placed New Zealand on six.