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By Jamie Wall of 

All Blacks v Springboks

Kickoff: 7.05pm Saturday September 13

Sky Stadium, Wellington

Two-time World Cup-winning All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is back with the All Blacks, although his role with the team is unclear. While it’s not unusual for former players to pop back in and be a part of the training environment, McCaw’s presence did prompt Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus to wonder if he is helping with All Blacks training.

“I think Richie McCaw might have also been with him last week. The way they were to breakdown, they were awesome at the breakdown,” Erasmus, referring to the All Blacks’ performances in the 24-17 result at Eden Park, said.

McCaw’s presence was confirmed today by assistant New Zealand coach Tamati Ellison.

“He’s a legend ... you’d have to ask the players, he wasn’t at training specifically. But his legacy lives on and they were real intense around that breakdown so it shows the boys care about that legacy,” Ellison said at the team’s NZCIS training base in Upper Hutt.

Erasmus also pointed out the influence of Sir Wayne Smith, who was in the All Blacks coaching box at Eden Park.

“You could see Wayne Smith’s hand in there, the way they put pressure on our box kicks.”

Sir Wayne Smith. Photo / Photosport

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The Springboks have made seven changes to their side, rolling out almost an entirely different starting backline for this weekend’s test in Wellington. Only wing Cheslin Kolbe remains, although Erasmus has prior form when it comes to tinkering with his line-up after naming it on Mondays. He also said that changes were coming regardless of the result in Auckland, with an eye on the World Cup in two years’ time.

“It would have been paradise if we won last weekend and we still could have made the changes, which was the plan,” Erasmus said.

“Not a lot of players get the opportunity to play New Zealand and after this game, we probably only have the year of the World Cup [cycle] where we’re playing them away here. So the plan was to try and win and then also give some [players] the pressure of playing against the top team currently in the world. Maybe not so many ... but definitely we would have made changes.”

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus noted Richie McCaw and Sir Wayne Smith's influence on the All Blacks. Photo / Photosport

Erasmus also said the blame was equally shared between the players and staff for the loss, which he put down to a poor start and lack of control in key moments.

“We all know there were a lot of guys that didn’t play well and there are a lot of coaches who didn’t coach well last week, including myself,” he said.

“If I have to look at the positives [with the way] the game ended, it almost felt like the World Cup, that Ireland pool match where we clawed ourselves back into the game and then we didn’t score at the end.

“I thought the guys that that came on brought a lot of energy and brought a lot of fight which, after 15 minutes, you know we were 14-nil down and then they only scored another 10 points, which is irrelevant – we lost the game and that’s the bottom line.”

– RNZ