The All Blacks are gearing up for their one off Test in South Africa, as they look to continue that good form they rediscovered in Auckland.

The same team has been named to take on the Springboks, which speaks volumes for the way they played in the second Bledisloe Cup match.

The only change comes on the bench, where Anthony Tuitavake has been replaced by Isaia Toeava - and that gives cover to fullback and the centers. Toeava has had a mixed bag in his short All Black career so far, with some real moments of skill being overshadowed by some less-than-impressive displays. Hopefully his time away from the black jersey has given him time to find the maturity needed for the top level.

The All Blacks will need to produce a similar performance to that in Auckland if they want to beat the Boks on their home soil. They do have a good record in Cape Town, though, winning five of their last eight there.

The Springboks have made a few changes due to injury, after playing against the Argentinians last weekend. Bakkies Botha and Jaque Fourie will both miss the Test, which is great news for the All Blacks.

Veteran fullback Percy Montgomery will play in his 100th Test for the Springboks. Montgomery has been a fantastic asset for the Boks over the past decade, and rates among their best players ever. Congratulations Percy, but unfortunately we hope it's not a successful 100th Test.

Here are the teams:

All Blacks: Mils Muliaina, Richard Kahui, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sitivini Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw (c), Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock.

Reserves: John Afoa, Kevin Mealamu, Anthony Boric, Adam Thomson, Piri Weepu, Stephen Donald, Isaia Toeava.

South Africa: Percy Montgomery, JP Pietersen, Jean de Villiers, Adrian Jacobs, Bryan Habana, Butch James, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield (c), Andries Bekker, CJ Van de Linde, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.

Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Brian Mujati, Danie Rossouw, Luke Watson, Ricky Januarie, Frans Steyn, Conrad Jantjes.

The Springboks have bounced back from their defeat last week, beating the All Blacks in a 30-28 thriller in Dunedin.

Both sides were fairly even throughout the game, until a piece a magic from Ricky Janurie in the dying stages of the game gave the Bok's the lead - which they held on to until full time.

Losing is never fun, but the Springboks are a tough side - and they thoroughly deserve their win.

The first half was plagued by Matt Goddard's whistle, which meant both sides struggled to get any momentum going. Goddard was awarding penalties left right and center, and by half time the Bok's led 17-15, with JP Peterson scoring the only try after a woeful All Blacks lineout gave South Africa a five meter scrum.

Dan Carter kept the All Blacks in the hunt, though, with five penalties.

Losing Ali Williams in the 29th minute hurt the All Blacks badly - Anthony Boric and Kevin O'Neill played well, but we really missed the experience Williams brings to the table.

The All Blacks stepped up in the second half, but just couldn't hold on in the last ten minutes, even with Victor Matfield in the bin for a high shot - which, to be fair, was a terrible call, and just one of the many rubbish calls from Goddard.

Sione Luaki scored the All Black's only try of the night, and had a strong game when he replaced (the very quiet) Jerome Kaino.

The Springboks really muscled up, and even managed to make a go of it in the scrums this week - a far cry better than their display last week.

They now head to Perth, where they will face the Wallabies on Saturday night. If they can pick up the win there, they'll head back to South Africa well pleased with their efforts down under.

It's not panic stations for the All Blacks - they just need to tighten up their defence around the ruck, and work on getting good quick ball to the backs (we're talking to you Ellis), and they'll bounce back.

We would also like to see Carter look to kick down field a lot more, too, rather than these high midfield bombs we keep seeing - they're really just giving the opposition the ball in prime territory. Carter is capable of kicking deep, and really should look to do so.

A big positive for the All Blacks was - once again - the center combo of Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, who continue to grow each week. They're creating some real havoc for the opposition defence - keep up the good work, fellas.

While the loss isn't exactly great (from our narrow-minded, biased perspective), it does makes for an interesting Tri Nations, and will keep the All Blacks grounded.

They still have a lot of work to do, but at least their heading in the right direction.

Well done, South Africa - you deserved this one.

The Springboks have made three changes to their starting fifteen for this Saturdays Test - two in the backs, and one in the forwards.

In what we think is a strange move, veteran Springbok Percy Montgomery swaps places with Conrad Jantjes at fullback. We thought Jantjes was good last week, and can only imagine they've brought Montgomery in for his goal kicking - Montgomery will be a lot more reliable than Butch James, especially from out wide.

The other replacement in the backs is JP Petersen in for Odwa Ndungane on the wing. Petersen is a classy winger, with a a ton of pace, but really isn't that different from Ndungane - so should be no hassle for the All Blacks defence.

Let's hope that statement doesn't come back to haunt us.

Bismark du Plessis starts at hooker with John Smit injured, which is a huge loss for the Springboks, and won't help their already woeful scrum. Hear that, Peter?

Woeful.

Victor Matfield will captain the team in Smit's absence - he has experience as captain, and should have no problems with the role.

Ruan Pienaar also comes into the side on the bench in place of Bolla Conradie, who didn't get much game time in the first Test in Wellington.

All in all, it's a very similar side to the one that played in Wellington - and while Montgomery provides some more experience, they'll need more than that to beat the All Blacks in Dunedin.

Oh, and by the way - the All Blacks have gone back to the top of the IRB rankings with their 19-8 win over the Springboks, knocking the World Champs off the top spot.

Well done, boys - back where you belong.

The All Black selectors have made two changes to their side for this Saturdays second Test against the Springboks, in Dunedin.

The most obvious change sees Anthony Boric get his first run-on start, due to the one week suspension of Brad Thorn for slamming John Smit on his back.

Boric has had very little game time so far - the only decent time he's had was fifty or so minutes against England when Ali Williams went off injured, but he will definitely be a valuable asset in the lineouts.

The All Blacks will miss Thorn's presence around the field and at scrum time, but Boric is no slouch, and will add mobility around the field - not to mention the usefulness of his height of 2m in the lineout. With Thorn unavailable, Waikato Chiefs lock Kevin O'Neill gets his chance on the bench.

The other change sees John Afoa replace Greg Sommerville in the front row. Afoa sustained a knee injury against the Irish, and has been unavailable for the last three Tests, and so now gets his chance to impress the coaches against the Boks.

Afoa is a very strong scrummager, and has an excellent work rate around the field. While he is relatively new at Test level, his Super 14 experience will stand him in good stead against the Bok's scrum.

And, while we're talking about the scrum - how pathetic are Peter de Villiers' claims that the All Blacks are cheating at the scrum?! The All Blacks have long been the benchmark of scrummaging, and so it was no surprise that we dominated their pack on Saturday.

Face it Pete - your boys got a lesson from the best in the business.

The Springbok pack is bigger than the All Blacks, and yet we still push theirs backwards. Maybe if they focused on developing their own scrum, rather than complaining about ours, they could make the scrums a real contest...

If the second Test is anything like the first, then we expect plenty of fireworks from both sides - which may just heat things up a bit, as Dunedin is sure to provide some chilly temperatures.

It should be another fantastic Test between these two great rivals - Go the All Blacks!

The All Blacks have taken first blood in this years Tri Nations, grinding out a hard fought 19-8 win over the Springboks in Wellington.

Once again Wellington turned on the wet conditions, which meant a greasy surface and plenty of handling errors by both sides.

Despite the slippery ball, both sides tried to play an open game, with a lot of tactical kicking.

Even Ali Williams joined in on it.

Dan Carter put the All Blacks ahead with three penalties, before Bryan Habana scored in the corner, narrowing the margin to 9-8 going into half time. The Springboks were giving the All Blacks a run for their money...

John Smit was an early casualty for the Springboks, leaving the field in the first half with a groin strain, after being dumped by Brad Thorn in an off-the-ball incident. Thorn has been given a one week ban for the tackle, and will miss the Carisbrook Test next Saturday.

Jerome Kaino scored the All Blacks first (and only) try to give them a handy eight point lead, and when Carter slotted a penalty later in the half the All Blacks took a 19-8 lead, which they kept to the final whistle.

Kaino was very unlucky not to be given a second try after chasing a Carter kick, but Stu Dickenson deemed him off side, which was a completely rubbish call. Why the video ref couldn't have had a look we don't know, but it should have been referred.

Kaino had a fantastic game, and looks to be maturing as an All Black, as does Ma'a Nonu.

Other standouts for the All Blacks were Ali Williams, who had a great game in his fiftieth Test, and Conrad Smith, who continues to silence his critics with great attacking and defending abilities.

The lineouts were very successful (until late in the second half), as was the scrum, where we dominated the Springboks throughout the game.

Our only real concern at the moment is Andy Ellis at halfback. We know he's young and relatively new to the All Blacks, but we need a halfback who can pass the ball quickly. Ellis seems to be permanently stuck in slow motion.

We'd like to see Cowan get a start this weekend, just to let Ellis know he has some competition for the number nine jersey. Maybe that way he'll up his game a bit more...

All in all it was a very tough and physical Test, which is exactly what the All Blacks needed. The Springboks showed us that they are a real threat, and could give us more of a run for our money in the upcoming Tests.

We can't wait for round two this Saturday in Dunedin - we just hope the snow has melted by then.

This Saturday's Test between the All Blacks and the current World Champs, South Africa, is one you don't want to miss.

The Springboks are in great form (have been since the World Cup, actually) and are bolstered by the return of John Smit, who has been playing in Europe.

Normally, the All Blacks would be heavy favourites, especially in New Zealand - the Springboks don't usually travel well - but it's hard to see them dominating this match against the highly improved South African side.

We're definitely not saying we won't win - we just see it being a lot closer than years gone by...

South Africa are experiencing a revival in form, and are developing some great talent - think, Ryan Kankowski, who was destructive in this years Super 14.

They also have a lot of experience in John Smit and Victor Matfield, and they will not be beaten easily.

This, though, will be their toughest Test of the year - Wales only put up a fight in the second Test, and - well - no one expected much out of Italy.

The All Blacks have yet to be tested either, but they have shown some good form against England - especially in the backs. The forwards will have to step up against the Bok's forward pack, especially without McCaw, but they have shown they are capable of winning without him.

The biggest thing in the All Blacks favour is the return of the new rules (ELV's), which means a faster game with less stoppage time. The Springboks will really be tested in the later stages of the Test, where the All Blacks fitness will give them an advantage.

We don't expect a walk-over, but we're confident the All Blacks can come away with the win - we are tough to beat at home.

This promises to be a great Tri Nations competition - possibly the closest to date - but we just wouldn't be New Zealanders if we didn't think the All Blacks could win it.

Which, of course, they will.