Wiese: Boks v All Blacks 'special'

Cape Town - He was a member of the famous 1995 World Cup-winning Springbok squad, and 20 years later Kobus Wiese still believes that the Springboks against the All Blacks is as good as rugby gets. 

Wiese, now an analysts and commentator with local broadcasters SuperSport, told Sport24 in an exclusive interview that the fixture remained the 'ultimate Test match'.

"No disrespect to any of the other top rugby nations in the world, but the Springbok-All Black Test has always been very special because both nations are highly competitive and sports mad countries," Wiese said. 

"Playing against the old enemy was always memorable, and even more so in front of a partisan home crowd of 63 000 fans. As a former Springbok, I know for a fact it's the ultimate Test match you want to compete in."

The sides meet on Saturday at Emirates Airlines Park (formerly Ellis Park) where the All Blacks will lay down he gauntlet by performing the haka in front of a sold out stadium. 

"I love the haka," said Wiese. 

"It is part of world rugby and should be respected whether you are a Kiwi or not.

"The haka is synonymous with All Black rugby and is a rich part of their history. I have seen some teams in the past not facing the famous war dance and I believe that is disrespectful ... I faced the haka four times and always enjoyed the moment."

Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:05.

Teams:

South Africa:

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger (captain), 7 Francois Louw, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lionel Mapoe

New Zealand:

15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock

Substitutes: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Victor Vito, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa