Springboks to repeat Wellington heroics? Bookies say NO

Cape Town - The Springboks will not celebrate back-to-back successes at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington against the All Blacks on Saturday, if bookmakers are to be believed...

Kick-off is at 09:35 SA time and the match will be broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1.

September 15, 2018 will live long on the memories of proud South African sporting fans as it was the day the Springboks edged the mighty All Blacks 36-34 in a titanic Rugby Championship tussle in New Zealand's capital.

Fast forward a little under 10 months later and the Springboks are back in Wellington seeking another psychological victory over their fiercest rivals in the build-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan - where the two sides will again do battle in their opening group match.

On the back of an impressive victory over the Wallabies at Ellis Park last weekend, and coupled with the fact the All Blacks struggled mightily to subdue an essentially Jaguares side in their opener in Buenos Aires, there's increasing optimism another famous Springbok win in the Land of the Long White Cloud may be on the cards.

Alas, leading SA bookies Sportingbet are backing the reigning world champion All Blacks to win by as many as 13 points on handicap.

Steve Hansen's New Zealand side have been installed as 17/100 favourites, while the Springboks can be backed at a tempting 7/2.

The draw after 80 minutes is on offer at 33/1.

If you're a gambler, it certainly is an enticing proposition...

Teams:

New Zealand

TBA

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel