The Springboks, again led by Siya Kolisi, will host the All Blacks for the first time ever at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, and are confident they will not carry baggage from past New Zealand visits to the city over to their new ground.
For New Zealand's 10 previous visits to Cape Town they played at Newlands Stadium, winning seven times and losing only three matches to their hosts. The All Blacks won on their last two visits to the Mother City, in 2008 and 2017.
Given that the Springboks have a positive overall record against the All Blacks on home soil with 27 wins, 25 defeats and a draw, their struggles in Cape Town could partially be attributed to New Zealand's large support base there.
During apartheid, the then all-white Springboks were viewed as a symbol of segregation and many in Cape Town, in particular, identified with their biggest rivals, and that All Blacks-loving fanbase remains strong in the city.
That said, the modern Springboks have radically changed nationwide perceptions of their emblem for the better. Since current head coach Rassie Erasmus took over as Director of Rugby, they have won back-to-back World Cups with the most diverse Springboks setup in history.
Cheslin Kolbe, who was born in Cape Town six months before South Africa's first democratic elections, has previously said his father was denied the opportunity to play for the Springboks by apartheid.
Kolbe is under no illusions regarding the boost the All Blacks will be given by their vocal supporters during the Rugby Championship clash. However, he observed during the 2023 Rugby World Cup champions' parade - where scores of fans lined the streets of Cape Town to welcome Springboks after they edged the All Blacks in the final - that his home city truly is green and gold above all else.
"We definitely have a lot of supporters... Just coming from the Trophy Tour, seeing all the people out and supporting the team is unbelievable. The only thing we can do is continue to win and hopefully, we'll gain more supporters and respect within the team. That's the only way forward to be honest," Kolbe told the media on Wednesday.
"Yes, the All Blacks have a good support base in Cape Town. For us, that's a challenge as well... but I'm sure there will be a majority of Springboks supporters in the stadium."
One of the key benefits from rugby's growth across the country is that the Boks have more strength in depth than ever. Lukhanyo Am alluded to this as skipper Kolisi faced a race against time to recover from a facial injury with a fracture sustained in last Saturday's 31-27 win for the Boks against the All Blacks in Johannesburg.
As it turned out, Kolisi was declared fit to start in any case and opted to play through the pain, but the Boks depth will still come in handy as Kurt-Lee Arendse misses out due to concussion.
With Makazole Mapimpi out in order to attend the birth of his child, 21-year-old speedster Canan Moodie starts alongside Cheslin Kolbe on the wings. Am himself has returned to the match 23 after a lengthy spell battling repeated injury problems.
"Losing a quality captain like Siya wouldn't be the best idea, but the squad depth that we've built over the last couple of seasons has put us in a position where whoever gets selected, there's no doubt. We all back each other," Am said.
"I think we really prep and train really well as a squad. It doesn't really worry us as players. We just fulfill our roles and it's quite a good problem to have. It must be tough for the coaches in terms of selection, but as a squad, we really are in a good place."
With regards to Kolisi's injury, Erasmus said: "He himself wanted the option to play now and get it reset in two weeks time."
Kolisi starts alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit, who has also overcome persistent injury problems over the years and was Man of the Match in both of South Africa's last two tests against New Zealand - the Ellis Park test and the Rugby World Cup final.
The Springboks currently have 14 points with three wins out of three in The Rugby Championship. New Zealand, Australia and Argentina have one win apiece from three.
Regardless of results elsewhere, a win on Saturday would effectively mean the Springboks have one hand on the trophy.
Springbok team to face New Zealand in Cape Town: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Canan Moodie, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Cheslin Kolbe, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Grant Williams, 8. Jasper Wiese, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi (captain), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1. Ox Nche
Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Kwagga Smith, 20. Elrigh Louw, 21. Jaden Hendrikse 22. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23. Lukhanyo Am