WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — South Africa and New Zealand meet in a Rugby Championship test Saturday which repeats the 2023 World Cup final and brings together the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in world rugby.

While the match at Auckland’s Eden Park is being billed as a blockbuster, possibly the most important test of the year, both teams a grappling with issues of form.

World Cup champion South Africa lost to Australia in the first round of the tournament and New Zealand lost to Argentina in the second, raising pressure on coaches Rassie Erasmus and Scott Robertson in a wide-open tournament in which all four teams have one win and a loss.

Robertson under pressure

The pressure is especially heavy on Robertson, who has lost five of his 17 tests in charge, and reached that five-loss mark faster than any previous All Blacks head coach.

The most recent loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires, the All Blacks’ first ever lost to the Pumas in Argentina, was indicative of New Zealand’s performances under Robertson. There seemed to be a lack of confidence and direction at both ends of the field.

Robertson has either chosen to, or been prevailed upon, to call on former All Blacks and New Zealand women’s coach Wayne Smith to join in training this week. Smith, known as “the professor,” now works as a sort of troubleshooter whose job is to bring quick remedies to troubled teams.

“He’s good. He’s just got so much wisdom with 30-odd years in the business at the top level,” Robertson said of Smith. “There are little bits of gold there: ‘Have you thought about this? Remember this? And when I was here, we did this.’

“Those are the bits you get from an old koro (grandfather) who knows his way around test footy.”

Selections

The main surprises in the selection of both lineups was that there were no real surprises. Both coaches followed a relatively conservative and consistent course.

Robertson has had to contend with a series of injuries at scrumhalf which have ruled out Cam Roigard, Noah Hotham and Cortez Ratima. He has selected Finlay Christie to start Saturday and Kyle Preston to make his debut from the bench.

Otherwise, the selection of Emoni Narawa on the right wing in place of Sevu Reece was unexpected but a reflection of the importance the All Blacks are putting on the aerial game. Both teams are expected to kick __ a lot.

Erasmus has made four changes to the team which beat Australia in Cape Town. Eben Etzebeth returns for his 137th test and Siya Kolisi will be at No. 8 while Jesse Kriel retains the captaincy.

“We selected the best possible team we could for the match, knowing that this is going to be an epic encounter against the All Blacks at Eden Park and many of these players have done the job for us before against them,” Erasmus said.

Fortress Auckland

Eden Park is a stadium nestled in the leafy suburbs of Auckland, a setting that belies its reputation as the fortress of New Zealand Rugby.

The All Blacks haven’t lost there in 50 test matches dating back to 1994. South Africa hasn’t won there since 1937.

That’s pressure on both teams: on the All Blacks to keep the streak alive and on the Springboks to be the team to finally break the streak.

“I’ve played against the All Blacks twice before, at Twickenham and … in Cape Town, but the magnitude of this match at Eden Park is huge — it’s an unbelievable feeling,” Springboks wing Canan Moodie said.

The responsibility of defending the Eden Park record has loomed over All Blacks training this week.

“We talk about it with a lot of care,” Robertson said. “We understand the figures, the history, the facts and the occasion and that creates edge in itself.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby