Scrum of the Earth /

Selection meetings for the Springboks must be quite fun with Pieter de Villiers in charge. Seemingly a 'yes' man, the new coach has borrowed a trick or two from Paul Daniels' repetoire, naming Joe Van Niekerk at No. 8.

South Africa fans are sickened that Luke Watson is in ahead of Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski. Adrian Jacobs has done well in attack, but questions marks remain against the big boys in attack, so it will be interesting to watch him tussle with Ma'a Nonu, especially after going missing in the Super 14 semi-final against the Waratahs.

There are worrying reports coming out of Wellington than Jacobs and Watson are already teachers pets, being favoured for their unfashionable reputation rather than obvious world class abilities, which Francois Steyn has in abundance. He's still a baby and has a World Cup winners medal, so he is primed for the big stage.

CJ Van de Linde and Guthro Steenkamp will front up, but the lack of BJ Botha, whom the kiwis rate higher than any other bruiser will have Messrs Woodcock and Somerville frothing at the mouth.

96-Test veteran Percy Montgomery is the master of close encounters. 'Monty' kicked them to World Cup glory after all, so Conrad Janties is a surprise, if purely for his limited defensive capabilities.

Pieter de Villiers. If you weren't already aware, the pressure of being the first black South African coach has just intensified. There hasn't been this much anticipation to a Test series since Martin Johnson's England turned up to New Zealand in 2003.

The Boks would've happily sold a toe for Jake White, so if the changes prompt a horror start and they find themselves 20-0 down after 15 minutes, then we'll see how valued the new coaches ideas are.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.