South Africa change two for final round clash against New Zealand

South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has made two changes for the final round of the Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand.

Both the changes have come in the front row with Frans Malherbe sidelined with a neck injury with Trevor Nyakane shifted to tighthead and Ox Nché will start at loosehead.

The bench also sees a change with Marco van Staden ruled out of the game with a shoulder injury and Jasper Wiese returning to the matchday squad.

Meanwhile, Cheslin Kolbe, who missed the last three games for the Springboks due to a leg injury that he sustained in the training session upon team's arrival in Queensland has failed to clear the fitness test.

“We are bitterly disappointed about the results in the last few weeks and everyone in our team realises the importance of finishing the Rugby Championship on a winning note,” he added.

“Every member of squad will have a role to play in ensuring that the players on the field are at their best on match-day, and we have no doubt that if we can build on the strong points of our game last week and improve further on the execution of our game plan, we can get the desired result.

“We know it is going to take a colossal 80-minute effort, but the drive to succeed and motivation to win this weekend is as big as it gets.

“Last week we stuck to our DNA and style of play, and with a little more luck we could have come away with the result, so we need to ensure that we are better at it this week.

“We are ready for this challenge mentally and physically and we know what we are capable of as a team, so we’ll go out there and give everything we have.”

Team line up:

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché

Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn