Swys de Bruin’s departure from the Springbok Women provides an unexpected backdrop to South Africa’s historic meeting with New Zealand as both teams look to close the gap to those above.

The All Blacks centre on his time in Japan with the Kobe Steelers, why it made him fall in love with the sport again and his effusive praise for New Zealand boss Dave Rennie.

Dave Rennie’s new-look All Blacks face Rassie Erasmus’ world champions in a fascinating clash of rugby philosophies. Mark Ashcroft previews an intriguing opening Test in 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

New Zealand have shown enough over the last fortnight to trouble the world champions, but injury concerns and a fired-up South Africa still highlight the scale of the task.