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It will be win or bust for the Springboks when they square off against the All Blacks to settle a burning issue with their old foes in round two of a brutal heavyweight duel between world rugby’s two top-ranked nations in Cape Town on Saturday, centre Jesse Kriel says. After being floored in the opening round in Johannesburg last week, the under-pressure Boks must win the next three Tests at the Cape Town Stadium, FNB Stadium in Soweto and the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in the US. Kriel said the team were aware of what lay ahead of them and were determined to rise to the challenge in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in Cape Town (kickoff 5.10pm). “Coming into this series we knew it would kind of feel like knockout rugby, so you could look at it like that,” Kriel said. 🗣️ "We've got much more to lose in this game." — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 24, 2026 Rassie Erasmus on the Springboks bouncing back in Cape Town and their response to losing at Ellis Park.#SSRugby | #RugbysGreatestRivalry pic.twitter.com/M30CwdNcAt “We know we’ve got three more chances to perform the way we want to and play like the team we know we can be. The Boks have been in situations like this before. “We know we weren’t as accurate as we wanted to be in the first Test. We also know New Zealand played unbelievably well; they were well prepared and came here with a great plan. “In Test match rugby, if you don’t convert or take your opportunities and other teams do, the scoreboard is normally not in your favour. “I don’t think we were as accurate as we wanted to be on the night, and New Zealand put us under a lot of pressure. “The All Blacks were clinical when they got their chances. We’ll have to be better, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.” Prop Wilco Louw said if the Springboks gained scrum dominance against the All Blacks in Cape Town, they must cash in by putting points on the board. Despite the Springboks losing in Test one of #RugbysGreatestRivalry, @VictorMatfield isn't too concerned after what he saw 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/XiJKIxtrQR — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 26, 2026 Though the Boks held the upper hand at scrum-time in the opening Test in Johannesburg last week, they were unable to drive home their advantage when they slumped to a 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park. “It’s a Test match so there’s never an easy scrum,” Louw said. “The All Blacks played well, and it was a tough battle; they got a few rewards, and we got a few rewards. “It’s very disappointing, but they used their opportunities very well. The scrum is part of the game, and they have a proud scrum culture in their team and the same with us. “We are obviously disappointed; we need to use our opportunities better, and they did it. The game goes in different directions; we had scrum dominance here and there, and they used their opportunities better. “We have to be clinical and focus on us and try to use our opportunities better when they come.” Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said his team would have to be much more clinical if they wanted to emerge with a win in Cape Town. With hindsight, there were a lot of things we didn’t convert. There were two or three big moments when we let the game go away from us. — Rassie Erasmus “We didn’t play well, and against a class team like New Zealand, if you don’t convert, they give you a proper hiding,” he said. “With hindsight, there were a lot of things we didn’t convert. There were two or three big moments when we let the game go away from us. “Not because we wanted to or because we wanted to make those errors, but because New Zealand forced those onto us by being really intense and sharp. They know how to stop you when inside their 22 in different ways. “Be it stripping of the ball, contesting for the ball on the ground, harassing the nine within the laws, and we couldn’t handle that.” Bok coach Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Siya Kolisi will start against the All Blacks on Saturday, having come through training on Monday. As a result, Paul de Villiers drops out of the match 23 having started the first Test at Ellis Park.