All Blacks will be licking their lips after hearing Bok's comments

Damian Willemse has admitted that “there are aspects that are new” for him ahead of his first start at inside centre for South Africa on Saturday.

The 27-year-old is one of seven changes made by Rassie Erasmus from the Springbok starting XV that lost to the All Blacks 24-17 at Eden Park last week for their Rugby Championship round four rematch in Wellington.

In a new-look centre partnership, Willemse will start inside Canan Moodie, who has shifted from the wing to outside centre. Inside Willemse, his club-mate Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will take over from Handre Pollard at fly-half, while Cobus Reinach takes Grant Williams’ place at No.9.

Despite playing with Feinberg-Mngomezulu on a weekly basis at the Stormers, Willemse has confessed that the 10-12 partnership is unfamiliar territory, and has therefore been “working hard” this week to gel.

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New Zealand

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South Africa

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This bodes well for Scott Robertson’s side, as, though this backline has the capability of playing the type of rugby assistant coach Tony Brown may want, hoping to click from the whistle at the home of the world number ones as they chase the Rugby Championship title is a tall order.

“I played inside centre a few years ago,” Willemse said in the build-up to the match.

“I’ve played in the position as a replacement for the Boks, so there are aspects that are new for me, but I’m excited about the opportunity to link up with Sacha and the other backline players.

“I think this is the first match that I will be playing with Sacha at fly-half, but we’ve been working hard this week to align on how we play, and also with the other players from an attack and defence point of view, so we are ready for whatever the All Blacks throw at us.”

Looking ahead to the game itself, the double World Cup winner is predicting another “epic encounter”.

“We are expecting another physical game, which is what they always deliver,” said Willemse.

“There are close margins in Test rugby, and last week we had an opportunity to secure a draw, but we were unable to do so. So, we know this is going to be another epic encounter.

“Obviously, we can’t change what happened last week, but we had a thorough review of the match, and we’ve put it behind us. Our focus is now squarely on Saturday’s match-up, and hopefully, we can play well and get the desired result. It’s going to be a physical and hard match, but for us it’s all about nailing our roles on the field.”