South Africa v New Zealand LIVE: Latest scores and updates from Rugby Championship

New Zealand need to strike a blow early as they look to claw back some of the points lost to Argentina in the opener, and head coach Scott Robertson has chosen to go with experience in his starting 15.

Captain Scott Barrett takes his place in the second row alongside Tupou Vaa’i, with former captain Sam Cane also starting for the first time since the World Cup final after an injury to Dalton Papali’i.

In the backs, it is unchanged from the win over Argentina, with TJ Perenara continuing at scrum-half alongside Damian McKenzie at 10.

Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane are in midfield, with Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett chosen as the back three for the first of the double-headers in South Africa.

South Africa XV: 1 Ox Nche, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 3 Frans Malherbe; 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 5 Ruan Nortje; 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Ben-Jason Dixon , 8 Jasper Wiese; 9 Cobus Reinach, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu; 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 12 Damian de Allende, 13 Jesse Kriel, 14 Cheslin Kolbe; 15 Aphelele Fassi.

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith; 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard.

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus has returned to a more full-strength side after making 10 changes to the side that beat Australia in the opener.

And the back line returns to normal too, with Aphelele Fassi, Jesse Kriel and Cheslin Kolbe all keeping their places alongside new fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Action, with coverage starting at 3.50pm BST. Subscribers can also stream the match via Sky Go, or purchase a pass for NOW TV. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

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South Africa vs New Zealand kicks off at 4pm BST on Saturday, 31 August, and takes place at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Rugby Championship action as South Africa take on New Zealand in a blockbuster clash that will have big ramifications on the table.

The Springboks currently sit top of the tree, after two wins from two against Australia, and are looking strong to win a trohpy that has evaded them since 2019.

The All Blacks lost their opening fixture in a tight contest versus Argentina but bounced back to defeat Los Pumas 42-10 in the second match of the competition.

New Zealand must come out of today’s match victorious if they have any hopes of winning the tournament. South Africa have a five point lead which must be overturned in the next two games to set up, what will be a fantastic finish to this Rugby Championship.

We’ll have all the updates throughout the afternoon so stick around as we build up to kick off at 4pm BST.