Not for the first time this season, the All Blacks enter a Test match under pressure. They face a world champion Springbok team that has local media and fans gushing rapture over a Bokke that appears destined for greatness.

In fact if the South Africans win, it will be the first time since 1998 that they have beaten their old foes twice in a calendar year. It will also be the only time the All Blacks have lost more than two Test matches in a year under Graham Henry.

With Bulls No.10 Morné Steyn brought into the starting line-up, it is the strongest South African side that could be selected. With no disrespect to Schalk Burger, the team looks far more complete with Heinrich Brussow, the find of 2009, in the side.

Click here to buy tickets for the autumn internationals in Europe

But to give credence to the claims of their fiercely proud supporters, they need to add the Tri-Nations title to their current status as world champions and the IRB's No.1 ranked team.

To do this, they will need to conquer a glaring weakness in the armoury during the professional era - the ability to win away from home.

Since 1996, the Springboks have won only four of their 28 matches in New Zealand and Australia. They have still to leave the comforts of home this year, and away wins in the Tri-Nations can be championship sealers.

Secondly, they simply must beat this New Zealand team in their Kings Park fortress in Durban. For if the Springboks are as good as we are being led to believe, and equally if the All Blacks are as poor, then this should be a fait accompli.

New Zealand in many respects seem to not have switched the launch button so far this season, looking strangely out of sorts. 

Some statistics would have us believe that this is a woeful All Black team who have scored the least amount of tries in their opening five matches of the season in the professional era.

Even despite the fact that the French team they hosted were probably the strongest Northern Hemisphere team seen in the South since Martin Johnson's England toured.

Other descriptive terminology has been used. Injury-ridden doesn’t really apply now, as Dan Carter and Ali Williams are the only first-choice players missing, and the former will likely be available for the All Blacks' next match in Sydney.

Rebuilding is being used as well. Perhaps they are, but only Stephen Donald, Isaac Ross and Owen Franks are new faces to the starting XV, and there are still 544 Test caps in the run-on team - against 605 for the Springboks. 

This is still almost the same team that featured in 13 of 15 Test matches last year and won everything on offer. So what is wrong?

The good news for All Blacks supporters is that they couldn’t really have played much worse at Bloemfontein last week.

Despite the fact that some sources believe they were lucky not to get beaten by more (courtesy of some wayward Springbok goalkicking), they outscored the Springboks 13-3 in the third quarter of the match and were just four points behind and dominating before some poor decisions led to Jaque Fourie scoring a try and closing out the match.

Add to this the perplexing decision not to contest lineouts - and only Donald and Conrad Smith having really strong games - and one could argue that the Springboks didn’t so much win the game as much as the All Blacks lost it.

But this is not entirely fair.

The South African pack, led by new fetcher Brussow, were fantastic. They ruled the air, dominated the collision and had at least parity in the scrums.

The only concern for South Africa could be that, as against the Lions, their backline was not a key factor in their control of the game. However, successful Springbok teams do not rely on style or flashy play.

If New Zealand do suddenly throw the switch and re-discover their running, up-tempo game, then it could be a very different result in Durban. Let us not forget that this is still an All Blacks team - and they are defending a Tri-Nations title they have won four years running.

Equally their pack, led by the most experienced loose-forward trio in All Blacks history, are capable of gaining parity with the fabled South African forwards.

If this is achieved, and the Springbok power game can be nullified, then suddenly the inquisition may begin for the world champions.

Durban has been a happy hunting ground for the All Blacks, who have won three of their last four matches there. But the Springboks will look to draw inspiration from their first Kings Park clash in 1928, where they defeated New Zealand 17-0 - their biggest-ever winning margin against the men in black.

South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira Reserves: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Wynand Olivier.

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina (73), 14 Joe Rokocoko (56), 13 Conrad Smith (27), 12 Ma'a Nonu (38), 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu (36), 10 Stephen Donald (13), 9 Jimmy Cowan (24), 8 Rodney So'oialo (56), 7 Richie McCaw (capt) (72), 6 Jerome Kaino (19), 5 Isaac Ross (5), 4 Brad Thorn (29), 3 Owen Franks (3), 2 Andrew Hore (39), 1 Tony Woodcock (54) Reserves: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Cory Jane.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).