Final round of warm-ups: New Zealand vs South Africa

With the 2023 Rugby World Cup around the corner, New Zealand and South Africa will lock horns in their final warm-up match this tomorrow (25 August) before heading to France for the main tournament starting on September 8.

The 2023 Rugby Championship winners have been almost flawless over the last year, while their opponents, the reigning world champions, will be looking to finalise their team selection after making several changes in search of a winning combination over the last few months.

The All Blacks were excellent in the Rugby Championship last month, securing the title for a third consecutive season, beating each of the Southern Hemisphere's heavyweights in the shortened tournament.

One of the key aspects behind New Zealand's positive performances is that they have a much more settled squad than most of the other nations, made up of a core group of players with a few dynamic youngsters like Rieko Ioane being brought in to bolster their attacking threat.

They have already overtaken France into second place in the world ranking with an 11-match unbeaten streak, and if they manage another solid win over the Springboks here, it would not be surprising to see them become the favourites to win the World Cup this year.

Meanwhile, South Africa have played two warm-up matches already, and Jacques Nienaber will likely be fairly pleased with his side's progress since their Rugby Championship disappointment.

The Springboks went to Buenos Aires at the start of the month and secured a 24-13 win over the Pumas before heading to Cardiff, where they put on an even better performance, demolishing Wales 52-16.

With key personnel being injured, Nienaber has made wholesale changes to the squad over the last few months, but with a few big-name players returning at just the right time, the Springboks look set to go toe-to-toe with just about any team around.

While South Africa were fairly comprehensively beaten by the All Blacks last month, playing at Twickenham could level the playing fields significantly, and based on both sides' team selection, this is shaping up to be a titanic encounter.

New Zealand starting lineup: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Will Jordan, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Mark Telea, 10. Richie Mo'unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Ardie Savea, 7. Sam Cane (c), 6. Luke Jacobson, 5. Scott Barrett, 4. Sam Whitelock, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Ethan de Groot. Replacements: Replacements: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Josh Lord, 20. Tupou Vaa'i, 21. Dalton Papali'i, 22. Cam Roigard, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown.

South Africa starting lineup: 15. Damian Willemse, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13. Canan Moodie, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Manie Libbok, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi (c), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Malcolm Marx, 1. Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Replacements: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Ox Nche, 18. Trevor Nyakane, 19. Jean Kleyn, 20. RG Snyman, 21. Marco van Staden, 22. Cobus Reinach, 23. Willie le Roux.