That the All Blacks have returned Cane to the No 7 jersey for this encounter reflects their enormous faith in his ability to defy the odds and his compromised preparation.
Ellis Park is where the All Blacks will need their most robust defenders, mentally toughest operators and experienced campaigners. South Africa, more so than ever, present the most physically demanding opposition in the world game.
It’s not possible to beat them without having defenders with the power and capacity to tackle their behemoth ball runners on the gainline.
It’s not enough to bring their ball carriers down – they have to be knocked back, or at least stopped dead and few men in New Zealand do that as bravely and as adeptly as Cane.
So too will the All Blacks have to bring a destructive mentality at the breakdown – a ruthless desire to wipe big men out, but to do it legally and proficiently, which is again, a Cane speciality.
And while Cane wouldn’t make a long list of great, roaming, athletic opensides who can cover the ground and carry in the widest places, he’s an underrated bulldozer in the heavy traffic – a world-class grafter of a metre here and there that enables momentum to be built.
The Boks make rugby a game of wills – a test of character to see who is willing to throw themselves in front of the metaphoric train for their country, and whatever criticisms have been levelled at Cane over the years, no one has ever doubted his selflessness and fearlessness.
But for all the necessary qualities Cane brings, he was probably pencilled in to start this test on the bench and maybe be elevated to the starting XV next week in Cape Town.
That’s because he’s barely played in 2024.
His sabbatical in Japan was cut short by a serious back injury and he’s only managed a couple of hit-outs at club and provincial level and a 25-minute scoot around Eden Park against Argentina, after which he was open about the duress that a return to test rugby put on his lungs.
He also talked about the sharp reminder the rest of his body was given at Eden Park when he ran into his first collision, and no doubt, in respect of his disrupted season, there was a plan to keep building his minutes off the bench.
But he finds himself starting in Johannesburg because Dalton Papali’i is injured, and most critically, because the coaching staff, particularly forwards coach Jason Ryan, have inordinate faith in Cane’s ability to deliver precisely what the team needs despite his lack of game time.
Cane is the sort of warrior who can play through the pain: who can convince himself he’s not tired or struggling in the altitude and force his body to where it needs to be and make it, through sheer willpower and muscle memory, do what it needs to do.
Other players with a similar lack of football behind them wouldn’t be anywhere near the starting XV, let alone the All Blacks – but Cane has that rare ability to endure and plug into the depths of himself to drag out whatever is in there and leave it at Ellis Park.
And what will unquestionably help him keep running when the tank says empty, and to keep tackling even when the muscles are screaming about the lactic acid build-up, is that this test is his chance to avenge, or at least write a better story than the one that proved to be his fate the last time he played against the Springboks.
Not that anyone needs reminding, but that last occasion was the World Cup final in Paris when his evening finished after just 23 minutes due to the red card he was shown for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel.
It will likely always be the cruellest of all fates a captain will ever suffer at a World Cup because future tournaments will almost certainly never again allow the final to be hijacked by a TMO and be riddled with the decision-making inconsistencies the way things were in 2023.
And probably all future tournaments will be played under revised rules where teams can replace someone red-carded after 20 minutes, leaving Cane to hold an ignominious and unenviable place in history.
Cane can’t rewrite history this weekend, but he can at least provide a strong reminder of his true self and be the player and leader he wanted to be in Paris 10 months ago.
All Blacks team to face South Africa: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Will Jordan, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 10. Damian McKenzie, 9. TJ Perenara, 8. Ardie Savea, 7. Sam Cane, 6. Ethan Blackadder, 5. Tupou Vaa’i, 4. Scott Barrett, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 2. Codie Taylor, 1. Tamaiti Williams
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Sam Darry, 20. Samipeni Finau, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Mark Tele’a
