KEY POINTS:
The World Cup locked in South Africa's trophy cabinet is both a blessing and curse, captain John Smit says as his rugby team get set to scratch their 10-year All Blacks itch.
Without success in New Zealand since 1998, the Springboks are determined to end that drought in the opening Tri-Nations test here on Saturday and Smit hopes the momentum that carried them to last October's World Cup triumph can be maintained.
They are on a 13-test winning streak and more than half the starting 15 named today started in the World Cup final defeat of England in Paris.
Two backs and, importantly, six forwards are back for a test at Westpac Stadium that is increasingly shaping as a forward struggle given the wintry weather in Wellington this week.
Hooker Smit is one of them and he felt the arrival of new coach Peter de Villiers in place of Jake White could only benefit the Springboks as they seek to expand on the magic formula of eight months ago.
"The confidence we gained out of the World Cup is certainly quite relevant to how we're training and how we're playing," Smit said today.
"The exciting part is that it is a new era, we've got a new coach ... he's come in with some fresh ideas and put some challenges towards us as well.
"We had a four-year run with Jake and pretty much got into the same way of thinking and doing things.
"It's been wonderful to have a few new ideas thrown at us and a lot more challenges put to us in terms of how much further we want to go and how much better we want to get."
Holding the World Cup had other implications, with Smit believing South Africa would now be constantly targeted.
That would apply particularly to the All Blacks, whose World Cup quarterfinal exit meant they never faced their great rivals in France.
"Every team that's going to play against us for the next four years is going to want to take away what we've achieved and what we've worked hard for," Smit said.
"It's the responsibility we have upon our shoulders after the form that we've shown over the last 12-18 months to take that form into tests against the big nations."
Nine starters are retained from their 26-0 win over Italy two weeks ago and there are five players who will have started their first four tests of the year, including twin home defeats of Wales.
They are fullback Conrad Jantjes, second five-eighth Jean de Villiers, first five-eighth Butch James, flanker Juan Smith and lock Bakkies Botha.
Number eight Joe van Niekerk is a surprise inclusion, having only appeared once this year, off the bench against Italy.
The 47-test veteran was named ahead of dynamic but less experienced options Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski in a loose forward trio that also features Schalk Burger, also making his first test start of the year after overcoming injury.
The forward pack boasts a whopping 392 caps, including 118 between world class Bulls locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.
There is no place in the backline for two World Cup heroes, with fullback Percy Montgomery and utility Francois Steyn both on the reserves bench.
Steyn missed out to Sharks teammate Adrian Jacobs at centre, with Peter de Villiers today fending off suggestions that the diminutive but exciting Jacobs is a defensive weakness.
- NZPA
