Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will turn to Damian de Allende in an effort to stop Sonny Bill Williams at Loftus on Saturday.
De Allende missed last week’s 23-12 win over Australia after suffering a shoulder injury in the 36-34 win over New Zealand in Wellington.
But the 26-year-old has recovered quicker than expected and looks set to take over the No.12 jersey from Andre Esterhuizen.
With the Boks’ bulldozer ready to take the field again, his main mission this weekend will be to stop superstar All Blacks inside centre Sonny Bill Williams.
De Allende’s long-time midfield partner Jesse Kriel looks forward to the battle and is happy to resume his partnership with De Allende.
Of De Allende’s return, Kriel says: “He is a world-class player - he’s really special.
“He’s got a great skillset, great feet and he’s strong in defence. It is nice to have him back”
Kriel knows he will have to be at his best organising the backline defence if they want to beat the world champs twice in a row.
Of defending in the No.13 channel, Kriel says: “It’s difficult; sometimes you feel all alone out there. We all know how good teams attack, especially at Test match level.
“And 13 is a position where you get isolated a lot, so you’ve got to make big decisions.
“Obviously [coach] Rassie [Erasmus] has empowered players like myself to make big and bold decisions in Test matches - which has been nice...
“You’re not always going to get it right, but then you see the way the guys scramble and to clean that up, so I think that’s been a really big positive from a defence side.
“As a rugby-crazy country, we have seen how the guys have really put their bodies on the line and working hard for each other.”
Of the Bok midfield’s mission to stop Williams, he adds: “His offloads is one of his big skills, but we’ve got Damian [de Allende] who brings something else to the table.
“We will be looking to focus on what we do well and not too much on them.”