Veteran All Blacks centre Conrad Smith took the chance to chat with the enemy as the bags circulated in Johannesburg.

The All Blacks and half the Springboks squad have traded rugby yarns over the baggage carousel at OR Tambo Airport after sharing a flight to Johannesburg.

After beating Argentina 39-18 in Christchurch last Friday night, a 31-man All Blacks travelling squad camped in Sydney before boarding Qantas flight QF63 for Jo'burg on Sunday morning.

To the surprise of some passengers, a contingent of South African players also joined the All Blacks for the 14-hour flight, having flown down from Brisbane following their 24-20 defeat to the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

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Centre Conrad Smith, yet to add to his 85 test caps this year because he had led the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby final and was rested from the matches against Samoa and Argentina, the chance to chew the rugby fat with the Springboks was too good to resist.

"Half of them came on the same flight as us and half of them are still arriving, so it's strange the way it worked out," Smith said.

"We get on really well with them. As we were collecting our bags it was good to chat with some of them and share some of our views on the game, which they agreed with.

"One of the nice things about the Springboks is the way we get on off the field."

The sight of the All Blacks and Springboks mingling before a test didn't last long; as soon as they had collected their gear they said their farewells and travelled differing paths. The All Blacks caught a bus to the Sandton district in Jo'burg, where they will remain for the build-up to the test against the Springboks at Ellis Park on Sunday morning (NZT).

Smith appears set to make his final appearance on South African soil; this is to be the only match the All Blacks play in the Republic and he has signed a deal to represent French club Pau after the World Cup.

The opportunity to play with a dry ball on a hard and fast track has always appealed to Smith, who has often stated he enjoys such conditions in South Africa.

He started in the All Blacks' more recent outing against the Springboks at Jo'burg's Ellis Park, a match they lost 27-25. Malakai Fekitoa, operating in the unfamiliar second five-eighth position, worked in tandem with Smith in the midfield in that fixture.

While Smith accepted the World Cup was the burning light on many people's rugby calendar, he emphasised the New Zealanders are not going to allow that to distract them from winning this fixture.

"It is New Zealand [against] South Africa; it doesn't need much more riding on it to be pretty important for both teams," Smith said.

"There will be a lot to take from the bigger picture part of things. I know for the guys that run out on Saturday afternoon there will be only one thing in mind and that's to win a game."

While the Springboks would have been disappointed to lose to the Wallabies, considering they led 20-7 at halftime, Smith was wary of their new midfield of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.

Kriel, a potent attacker, scored a try on debut.

Smith accepted the Springboks drifted away from their habit of using the ball, in the first half but speculated whether their bench changes stalled their momentum.

"I thought they [the Springboks] played very, very well. We were obviously able to watch the game before we travelled and I was pretty impressed, not just with the midfield, but with the way the whole team played.

"It was a strange result but I thought a lot of what South Africa had done was pretty impressive."