If you love an underdog, this weekend coming you’ll be rooting for the Springboks who ran into some form at the expense of the Wallabies (whose horror streak in Cape Town continued) in the Rugby Championship last Saturday.

The next and final assignment will pit The Boks against the powerhouse All Blacks unit, a team with such incredible depth that they were able to replace Dan Carter, (Rugby’s David Beckham equivalent) whose collarbone bore the brunt of South African, Bismarck du Plessis a couple of weeks ago. Yet with a significant number of heavy weight replacements of equal quality lining up to take Carter’s place the depth of the All Blacks continues to be reinforced in games such as the one they've just played against Argentina whom they gave a 33 -15 walloping and gained a bonus point that will make this weekend for the Springboks to win - all that harder.

South African Coach, Heyneke Meyer understands his Springboks will have to take it up another notch when they face the No 1 ranked side in the world next Saturday.

In relation to the Springboks against the Wallabies Heyneke Meyer said “We played some great rugby in that first twenty minutes,” but even he realises there are areas to improve on if they’re to make Rugby Championship history. So too does handsome Jean de Villiers, every girl’s rugby pin up, who backed his coach saying “I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed beating the Aussie by 20 points!”

The South African Captain is a harsh critic, saying they “didn’t play well” against the Aussies and that the Springboks will “have to put up a better performance” next week in Johannesburg if they’re to win. With both Captain and Coach only at the South African helm for a year now, it seems they’re starting to pull it all together – but are still largely realistic about where they’re at.

We hate to tell them but All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw is looking more likely than not. “I desperately want to play” McCaw said from Buenos Aires and we’re figuring with Richie’s determination all but signals he’ll be back, and his inclusion just might make the All Blacks unbeatable. And that’s regardless of them not having clocked up a win at Ellis Park since 1997 – all records get smashed eventually, and this weekend is looking like the All Blacks time.

We think you'd better keep an eye in the titanic clash on Adriaan Strauss, who after scoring his 5th international try against the Wallabies at Newlands is running into some nice form, and The Boks if they hadn’t slipped at inopportune times could easily have scored 4 tries. Strauss at the 41 minute mark of the Newlands game “hung on for dear life” and was awarded the penalty.

The Springboks were also creative against the Wallabies last weekend, and changed their game style significantly throughout the match. From a frenetic first 10 minutes which saw two awesome tries at the 13th and 15th minute mark of the match which thrilled fans out of their seats, later a more controlled Springbok outfit adjusted their style to more kicking and penalties which resulted in more scoring from Morne Steryn. These penalty conversations accumulated points that wiped out any false hope the Wallabies might have been attempting to build on. If they are to beat the All Blacks, coach Peter de Villiers will need to ensure that his Boks’ remain unpredictable.

Could jet lag play a part in the Kiwi’s game this weekend? A long flight home from Argentina will be further compounded by a 16 hour flight to Johannesburg where the game is already a sell out. They’re certainly going to need to be tough and that’s just when they’re aboard the bus, which apparently is shaken to brain rattling status while outsiders hurl abuse at the opposition as they make their way to the notorious Ellis Park.

What all rugby lovers hope is that any idiot with a lazer will be spotted immediately and thrown out of Ellis Park if they attempt anything like the crap used to distract Aaron Cruden from converting. At La Plata last weekend Cruden was allowed to take a penalty a second time after some idiot in the crowd pointed a lazer at him.

Ex English Rugby player, although not always respected, Stuart Barnes demonstrated the possibility of balance if the Springboks go into the game with a sense of belief when he said “"I think even the most partial South African will probably think that it's a hurdle too high. But from a South African perspective, they will think back to the injustice of the Bismarck Du Plessis incident; they will think they were seven points down in New Zealand and they were giving them a game.” And that people gives anyone hope.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has plenty of moves he can make, he may pull Messam from the team and hand the 6 jersey to Luatua he may continue to back Keven Mealamu after a good display at La Plata or once more rely on Hore to fill some big boots, but it’s difficult to see too many changes to the dominant All Blacks side. One thing's for sure, Ben Smith’s staying put after his try which secured New Zealand the bonus point. Kieran Read’s back is said to be a-ok so he’ll be lining up.

The Springboks have to win next weekend with a bonus point and keep the All Blacks from being within 7 points, which is a massive task. We’re all waiting eagerly for this game to unfold – it will undoubtedly be a bone crunching cracker!