Siya Kolisi declared fit for Cape Town clash against New Zealand

South Africa have received a major boost ahead of their fourth round of the Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand with skipper Siya Kolisi declared fit for the weekend's encounter.

Kolisi suffered a facial injury during the previous round game against the All Blacks in Johannesburg and was doubtful for the upcoming game but now has recovered to be part of the back row that also has Jasper Wiese while Pieter-Steph du Toit makes a switch replacing Ben Jason Dixon.

While Ruan Nortje remains at second row, Eben Etzebeth gets a promotion from the bench to partner him while the front row sees no change with Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche retaining their places.

Rassie Erasmus has opted for Handre Pollard with the kicking responsibility as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who starred with 16 points in the previous game starts as a replacement. Pollard is joined by Grant Williams at scrum half.

With Kurt-Lee Arendse ruled out due to injury, Cheslin Kolbe shifts to left wing while Canan Moodie comes at right with the final change seeing Willie le Roux replacing Aphelele Fassi at fullback.

“This match is going to be massive,” said Erasmus.

“New Zealand is a world-class outfit and we know that they’ll be desperate to bounce back after leading in the second half last week.

“They’ll also be fully aware of the fact that a victory could give them a huge boost on the Rugby Championship standings, and they’ll be playing to retain the Freedom Cup, which they’ve held since 2010. It’s going to be another epic encounter.

“They’re a quality team with a lot of pace and several players who have a great X-factor.

"We also saw last week what they can do if they get a strong start, they have proven time and time again that they are a team that can close out games under a lot of pressure in the last 20 minutes, so it’s going to take a huge team effort to register a victory against them.”

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche

Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 – Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Lukhanyo Am