All eyes will be on Ellis Park in Johannesburg this Saturday as the Springboks and New Zealand go head-to-head at the world famous venue for the second time in as many weeks.

The match-up – one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport – kicks off the second round of the Rugby Championship with the second installment of Argentina v Australia following later in the day in San Juan.

Having won 26-10 when the sides met in Mbombela last weekend, the Springboks go into the match knowing that second place in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings powered by Capgemini is theirs for the taking if they come out on top again.

Jacques Nienaber’s side are currently level on points with France in the table but ranked third when the points are rounded up to three decimal places.

However, with at least 0.37 of a point on offer for a win, South Africa would move above Les Bleus in victory and close the gap on Ireland, the world’s number one team, to less than a quarter of a point.

New Zealand dropped to an all-time low of fifth in the rankings after last weekend’s defeat but cannot slip any lower if their poor run of form continues.

If the All Blacks manage to quickly turn things around and beat the Boks, they will climb back above England and into fourth.

To move above South Africa and into third, the All Blacks must win by a margin of more than 15 points. A narrower victory would still leave South Africa 0.02 rating points better off than Ian Foster’s under-pressure team.

Neither Argentina nor Australia can improve their position based on the result of their encounter.

Argentina will remain ninth whatever happens against the Wallabies this weekend, while the tourists, who won 41-26 in the opening test, cannot move up from sixth.

A heavy defeat of more than 15 points, however, would see Australia dropping below Scotland, to equal their lowest ever ranking of seventh.