South Africa captain Siya Kolisi says his side will be ready for their second match against New Zealand at The Rugby Championship, but acknowledged there is "a lot at stake".

The reigning champions have endured a tough first half to their title defence, losing two of their matches, including a 24-17 loss to New Zealand last weekend.

The Springboks have not lost both games to the All Blacks in a single Rugby Championship campaign since 2017, but they have only won one of their last 12 Tests against New Zealand away from home.

Another defeat in Wellington on Saturday could end South Africa's hopes of retaining their crown, as they are already five points behind leaders New Zealand with three games remaining.

"You must prepare exactly the same as you do for every Test. Nothing must change," Kolisi said.

"There is so much at stake on Saturday, and so much pressure already, so we don't need to add any more by adding new things.

"If we look back at the games that we have won, the big games we have played, we never did anything different in our preparation.

"We definitely learned from the previous game. We saw the strategy they used, and we've made plans for that. We'll be ready for it this weekend.

"We know we weren't good enough last week, especially on our exits, and they came hard at our breakdown. We worked on it this week, and we've learned from it."

The battle isn’t over. Freedom Cup on the line. The #Springboks are ready  #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/tXKSDDKszc

— Springboks (@Springboks) September 12, 2025

Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick echoed Kolisi about the lessons learned from last weekend's loss at Eden Park.

He also noted that while the backline may be seen as youthful, they have the capabilities to put in a complete performance on Saturday.

"A lot of the players in the backline have been in the system for a long time, and we think they are good combinations," said Stick.

"Last week we had two soft moments early in the match, and we've learned from that. So, this week we must be at our best for the full 80 minutes.

"We also need to make sure that we are clinical in our execution and that we convert our chances into points."

A victory for the Springboks would see them retain the Freedom Cup against New Zealand, and keep them in the race to reclaim top spot in the world rankings.