Ian Foster has confirmed that he will be injecting fresh bodies to spark a response from the All Blacks, while maintaining that “something special is brewing” for the rematch with the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Ahead of Saturday’s second and final Test against South Africa in Johannesburg, All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett is nursing a neck injury, suffered in a late aerial contest with Kurt-Lee Arendse, while goal-kicker Jordie has an ankle knock.

“Jordie has a bad ankle, but it’s not too bad, and Beauden went for a scan last night on his neck. That’s clear, so we’ll make a decision on that later in the week. But he’s still a bit sore,” said Foster.

At this stage, it appears likely that Beauden Barrett will miss the clash in Johannesburg, presenting an opportunity for Richie Mo’unga to get his first Test start of the year.

Should Jordie Barrett not recover in time, Will Jordan could be moved from wing to fullback and Sevu Reece restored to the starting lineup.

The hefty defeat by the Springboks in the first Test at Mbombela has ramped up the pressure on New Zealand’s head coach, as well as captain Sam Cane, as the team has now lost five of their past six games.

“It’s a huge week. We always knew coming over here for back-to-back Tests was going to be massive,” Foster said as the All Blacks departed Mbombela for Johannesburg. “It would’ve been nice to win the first one but we didn’t, so we go to Ellis Park where it’s all on the line. It’s a trophy that’s pretty special to us.

“We’ve got to have a deep breath. We know there’s a lot of pressure on. We are feeling that but we’ve also got our own pressure on ourselves. Our job is to look at our performance and how we can grow it. I understand the frustration but it doesn’t change what we have to do here and now.

“There’s no point sulking about it for too long. We’ve got to get into Ellis Park and keep believing. I still think there’s something special brewing but we’ve got to keep showing that.”

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