John Smit is predicting a titanic struggle between the Springboks and All Blacks © Getty Images

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Matches: South Africa 28 - 19 New Zealand

Players/Officials: Sir Graham Henry | John Smit | Brad Thorn

Teams: South Africa

All Blacks coach Graham Henry has admitted that his squad is struggling to acclimatise to the demands of altitude ahead of Saturday's Test against the Springboks in Bloemfontein.

Henry's men have been battered by a combination of jet-lag and altitude since landing in South Africa, and their training sessions in Pretoria have been sedate by normal standards in order to allow the players to give their all at Free State Stadium.

"If we prepare the way we do at home, the guys wouldn't be able to handle it," Henry said. "The guys have got to recover and they're still not recovered but they'll be better as Saturday comes along. We've got to train within ourselves to make sure we've got a reasonably full tank when we play on Saturday afternoon."

The Springboks have had a handy break since their 2-1 series win over the British & Irish Lions, and will be looking to provide a similar performance to that which saw the Bulls put 60 points on Waikato's Chiefs in the Super 14 final in May.

Springboks skipper John Smit has been reluctant to label his side as favourites heading in to the Test, maintaining that the All Blacks' reputation as the best side in the world is warranted.

"Favourites is a matter of opinion. If you look at the facts, New Zealand are still ranked No.1 in the world. They've lost one game this year and we've lost one game," Smit said. "It would be foolish of me to think we're going in as favourites. It would be wonderful if we are but I think it would be an easy trap to fall into."

New Zealand have won 24 of 33 tests between the two rugby giants since professionalism began in 1996, a statistic Smit emphasised.

"They've been the best team in the world for quite some time and they're a tough opponent," he said. "History is only created by how hard they've worked for that. The results certainly favour them, they've won this tournament more often than not (nine out of 13 times) and that is a great habit to have and one that we have to work hard for.

"What we have in this match is essentially the No.1 and No.2 teams in the world playing each other, and I am sure it will be a great contest in the best traditions of some of the others that have been played down the years. Both teams need to win - us because we are starting out and are at home and them because after winning last week they need to create momentum and build a platform on the log table.

"We have not often had the rub of the green (in the last few years of playing against New Zealand), and often we have lost games where we have started out as the favourites to win. The statistics don't lie, the All Blacks have been the best team in the world for some time, and they are currently in possession of the number one ranking. These are the two best teams in the world and it will be a great clash - these Tests never disappoint."

Smit will also get a chance to go up against All Black lock Brad Thorn, who ended his Tri-Nations at the first hurdle last season following a dump tackle. Smit has said that the incident is forgotten however, despite his injuries having ruled him out of the Springboks' famous win in Dunedin.

"I'm just surprised he managed to pick me up," he said. "It's been a year, it's forgotten, it's in the past. There's certainly no hard feelings, I don't think that was an act to end my Tri-Nations career, it was just an unfortunate incident. That's the wonderful thing about an All Blacks test, they bring it every Saturday and we do so as well. There's no real whining about it afterwards."

Both teams went through their paces on a slightly uneven surface at Vodacom Park today, with the low-key All Blacks' session notable for captain Richie McCaw leading his players to various parts of the field before gathering them tight for a series of team talks. It will be one of McCaw and Henry's finest results in two decorated careers if they can pull off a victory.

"We have had many challenges haven't we? And this is another one," he said."We will go out and do our best as always, we have had our share of success in South Africa over the years and we are hoping to play well enough tomorrow to win. We know South Africa have a lot of experienced players that have been in the team for a long time - they are probably the best team in the world right now and it is a major challenge for us."