All Blacks prop George Bower came off the bench against the Springboks at Ellis Park last Sunday morning.

Seven days later, he has earned a place in the starting line-up as All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie made three changes to the team that won the first Test ahead of Sunday's second match in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour.

The tough Crusaders prop knows what is at stake.

"A hurt South African team is a dangerous team," Bower told reporters in Cape Town this week.

"They will come out firing. It was pretty cool winning but straight away we have had to reset to zero. Any team is a dangerous team when they are hurt, and I know they will be coming out guns blazing.

"We have a few things we have worked on as well and we will also come out with all guns firing."

Bower, whose dad Niko is from Vagadaci village in Ovalau and mum Kula is from Nakelo in Fiji, has earned his place i the match-day 23 after his performance in the first Test.

He replaced the injured Ethan de Groot in Johannesburg, coming off the bench in the 37th minute after De Groot suffered a head knock in a collision.

When he entered, the Springboks had been punishing the All Blacks scrum.

But Bower, and new front-row partners Asafo Aumua and Fletcher Newell, took control mid-way through the second-half and won a Boks feed, with a relieving penalty that saw them change the momentum of that game.

Bower said it was an experience he would remember for a long time and the win was extra special.

"It was a pretty special night once the whistle blew, but it was an absolute Test match ... from the start right to the end," he said.

"[It] had abit of everything ... a lot of physicality. But for us as All Blacks, it was a lot of solution focuses to adapt on the run and move on to the next job.

"There were some good learnings for us, especially for us a forward pack."

He admitted that he found the altitude tough.

"Very unique altitude, your scrumming against some of the best scrummages in the world, you are being put to the test your skills, you are under fatigue, mentally, a lot of it came down to mental toughness and mentally we had to really shift and put our all in this one."

He said he does not expect anything less from the Springboks in Cape Town, be believed the connections within the team would help them through.

Renni praised Bower's performance last weekend.

"That was the reason we had George on the bench tonight," Rennie said post-match about Bower.

"We felt his experience would be really important. He was on a little bit earlier than planned. I'm rapt for him. He's such a good man, such a massive part of our culture.

"For him to come on and have that sort of impact is a real testament."

Former All Black Lima Sopoaga, who is with the team as part of their content team, praised Bower's performance in the first test and said he deserves a starting spot.

Bower's introduction into the game brought stability to the All Blacks scrum as he stood firm at the first set-piece after replacing De Groot.

Sopoaga believes it was a key moment in the match, which proved crucial in the grander scheme of things.

At that time, the All Blacks were under pressure deep inside their half and could not afford conceding another penalty as the Springboks mounted pressure.

Sopoaga, who represented the All Blacks in 16 Tests between 2015 and 2017, believes Bower's contribution was massive.

"That's a statement and that's a big moment. And usually, the big moments are left for goal-kickers, the Will Jordans, but sometimes the big moments are the set-piece," he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.

This weekend's match-day 23 features several changes from the team that won the first Test 33-16.

Bower replaces de Groot who is still undergoing HIA protocols, together with lock Josh Lord. Tupou Vaa'i moves to the second row, replacing Lord, with Simon Parker in the six jersey.

Xavier Numia comes into the 23 providing prop cover, while Patrick Tuipulotu is lock cover.

In the backs, there is just one positional switch from last week's team, with Leroy Carter and Josh Moorby swapping positions. Carter starts in the 11 jersey and Moorby is outside back cover in the 23 jersey.

"While we were happy with the win last week, I think both teams will be better this weekend," Rennie said.

"We've played four Tests this year and are still growing as a group.

"I'm really excited about the competition for places and the performances of the squad across the matches here in South Africa, and we're really looking forward to this weekend."

Rennie said South Africa will not move far away from its Ellis Park game plan, where they dominated the first hour.

"I think they'll just try and do what they did last week but try and do it better," he said.

"The mindset will be attack us at set-piece, put more ball in the air, get a big wall in front of us and try and spend as much time in our 22 as they can."

Bower is one of seven Pasifika players named in the match-day 23, including Tupou Vaa'i, captain  Ardie Savea , Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Patrick Tuipulotu and Peter Lakai.

Meanwhile, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has named his side for the second Test, with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ox Nche set to reach major milestones.

Du Toit will captain South Africa in his 100th Test, becoming the 11th Springbok to reach the milestone, while loosehead prop Nche will make his 50th Test appearance.

Siya Kolisi has been bracketed with Paul de Villiers at blindside flanker as he continues his return from injury. Should Kolisi come through training this week, he will start alongside Du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the loose forwards.

This weekend's Test will kick off on Sunday at 3:10am (NZT) at the DHL Stadium, Cape Town.

All Blacks match-day 23 (Test caps in brackets)

1. George Bower (27)

2. Codie Taylor (110)

3. Tyrel Lomax (52)

4. Fabian Holland (13)

5. Tupou Vaa'i (48)

6. Simon Parker (9)

7. Luke Jacobson (28)

8. Ardie Savea (110) - Captain

9. Cam Roigard (21)

10. Ruben Love (9)

11. Leroy Carter (8)

12. Jordie Barrett (82)

13. Quinn Tupaea (27)

14. Will Jordan (58)

15. Damian McKenzie (78)

16. Asafo Aumua (23)

17. Xavier Numia (2)

18. Fletcher Newell (38)

19. Patrick Tuipulotu (57)

20. Peter Lakai (11)

21. Kyle Preston (2)

22. Anton Lienert-Brown (91)

23. Josh Moorby (3)