The first match in Super Rugby Round 3 on South African soil is in Port Elizabeth where the Southern Kings host the Chiefs from Hamilton.
The Southern Kings had a bye last week but in Round 1 they were beaten by the Sharks.
The team did not have ideal preparation going into Super Rugby but the bye will have given them more time to familiarize themselves with each other.
The Chiefs on the other hand were beaten at home last week by the Lions on Saturday and had to fly across the Indian Ocean on Sunday.
In their opening fixture the Chiefs beat the Crusaders in Christchurch but then last week they were unable to catch the Lions and will de desperate to make amends.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has made several changes to his side for this week and there is a revamped front row with Mitchell Graham, Nathan Harris and Siate Tokolahi lining up.
In the second row, Johan Bardoul replaces the injured Brodie Retallick to partner Michael Allardice. Taleni Seu, Sam Cane and Michael Leitch form the loose forward trio adding plenty of power and agility to the back of the scrum.
In the backs, Brad Weber gets his first start of the 2016 Super Rugby season at halfback. Co-captain Aaron Cruden retains the number 10 jersey, with Charlie Ngatai and Seta Tamanivalu continuing their dominant partnership in the mid-field for the third successive week.
Glen Fisiiahi starts on the right wing, with James Lowe and Damian McKenzie rounding out the backline in jerseys 11 and 15 respectively. The Chiefs have also named a strong bench to add impact in the second half.
The strong reserve bench packs a punch with halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Rhys Marshall, Pauliasi Manu and 2015 gold medal winning New Zealand Under-20 captain Atu Moli on hand as front row replacements.
The Kings have made four changes to the side that played in Round one and Edgar Marutlulle gets a starting berth at hooker, with Jacobie Adriaanse taking up position at tighthead prop, having returned from a concussion sustained during a pre-season warm up against the SWD Eagles.
Two changes in the backs starting line-up see Stefan Watermeyer comes on for JP du Plessis at outside centre, while Louis Fouche replaces Elgar Watts at flyhalf.
The Southern Kings and the Chiefs have only met once before in Super Rugby and that was three years ago in 2013 at the same venue.
That match was won 24-35 by the Chiefs who went on to win the title.
the Southern Kings will have home advantage they were not well supported in their last outing and it has been suggested that local fans are battling to associate with this new team which shows little resemblance to the Currie Cup side or the one that played in 2013.
This Match will be shown on TV in NZ, Aus, SA and in the UK on Sky Sports 4.
Average score: Southern Kings 24 Chiefs 35
Last result
15 Mar 2013 Kings v Chiefs 24-35 Port Elizabeth
Kings record against the Chiefs
Played 1, Wins 0 , Losses 1, Draws 0
Match No.22:Kings v Chiefs
Date : Saturday 12 March 2016
Venue : Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick Off local: 15:05 local
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant Ref 1:Jaco Peyper
Assistant Ref 2:Rodney Bonaparte
TMO :Johan Greeff
Teams
Southern Kings
15. Jurgen Visser, 14. Luzuko Vulindlu, 13. Stefan Watermeyer, 12. Shane Gates, 11. Malcolm Jaer, 10. Louis Fouche, 9. Ntando Kebe, 8. Jacques Engelbrecht, 7. Thembelani Bholi, 6. Chris Cloete, 5. John Charles Astle, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jacobie Adriaanse, 2. Edgar Marutlulle, 1. Schalk Ferreira
Replacments : 16. Sithembiso (Sti) Sithole, 17. Martin Bezuidenhout, 18. Tom Botha, 19. Schalk Oelofse, 20. Cyril-John Velleman, 21. Kevin Luiters, 22. Elgar Watts, 23. Jaco van Tonder
Chiefs
1. Mitchell Graham, 2. Nathan Harris, 3. Siate Tokolahi, 4. Michael Allardice, 5. Johan Bardoul, 6. Taleni Seu , 7. Sam Cane co-captain, 8. Michael Leitch , 9. Brad Weber, 10. Aaron Cruden co-captain, 11. James Lowe , 12. Charlie Ngatai, 13. Seta Tamanivalu 14. Glen Fisiiahi , 15. Damian McKenzie
Replacements : 16. Rhys Marshall , 17. Pauliasi Manu , 18. Atu Moli**, 19. James Tucker**, 20. Maama Vaipulu , 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow , 22. Anton Lienert-Brown , 23. Sam McNicol*
*denotes Chiefs debut,
**denotes Super Rugby debutant