The Springboks have buried 2016, deep in the earth,

Little went right for South Africa on the rugby front last year, with four wins in 12 Tests telling a story of sporting stagnation.

But fast forward nine months, and the mood couldn’t be more different.

Boks boss Allister Coetzee swung the selection axe in the off-season, with the old guard – including Bryan Habana and Morne Steyn – turfed.

In have come a host of hungry Republic-based players, many of whom play for the Lions, Super Rugby finalists in consecutive years.

The revolution has reaped immediate dividends.

Captained by man-mountain Eben Etzebeth, South Africa have won five and drawn one of their six Tests this year, with last week’s 23-23 stalemate with Australia following clean sweeps of Argentina and France.

Of Coetzee’s starting XV for Saturday’s Test against New Zealand, only two players – veteran prop Tendai Mtawarira and lock Etzebeth – played when the All Blacks smashed the Boks 57-15 in Durban last October.

That’s no coincidence, Coetzee believes.

“Not even a handful of those guys from last year – it’s a completely different team environment, different sort of individuals and where they are in terms of why they’re Springboks, what they represent,” Coetzee said on Thursday.

“We’re a team in transition, as you can see. The players have started to enjoy the game, so it shows the environment is really healthy.”

The chirpiness of the South African camp hadn’t escaped All Blacks counterpart Steve Hansen, who said the Springboks appeared happy again.

Coetzee confirmed his troops were in good spirits, but says they face a genuine uphill battle to restrain the All Blacks’ attack in Albany.

He all but confirmed the Boks would deploy defensive line speed, which has flummoxed the Kiwi side on a number of occasions in 2017.

“This week will be a gain line battle, about how quickly you can get off the line and adjust and make good decisions,” Coetzee said.

“The big thing is about pressure and trying to fluster the opposition.

“We all know it’s going to be physical, a contest all over – the breakdown, the set piece, the aerial bombardment contest.”

A win over Hansen’s All Blacks would hand the Springboks their first Test triumph on Kiwi soil since 2009, when they emerged 32-29 victors in Hamilton.