South Africa captain Eben Etzebeth

Records forgotten when All Blacks-Springboks hit the field

A hardened lock very much in the mold of the generations of players who have occupied the Springboks second row, Etzebeth sees Saturday's Rugby Championship test at North Harbour Stadium as just 46 blokes going hammer and tongs on a patch of grass.

"Once you jog onto the field, any records, they disappear out of your head," the 25-year-old said on Friday about the fact South Africa had not won in New Zealand since 2009.

"You don't want to break records, you just want to win the test match. They want to win it, we want to win it. Records don't count for very much."