The second-string Springboks have been warned to make South Africa proud as their besieged bosses angrily denied 21 "injured" front-liners were involved in a secret training camp.

With his best players being rested for the World Cup, SARU chief executive Jurie Roux on Thursday unveiled an inexperienced Springbok side to play the All Blacks at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.

Roux was then hounded by both New Zealand and South African media after reports emerged this week of a training camp in Rustenberg under the guidance of former Springboks Rassie Erasmus and Percy Montgomery.

He wouldn't detail how many of the 21 players were attending the camp but launched a heated counter-argument insisting they were all injured and undergoing rehabilitation.

"I'm not denying they're in Rustenberg," Roux told a packed Wellington press conference. "I'm denying the fact there is a secret training camp.

"I've got my players being rehabilitated, that's it.

"I would like all those guys to be un-injured but they're injured and they're busy being rehabilitated. I'm not a doctor or a miracle worker.

"It's a unique thing to me that people are worried about this at all. I run a multimillion-rand corporation where my biggest assets are my players.

"They're injured so I need to do something to get them ready for the World Cup.

"I don't understand the conspiracy, I don't understand the confusion."

The decisive issue has completely taken the attention away from the defending champion All Blacks team and the selection of Sonny Bill Williams on the bench.

Fifty-seven Test stalwart Ma'a Nonu has been given first crack at the inside centre position, but Williams will be given the chance to make a second-half impact to gain promotion to play the Wallabies next week in Auckland.

Coach Graham Henry has rested the likes of Brad Thorn, Kieran Read, Owen Franks and Keven Mealamu for New Zealand's Tri-Nations opener and will wait to name his strongest team against Australia.

But the All Blacks will still easily swamp South Africa for experience as 11 of the Springboks' run-on 15 have played fewer than eight Tests.

Under-pressure coach Peter de Villiers has made four changes to the starting side that lost 39-20 to the Wallabies and stressed to them the importance of wearing the `Bok jersey with pride.

"We have had a few injury challenges on this tour and last week was not a good start, but we have learnt from last week's match," said de Villiers, who also rejected wide-spread training camp reports.

"There have been some frank exchanges this week and the players know what is expected from them and that this is their opportunity."

Rising star Patrick Lambie has replaced the injured Gio Aplon at fullback while late squad addition Gerhard Mostert will make his debut in the second-row for Flip van der Merwe (ribs).

In other changes, Jean Deysel replaces benched flanker Ashley Johnson and centre Wynand Olivier was dumped to the reserves with Adi Jacobs promoted.

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