Seven days is a long time in sport. Having dominated many aspects of the gripping opening greatest rivalry Test against the All Blacks, the Springboks are confident of squaring the ledger in Cape Town. After the heaviest defeat of the Rassie Erasmus era, though, this is a defining moment for many of the Boks trusted, old guard.
The contrast to last year is stark.
Last September the bulk of South Africa's World Cup winners couldn't storm fortress Eden Park. The traditional tactics, the tried-and-true veterans, didn't work despite a late onslaught.
The following week in Wellington Erasmus threw out the plans to inject youth en mass - and they responded with a record victory against the All Blacks.
This time, it's different. This time, Erasmus is largely doubling down.
Siya Kolisi's return from injury to regain the captaincy confirms the Boks will field their most experienced team in history for the second Test.
Handre Pollard is recalled to kick the ball to all parts of Cape Town and collect points off the tee and Erasmus has overhauled his bench that were the antithesis to the notorious bomb squad at Ellis Park.
Otherwise, though, changes are minimal. Youth has largely been banished.
Outwardly Erasmus is attempting to present a sense of calm. He's been here before. The Boks lost the first British and Irish Lions Test and won that 2021 series. They were the first team in World Cup history to lose pool matches (in 2019 and 2023) and recover to claim both tournaments.
Three years on, though, and the Boks veterans have many more miles on the clock. Can they do it again against Dave Rennie's transformed All Blacks?
Erasmus clearly believes small tweaks and adjustments can alter this week's result. While he continues to suggest everything is in hand, this is not how the master plan was supposed to play out.
Nerves are evident. So they should be, too.
Everything was stacked in the Boks' favour for this tour. At home, riding a 12-Test unbeaten surge, having beaten every tier one nation, most convincingly, in the last year, the back-to-back world champions were seemingly unstoppable.
After ceding advantage to the All Blacks, Erasmus is under such pressure he's now attempting to clutch for the underdog tag.
With rain forecast for game day in Cape Town the Boks will essentially attempt to impose their traditional strengths, many of which came to the fore at Ellis Park, for longer.
Tony Brown's attacking ambition appears highly likely to be sidelined, once again.
Pollard will hoist to the heavens and send his receivers forward to pressure the All Blacks back three that remains vulnerable under the high ball.
Erasmus is banking on Pollard's game management and big game temperament, largely through the boot, to control territory and create platforms for the Boks to pack down their vaunted set piece.
"They played well, they deserved to win," Erasmus said. "They took us to certain areas where we couldn't handle some stuff, and when they got their opportunities, they finished well. At stages I felt we were dominant, but we didn't convert those opportunities.
"Most things we inflicted on ourselves. That's frustrating. We're irritated with each other. Yes, they're a very good team, No. 1 in the world now, but I do think there were stages we had domination."
While the All Blacks displayed incredible depths of character and resolve to flip the script on the Boks in the final quarter, thanks to their decisive scrum shunt turning point on their line, the 17-point margin did not reflect the torrid contest.
The All Blacks are rightly wary of the brewing response. They know the Boks, surely, won't commit 23 turnovers, miss 38 tackles and convert only one of 11 entries into their 22 again. Pieter-Steph Du Toit was among those to have an uncharacteristically poor game.
The Boks had notably more carry and post contact metres, too, and their scrum won five straight penalties.
When it mattered most, though, it was the All Blacks who stood tall. They were composed in the final quarter. They had vastly superior impact off the bench. They imposed the goal line pressure that forced the Boks to implode and concede two yellow cards.
"They imprinted their game plan on us. For them it was a beautiful game. For us it was for 60 minutes a really well contested game, and then they ran away on us. We're very frustrated.
"We got a hiding - a big hiding. What they wanted to do, they got right; what we wanted to do, they stopped us with very good tactics at the breakdown."
Maybe the Boks veterans, led by Kolisi and Pollard, can press the pressure valve for longer in Cape Town until the All Blacks buckle.
This is not Scott Robertson's All Blacks, though.
Rennie, in a mere two months, seven unbeaten games, has unified, aligned and cultivated a culture that has revived the All Blacks near overnight. He's also now won four of five Tests against the Springboks.
They will make mistakes. They must improve their starting scrum, their high ball work, their discipline after conceding 14 penalties, while seeking to speed up a match that featured a lowly 27 minutes of ball in play.
But in one defiant performance, Rennie's All Blacks proved their spirit won't be broken. They are now a different beast.
That notion alone should keep Erasmus awake at night.
The spotlight, the weight of expectation, sits on one team this weekend.
"It's awful. It's s---. It's not nice to be in this position. I would rather play bad and win than play good and lose. What happened, it's on me, and us as a team."