Forget about the World Cup and what the outcome of tomorrow's Tri-Nations test between the Springboks and the All Blacks means in the context of that competition.

This is a test involving the two greatest rugby nations on earth locked in a titanic battle for 80 minutes at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth.

The contest is more about the past and the present than the future.

No rivalry in world rugby can match the intensity of the green and gold against the black.

Regardless of who wears the shirts on opposing sides, these men are playing for nearly 100 years of history and tradition.

The emphasis placed on the World Cup has occasionally threatened to devalue this contest, which in any year is a litmus test for the best team on the planet.

But tomorrow, because it's the first Boks versus All Blacks test in Port Elizabeth for 40 years, the contest will be historic.

Individually, some players may be better off going into the World Cup thanks to an intense match, but from a team perspective the result is of less value than performance when seen through a World Cup prism.

When that tournament starts in three weeks, everyone has a clean slate.

But it's a chance in the present to settle some old scores. It's about winning for winning's sake.

In 82 tests between the sides, the All Blacks have the edge with 46 wins to the Boks' 33 - and three draws.

The All Blacks have a 56% winning ratio against the Boks, which represents their worst record by some distance.

Their next-toughest opponents are Australia, who they beat 68% of the time.

The All Blacks did not win in PE in four previous tests, so there's another bit of history that the Boks are fighting to protect.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry acknowledged that his team was picked with one eye on the World Cup, but he was quick to emphasise that the match is also about protecting a legacy.

"The history of Springbok and All Black rugby goes back a long time," Henry said. "It's always a major contest and it's going to be an absolute major contest for this group on the weekend.

"The South Africans are due for a win and they will be on the edge of the edge I'd imagine. And they have picked a side that will be very physical, carries the ball well and they have kicking ability."

Henry has selected Colin Slade at flyhalf and Sonny Bill Williams and Richard Kahui at centre, which will have a massive bearing on the outcome of the game in their match-up with the Bok midfield.

"Jaque Fourie and Jean de Villiers are bloody good players, aren't they?" Henry said. "And they have been together for a long time.

"They are as good a centre combination as there is in the world and we have key guys who haven't played a lot of football and haven't played together, so that could be quite challenging for them.

"But I'd like to see them keep their heads and handle that challenge. That is the big thing for them - I don't think it's a physical challenge; they are both very capable athletes. It's the mental challenge because they haven't played a lot of rugby at this level and they are playing against two outstanding players who have been in the game for a long time."

Record books won't show that the Bok team in Wellington three weeks ago was missing 13 top players and it won't show that the All Blacks are missing seven leading lights tomorrow. All it will identify is who won and who scored.

It's time the contest tipped its cap to the past and briefly forgets about the future.