"There's always a lot of kicking in a test against the All Blacks, whatever the conditions. It's always a big tactical battle," Du Preez told reporters.
Du Preez said the kicking game had worked particularly well for New Zealand when they defeated Australia 39-10 in Auckland two weeks ago.
"The All Blacks changed their tactics against Australia, with Jimmy Cowan coming in at scrumhalf, and they kicked a lot more. Jimmy and I are the same age and we've been playing against each other since under-19 days, so I know what to expect from him," Du Preez said.
Du Preez, 26, who was prominent in South Africa's World Cup win last year, is starting his first test of the year after fracturing his hand at the end of the Super 14 campaign.
His own astute kicking game will be an added boost for the Springboks, who will also have greater impact in the lineout thanks to the inclusion of Andries Bekker in place of the injured Bakkies Botha.
Bekker, who will start for the first time in the Tri-Nations, said the changes in the South African lineup would make life tough for New Zealand.
"We will miss Bakkies Botha because he is a special player, but it is a big advantage that every forward can jump in the lineout," he said.
"It means the All Blacks won't be able to kick the ball out, they'll have to kick down the middle. It definitely makes it very difficult for them if they can't kick the ball out and it will be tough for them if they can't give their backs good ball from the set pieces."
Revenge
Du Preez said South Africa's 30-28 victory in Dunedin last month would be uppermost in the All Blacks' minds.
"It will obviously be very tough on Saturday because the All Blacks will be out for revenge. There are no underdogs on Saturday, there'll be two even teams going all out. And the All Blacks are coming out of a two-week gap, so they'll be going full out for revenge," he said.
New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith said Bekker, who stands 2.08 metres tall, would be a big threat.
"We'll just have to throw the ball a bit higher in the lineout so it can get to the back," Smith said. "He's a good athlete and I think he's going to be a big player in every sense of the word."
Smith said coach Graham Henry had described Saturday's match against the world champions as the biggest challenge in the world today.
"Our job's to go out there and really play. We've got a pretty new team, and it's a big challenge for us. We've just got to get ourselves in the right mindset so that we can go out and play and put it all on the track," he said.
