The Springboks need a win, in any shape or form, over Argentina to reclaim the Rugby Championship title in London on Saturday.
It would be another remarkable achievement for this golden generation of Springboks, especially considering how much rotation has taken place with selection this season, while also continuing on a path of evolution in terms of style of play.
The Springboks will be wary of a dangerous Argentina side with nothing to lose, and it all adds to what should be an epic encounter in London.
Kick off is at 15:00 (SA time).
LIVE SCORING FOR THE SPRINGBOKS’ AGAINST ARGENTINA IN LONDON
TEAMS
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Jesse Kriel.
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Cruz Mallia, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Cruz Benitez, 8 Santiago Grondona, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Juan Gonzalez, 21 Joaquín Oviedo, 22 Agustin Moyano, 23 Rodrigo Isgro.
Date: Saturday, October 4
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 15.00 (SA time)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against Argentina
Played 39; Won 34; Lost 4; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 382, Points against: 757; Tries scored 164, Tries conceded 73; Highest score 73-13; Biggest winning margin 60 points. Win % 87.1%.
Miscellaneous:
- The Springboks have won 11 of their last 13 matches against the Pumas, dating back to 2018, with their only two defeats being in Argentina, in Santiago Del Estero (last season) and in Mendoza (in 2018).
- The teams have crossed paths in London only once before, in the bronze final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the Boks winning the match 24-13 at the Olympic Stadium.
- Siya Kolisi will play his 98th Test match, leaving him only two games short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game.
- Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 138 Tests when he takes the field on Saturday.
- Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Jesse Kriel have both scored 95 Test points and require only five to make it to 100 in the green and gold.
- The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 797. There are 264 caps in the backline, with 533 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 343 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 38, the forwards 67, while the players on the bench average 43.
