After claiming a resounding win over Argentina to go to the top of the Rugby Championship standings, the Springboks will travel to London on Sunday as they prepare to take on the Pumas at a ‘neutral’ venue, while there is also a favourable kick off time to take note of.
A victory – even without a bonus-point – would be enough for the Springboks to retain their Rugby Championship title, and they will be hoping for plenty of expat support in London.
KICK OFF IS AT 15:00 (SA TIME) FOR SPRINGBOKS IN LONDON
This Saturday’s match at Twickenham will decide the title, and it will be broadcast live and exclusively on SuperSport.
The Springboks are coming off the back of a 67-30 victory over Argentina in Durban, but will be aware of the threats the Pumas showed, in the first half in particular.
Ultimately, the clash at Kings Park was swayed by a remarkable performance by Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who scored a hat-trick of tries in a commanding performance netting 37 points – the most by a Springbok in a Test – as Erasmus’s team went to the top of the Rugby Championship with one match to play.
Erasmus praised his “brilliant” flyhalf – as well as those who had given him the platform in the developing project to create a multiply flexible playing squad.
“What we’re trying to do is not just build some combinations that work, but that all of our combinations work and I guess that’s starting to click,” said Erasmus, after seeing his team score nine tries to three – for a total of 15 in the past two matches.
SOME INJURY WORRIES
Erasmus had to juggle his backline with injuries to Cheslin Kolbe (shoulder), Damian Willemse (hamstring) and Ethan Hooker (ankle) in the second half, which meant the team finished with an entirely reshuffled backline without drawing breath.
“It takes time to swap people in and out and have them play in sync – but we also know how quickly that can change so we won’t get carried away,” said Erasmus.
“We want to build an understanding within the squad so that when we make changes it doesn’t affect our play. But we’ve won nothing yet in this Castle Lager Rugby Championship; we’ve had one win and one loss against New Zealand and Australia, and we know how tough Argentina are.
“We’re flying tomorrow and we’re playing at Twickenham next week and we have to win that game or it’s just another missed Rugby Championship.”
