Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has described their penultimate Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Kings Park as a “semi-final” as they head into a must-win Test in order to keep their title defence alive.
Saturday’s clash in Durban kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
LIVE SCORING: SPRINGBOKS V ARGENTINA AT KINGS PARK
Springboks: 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 (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo García, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Juan Martín González, 22 Simón Benítez Cruz, 23 Tomás Albornoz.
Date: Saturday, September 27
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17:10
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
ALL TO PLAY FOR
With the Wallabies, Springboks, All Blacks, and Argentina all still in the title race, Kolisi stressed that they were completely focused on what they wanted to achieve in the match.
“We all know what’s at stake,” said Kolisi.
“They are a team that brings physicality and skill, so they are certainly not going to just give this game to us. So, for the team, it will be about doing our best to give ourselves the best possible chance to win the match and stay in the running for the title.
Kolisi added: “The Pumas are extremely professional on and off the field, and they always play with passion, so we are under no illusions about the challenge ahead.
“But at the same time, we want to do something we’ve never done before, and that’s to win back-to-back Rugby Championship titles in a row, so we have a lot of motivation within this group as well.”
Zooming into the threats the Pumas posed, Kolisi said: “Their coaching staff have done very well to bring the team together, and they have a good pack, while they also play with more structure, but still have that flair in broken play, so they are a dangerous team to face.”
Springbok record against Argentina
Played 38; Won 33; Lost 4; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 315, Points against: 727; Tries scored 155, Tries conceded 70; Highest score 73-13; Biggest winning margin 60 points. Win % 86.8%.
Miscellaneous:
- The Springboks have won 10 of their last 12 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 Durban three times, and it was in 2015 – the first time they played in KwaZulu-Natal – that the Pumas registered their first victory over the Boks (by 37-25), with the hosts winning the other two.
- Springbok flanker Siya Kolisi will play his 97th Test match, leaving him only three matches 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 137 Tests when he takes the field on Saturday.
- Four players in the Springbok team boast over 90 Test caps – Etzebeth (136), Kolisi (96), Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende (both on 91 caps).
- The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up is 782. There are 256 caps in the backline, with 526 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 189 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 37, the forwards 66, while the players on the bench average 24.
