The Springboks will know that a good victory over Argentina this Saturday would put them in a position of strength to retain their Rugby Championship title, and there will be no shortage of motivation in Durban.
The teams will meet again at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in London next Saturday in the closing match of the 2025 edition of the tournament – where, depending on the results in the next two rounds, it could prove to be the title decider.
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Although the Springboks and Argentina will also be keeping a close eye on the first Bledisloe Cup clash between New Zealand and Australia (07:05 kick off SA time), their first priority will be to ensure they get the job at Kings Park.
Saturday’s clash in Durban kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
HERE IS ALL THE KEY MATCH INFORMATION FOR THE SPRINGBOKS V ARGENTINA IN DURBAN
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)
Stats and facts:
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.
