Daily Maverick
Dailymaverick logo

South Africa

South Africa, Sport

Boks have it all to play for against Pumas as Rugby Championship remains alive

Boks have it all to play for against Pumas as Rugby Championship remains alive
Craig Ray
By Craig Ray
16 Sep 2022
Facebook
1
Critical showdown between South Africa and Argentina for last round berth. 

The All Blacks’ failure to secure a winning bonus point against Australia in their combined Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup clash in Melbourne on Thursday has raised the stakes in Buenos Aires.

It means that whichever of the Pumas and the Springboks could earn maximum points in tomorrow’s encounter will go into the last round with a realistic chance of winning the title.

Had the All Blacks secured a bonus point against the Wallabies in their dramatic 39-37 win, they would have had nine fingers on the trophy.

As it is, they have 14 points on the standings with the Boks and Pumas on nine each. A bonus point win in Buenos Aires would draw the Boks level with the All Blacks with a home game against Argentina to come.

The All Blacks, of course, are also at home in their final fixture — at Eden Park in Auckland against the Wallabies. They haven’t lost there since 1994.

New Zealand are certainly in pole position now after their dramatic win over Australia through an 81st minute try from Jordie Barrett following a controversial refereeing decision.

Matters in Australasia though, are secondary to needs in Buenos Aires. Both the Pumas and the Boks know that this is a semi-final. There is no next week.

Steady hand


Bok coach Jacques Nienaber chose the same starting XV that beat Australia 24-8 in Sydney two weeks ago, but there were three changes on the bench.

The decision to select the same starting XV is a clear sign that the experimentation of earlier in the season has given way to the more prosaic needs of winning and building combinations.

But there are some minor tweaks on the bench.

Scrumhalf Faf de Klerk returns after missing out in Sydney with Cobus Reinach in the stands this week. Elrigh Louw is the loose forward replacement, coming in for Duane Vermeulen and big centre Andre Esterhuizen makes a return in place of Warrick Gelant.

Pumas coach Michael Cheika unsurprisingly made wholesale changes after his side lost 53-3 against New Zealand, a week after securing a historical first win over the All Blacks in that country.

Cheika decided to change both props, with Eduardo Bello introduced at loosehead and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro at tighthead as Thomas Gallo and Joel Scalvi drop to the bench.

There are two more changes in the pack with Matias Alemanno recalled at lock and Juan Martin Gonzalez picked at blindside.

Gonzalo Bertranou gets the nod ahead of Tomas Cubelli at scrumhalf, with Jeronimo De La Fuente returning from injury at outside centre and Lucio Cinti picked on the left wing.



Visit Daily Maverick's home page for more news, analysis and investigations



Bertranou, Cinti, Gonzalez and Alemanno all started in the Pumas’ historic first-ever win over the All Blacks in New Zealand three weeks ago but were then dropped to the bench the following week when Argentina recorded their worst defeat to the three-time world champions since joining the Rugby Championship.

Tough road trip


The last four encounters in Argentina between the sides have been split two apiece, underlining that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Boks to arrive and expect to win.

“They are a very good side, and they are quite successful at home,” said tighthead prop Frans Malherbe.

“I cannot pinpoint why they are so good at home, but what we know for sure is that they are a passionate country and nation, and they always give their best in front of their fans.”

De Klerk spoke equally highly of the opposition and said: “Argentina have definitely become more consistent in their play, and their victories against Australia and New Zealand shows the improvement they have made.

“They are a physical team and now they have added a kicking game to their skillset.

“They also have a lot of players playing for overseas clubs, so they are certainly becoming a top team in world rugby.”

De Klerk said the Boks are well aware of what they needed to do to stay in the race to possibly win the title, and that bonus-point victories would be vital.

“All the teams are aware of how close the log is in the competition, so we know that we probably need to get five points in our next two matches,” said De Klerk.

“If we play to our potential, hopefully, we can achieve that this weekend, and then we’ll see next week exactly what we need to do in Durban.”

While Malherbe will start the clash, De Klerk was named amongst the replacements — a position the scrumhalf said would be equally important in trying to secure the victory.

“We all know what our roles are when we come off the bench,” said De Klerk.

“This weekend my role will be to speed up the game and offer some control depending on where we are in the match at that stage. There is a lot of responsibility on the guys finishing the game, especially against a team like Argentina that are playing at home.”

Malherbe, meanwhile, added that the scrum battle would be a key area in the match: “We put a lot of focus on the set pieces, but we also feel that there is always room for improvement. We constantly want to get better, and every week we try to be better than our opponents.” DM

Teams:


Argentina


15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Lucio Cinti, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez; 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.

Reserves: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Matias Moroni

South Africa


15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Reserves: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Frans Steyn.

Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)

Kick-off: 21:10 (SA time)

Categories:

Tags: