Springboks close in on title with Argentina cast as spoilers
South Africa's quest for back-to-back Rugby Championship titles ends in the unlikely setting of England’s green fields as they take on Argentina at Twickenham on Saturday knowing victory should be enough for a sixth southern hemisphere title.
The Springboks devoured the Pumas with a superb second-half showing to claim a 67-30 win in Durban last weekend that took them to the top of the Rugby Championship table and the cusp of retaining the trophy for the first time.
They have 15 points, one more than New Zealand and four ahead of Australia who meet earlier on Saturday in Perth.
South Africa's +55 points difference is considerably better than both New Zealand (-6) and Australia (+1), meaning even a win without a bonus point will be enough, barring the most unlikely of results in Perth.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has stuck largely with the side that romped to the win in Durban, with only experienced prop Ox Nche returning from injury in place of Boan Venter.
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who starts on the bench, is also back from a lay-off and said the Springboks expect a fired-up Argentina.
"If you watch last week’s game, you’ll see that it was not as easy as the score may suggest," Mbonambi told reporters. "A lot can happen in a week in rugby, so we need to go out there and give our best to get the result we want.
"They’ll be hurting, so we have a big challenge ahead, but we’ve done our homework, and our preparation has been going well. That said, it’s definitely going to be an arm-wrestle of a match. We expect a proper retaliation from them."
Argentina have made seven changes to their side, and moved Santiago Carreras from flyhalf to fullback.
They have already beaten New Zealand (home) and Australia (away) in this year’s championship, but are out of the running for the title ahead of what is their ‘home’ fixture in London.
"The focus will be on the precision with which we play," Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi said. "South Africa is a team that does what it does very well, they are very precise in the game plan they have.
"For us it is to try to win that strategic battle in order to be more competitive."
It is the second time a Rugby Championship fixture has been played in the northern hemisphere after Argentina hosted Australia at Twickenham in 2016 and lost 33-21.
