The Springboks are on the verge of history as they take on Argentina in the Rugby Championship, in the northern city of Santiago del Estero on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 11pm SA time. The men in green and gold are poised to win the tournament for just the second time in their history, since the Tri-Nations became the Rugby Championship in 2012 with the addition of Argentina.
A win against Los Pumas would see the Springboks claim the title with a match to spare.
Though South Africa won it for the first time in 2019, it was with the disclaimer that it was a shortened competition. Each side played just three games to accommodate the Rugby World Cup, which of course the Springboks went on to win.
New role for Kolisi
Winning a full schedule Rugby Championship is undisputedly a greater challenge, and would come as another incredible achievement for this Springbok team led by skipper Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus.
In fact, Kolisi will not be on the field on Saturday as he is being rested for the away match while he will be available for the return clash in Mbombela next week.
Kolisi, however, does have a broken nose which will be reset after the Rugby Championship is over.
Instead the double Rugby World Cup winning captain will join Erasmus in the coaches box for the match, in yet another unusual move made by Springbok management.
It even prompted speculation that Kolisi might be moving into a coaching role soon, but the 33-year-old still seems set to have a few more years left in him as a player.
“The one thing we also want to do is get Siya in the coach’s box. We have got Duane [Vermeulen] on the side who relays the messages to Siya on the field, but he actually doesn’t know what is happening in the coach’s box,” Erasmus said.
Like they did ahead of their second Rugby Championship clash last month, the Springboks made 10 changes to their side to face Argentina. After making all those changes against the Wallabies, the Springboks still managed to run out 30-12 victors in Perth.
The Springboks have 18 points, with Los Pumas on 10, with the All Blacks third on seven and Australia in last place with four. Should the Springboks lose both matches to Argentina, the South Americans would claim the title for the first time. But it would take a brave punter to put money on that happening.
Stern test
Still, Argentina will provide a stern test for the Springboks. The men in blue and white thumped Australia 67-27 on September 7. That win meant Argentina have scored the most points after four games. Argentina have scored 134 points, while the Springboks are next best with 112. Interestingly, New Zealand are just one behind with 111 scored.
The Springboks, though, do have by far the best defence having conceded just 58 points. The All Blacks are second with 97, and Argentina third with 119.
A tight battle up front between the packs is also predicted. Argentina’s tighthead prop Joel Sclavi for example weighs in at 137kgs, and Springbok prop Ox Nche earlier in the week described his opposing front-rower as Argentina’s ‘Frans Malherbe’.
It all sets up for a fascinating contest, with the odds well in favour of the Springboks but a surprise against the battle-hardened Argentina cannot be ruled out either.