Springboks vs Argentina – who will win?

The Springboks and Argentina will go head-to-head in Soweto at the FNB Stadium come Saturday, 17 August, with the Pumas kicking off their second year in the prestigious Rugby Championship tournament.

The men from Argentina proved that they deserve to play with the big guns last year, and while there were no big upsets, they did manage to compete in all aspects against every team.

Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry’s assistant coach role to Argentina should start to show through this year, and a new attacking mind-set should permeate the team if they’re to match SA, NZ and Australia.

The Argentineans have gone for a team with a lot of experience, with the veteran Felipe Contepomi coming into centre and the unpredictably talented Juan Martin Hernandez making his return to fullback.

Leguizamon, Albacete and Matera will provide some bulk in their ball-carrying department, and in traditional Argentinean fashion, the front row will be a hard-fought area of the game.

The Argentine bench features some great strike runners in the form of Santiago Fernandez and Horacio Agulla, who will surely lend their dangerous running skills to the latter half of the match.

As for the Boks, Duane Vermeulen makes his return from injury and will don the number 8 jersey in the starting lineup, while Willem Alberts gets the nod to start on the side of the scrum and Juandre Kruger in the starting lock position.

The backline features the familiar faces from the June tests, who proved to work well together and are evidently able to score some impressive tries.

The bench sees Guthro Steenkamp enter the game again, while Siya Kolisi and the returning Fourie du Preez add some new excitement and experience respectively.

It’s clear that Meyer wants to make sure that the Boks meet the Pumas’ physicality, and with the selection of big forwards and backs, the South Africans should keep their composure.

Rugby Informer’s take: the Pumas would have learnt a lot from last year’s tournament, and will playing every match like a World Cup final to warrant their place. That said, the Boks should be too good and full of confidence in Soweto, giving them the edge from the get-go. Springboks by 10.

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Fourie du Preez, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Argentina – 15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Felipe Contepomi (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Matías Diaz, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Juan Figallo.
Subs: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Julio Farias Cabello, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Santiago Fernandez, 23 Horacio Agulla.