The Springboks anticipate a challenging match against Argentina, who are still contenders for the Rugby Championship crown.
The Springboks now hold the trophy after winning all four games against Australia and New Zealand.
A win at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero will cement the title. However, if Argentina secures a bonus point victory, next week’s meeting in Mbombela will serve as a sort of final.
After defeating the All Blacks in Wellington and hammering the Wallabies in Santa Fe, the Pumas will be confident that their aggressive forwards and fast backs will cause difficulties for the world champions.
Speaking to press on Monday, Springboks forwards coach Deon Davids said the team was ready for a challenging match against the South Americans, who were also chasing their first Rugby Championship championship.
“Argentina is a very well coached team. They’ve got an intelligent coach. If you look at their game, they’re really on an upward curve in terms of their performance,” Davids said.
“When you look at the profile of their team, obviously they’ve got the usual customers who are very tough upfront. The [Marcos] Kremers, the [Pablo] Materas, the [Julian] Montoyas,” he continued.
“They are really tough guys upfront, so we expect a good challenge in set pieces. And obviously also they’ve got excellent backline players.
“A lot of them coming through their sevens academy. They showed their skills and their speed of execution in their last couple of games in the Rugby Championship.
“So, ja, we’re playing against a well balanced team, a settled team with a lot of confidence. So for us, it’s going to be important to focus on us, to ensure that we stick to the plans that we have and that we play the game in the right areas and be ready for the challenge, whether it’s physical or whether it’s speed.”
