Jacques Nienaber has retained the same extended group of Springbok players for the camp in preparation for the game against Argentina in Johannesburg, including scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who was given time off following a family bereavement.

Hendrikse’s return comes as the Springboks look to bounce back from a 15-point loss to New Zealand in Auckland, which has put the All Blacks in the driving seat for the Rugby Championship title.

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However, there was less positive news with the pack, as it was confirmed that Ox Nche would not recover from a pectoral injury in time for next Saturday’s clash. Gerhard Steenekamp – a member of the New Zealand touring squad – remains as injury cover at loosehead prop.

Meanwhile, Eben Etzebeth, who captained the Boks against the All Blacks despite the death of his father, will join the squad on Sunday.

“We have a settled squad, and everyone is determined to get back to action and to bounce back following the result against New Zealand,” says Nienaber.

“We are bitterly disappointed about the defeat, but we’ll take the lessons from that match and implement that as we look forward to our final match in the competition.”

Nienaber says that managing player load in the run-up to the departure for France remained a key focus: “One of the boxes we ticked in the last two weeks was to work on our player load. Getting that balance right is going to be vital so that we can peak at the right time this season.

“We have a sizeable squad, and we need to ensure that we give as many players as possible the chance to stake a claim for places in the World Cup squad, while at the same time getting the desired results so that we can build momentum going into the World Cup.

“We have four matches left before the international showpiece,” adds Nienaber. “We are still in the race for the Rugby Championship title so we intend to get down to business immediately and make the most of the time we have on and off the training field to get the squad where we would like them to be mentally and physically.”