The last time the Springboks played Los Pumas in Argentina in 2024 they were handed a tight one-point defeat against the hosts.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has warned that facing Argentina away from home will be a tough test for the Boks ahead of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Springboks will be sending a group of 26 players to Argentina for their one-off Test match against Los Pumas at Estadio Jose Amalfitani in Buenos Aires on Saturday, 8 August.
The game will be a final chance for the Boks to get some much-needed minutes into some of their players who have missed the start of the season due to injury, such as star flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, captain Siya Kolisi, enforcer Eben Etzebeth and others.
It will also be used as a launching pad for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series against the All Blacks, with the first Test kicking off at Ellis Park on Saturday 22 August.
The Boks announced a 43-man group that will meet up in Johannesburg on Sunday to begin preparations for the game against Los Pumas, and for RGR, with the 26 players to travel set to be chosen from that group, while the rest of the players continue training in SA with a few coaches.
After a strong start to their season with three wins over England, Scotland and Wales in their home Nations Championship run, the Boks will be looking to take that momentum into the match against regular foes Argentina.
But the South American hosts will be fired up to bounce back from a difficult start to their international campaign, after they lost at home to England and Scotland, while beating Wales.
The Boks will thus be favourites for the match, but Argentina have proved before that they can respond with a big performance after a poor one, and that is what Bok coach Rassie Erasmus is wary of.
‘It’s tough to win there’
“They are a quality team, and they have proved that in our previous clashes. In fact, they defeated us in Argentina the last time we faced them there in 2024, so we know how tough it is to win there, and we intend to take a quality team to Buenos Aires,” said Erasmus.
Speaking about the decision to split the group, which will allow some injured players to continue their rehabilitation to prove their fitness to be selected for the RGR squad which will be named next month, while giving others a rest and some game time and a chance to impress, Erasmus explained:
“We are limited in the number of players we can take to Argentina, so it makes sense to give everyone a fair chance to compete for spots in the RGR squad.
“Some of the players who will train in Johannesburg will be in the final stages of their recovery from injuries, which will allow them to do so under the supervision of our medical team.
“Then there are other players who have played a lot of rugby this year, and for us during the Nations Championship, and need a match off to allow their bodies to recover.”
Currently the Springboks have the week off to spend time with their families, after their Nations Championship exploits concluded against Wales in Durban last weekend, with the 43-man squad set to assemble at their training base in Johannesburg on Sunday.
They will train for a week before the travelling squad to Argentina departs for Buenos Aires in two groups the following Sunday and Monday to continue their on-field preparations for the match.
