Tough Argentina Tests exactly what Boks need ahead of World Cup — Davids

The Springboks are gearing themselves up for a second tough game against Los Pumas when they take them on in their first Rugby World Cup warm-up match in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

In the final game of the Rugby Championship over the past weekend the Boks managed to scrape a 22-21 win to end the competition on a high, but they were pushed the whole way and if not for some poor kicking on the part if the visitors could have easily lost the game.

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Despite the struggles they faced in that match, Bok assistant coach Deon Davids believes it was the perfect preparation for what the team will face at the World Cup in September and October.

“The big thing for us was that it was quite a challenging game and we couldn’t have asked for better preparation. It was one of the games where we needed to grind things out, and that’s what we needed in terms of testing the players and our plans,” explained Davids.

“Test rugby is about pressure and to convert that pressure into positive rewards and learn from that, which is what we are trying to do. So I think this past game was a good test for us and going into this weekend’s game we don’t expect any less.”

Tough match

This weekend’s match should be even tougher for the Boks as Argentina are playing on their home turf and the visitors have brought a largely fringe side, featuring a number of players who won’t make the final World Cup squad and some that are still battling for a place in it.

“Playing in Buenos Aires is always tough. We have been here a few times and it is never an easy game. You are up against a passionate team on the field with a passionate crowd supporting them,” said Davids.

“After their performance at Ellis Park we are expecting another difficult game. So it is up to the players that are getting a chance to front up to that challenge and ensure that we apply what we want to improve on in this game.”

The players will however get in a good week of training due to the fact that they left SA in the early hours of Sunday morning, which allowed them to arrive in Argentina timeously.

Normal Test week

“We flew straight after the game and arrived on Sunday morning. This has given the guys time to recover and we can now progress with how we normally do in a Test game week,” said Davids.

“So we are happy to be here, excited to be back in Buenos Aires and we are looking forward to the challenge this coming weekend.”

After the past weekend’s game the Boks had two injury concerns in Grant Williams, who didn’t travel to Argentina, and Kurt-Lee Arendse who did, but he has been cleared for selection for the match.

“The only player that is concerning is Grant Williams and he might be out for 12 days due to his concussion. The other player who was a bit of a worry was Kurt-Lee Arendse but he has recovered well and is with us and might be considered for this weekend’s game,” said Davids.