Boks the ultimate physical test
Pumas loosehead prop Marcos Ayerza says he regards the Springboks as the most physical team in the world.
The 32-year-old Leicester Tigers stalwart made his Test debut against the Springboks back in 2004, and having collected 57 caps since then he will be one of the key figures when the two sides meet in Durban on Saturday.
Both teams pride themselves on the dominance of their forward packs, and Ayerza said that going up against the Springboks on their home turf will be the ultimate test in terms of physicality.
"We are going to have a tough battle against the most physical team in the world, and for any forward that is a huge challenge and a great game to look forward to.
"You realise when you play any South African how physical dominance is part of their genetics really," he said.
Argentina are renowned for their imposing scrum, which means that the opposition often raise their game in this area against them and Ayerza is expecting a tough examination against a Springbok scrum which was very competitive against the Wallabies and All Blacks.
"The scrum for South Africa has always been a good formation and platform where they start their physicality and their dominance.
"This year we saw a scrum that was dominant against Australia for most of the game and against the All Blacks as well they were dominant and used that platform well.
"I thought that improvement has been very good, I know they have some injury concerns at the weekend to see who will play but we know that it is going to be a tough battle for us," he said.
The front row veteran admitted that he is relieved that he will not have to go up against injured Bok tighthead Jannie du Plessis this weekend, and underlined the importance of the scrum battle at Kings Park.
"I am not sure who will play, if Jannie has confirmed that he is not playing that will be a good thing for Argentina, he is a world class player in his position.
"We have also suffered some setbacks injury-wise and we are looking forward to having a good game in that aspect.
"I think the scrum on the weekend will have a lot of say on the outcome of the game for both teams, but especially for Argentina. We base our confidence and mentality on the scrum and we pride ourselves on that formation.
"The challenge for us is to be at our best in every game, because we know that every team that faces us is going to up their game in that aspect, and will be more focused and up for it.
"It is a challenge for us to keep on being competitive and dominant and keep building our game from that formation," he said.
Ayerza emphasised how important it is for Argentina to make a step-up from their scrummaging performances against New Zealand and Australia as they look to hit their straps in this area leading into the World Cup.
"Against the All Blacks it was a tough contest in the scrums, we didn't have a foot on the game in that formation, we had some good scrums but overall it was a mixed feeling because we weren't as dominant as we thought we could have been.
"Against Australia we had some rewards, some dominance and some penalties, but at the end of the game when the subs came on we lost our focus and concentration and conceded two penalties at the end and suffered in some scrums.
"We know we have to be consistent and play for 80 minutes, we have to be dominant in every scrum and not just the odd scrum," he added.
By Michael de Vries, in Durban
