VIDEO: Boks have 'winning recipe' in Argentina
South Africa may have left a substantial number of frontline players at home, but they are optimistic they have a ‘winning recipe’ in Argentina.
The Springboks travel to Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero for a Round Five Rugby Championship face-off with Los Pumas in a crucial Round Five Rugby Championship encounter.
The Boks require just three points from the last two rounds – in Santiago this week and Nelspruit next week – to reclaim the title they last won in 2019.
However, Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids is confident that have the right combination in South America.
Davids pointed to Los Pumas’ wins over New Zealand (38-30 in Round One) and Australia (67-27 in Round Four) as a clear warning that the Springboks will need to be at their best if they are to secure the title on Saturday.
However, they believe the combination on tour in South America – even without frontline players like Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux – is good enough to overcome a resilient Los Pumas.
“We always put a team on the field that we believe in and can beat any team,” Davids said, as the Boks started their build-up towards the round five face-off.
“These players have some Test experience and we are confident they will give a good account of themselves.”
While Argentina does present a different challenge to Australia and New Zealand, the Boks are focused on securing the win and keeping their 100 percent record in this tournament intact.
(WATCH as Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids gives some insights into the team’s preparations for the Los Pumas face-off…..)
“We are confident in the players we have here and excited to see if they are up to the challenge Argentina presents.”
Davids added that they are ready for a tough encounter against the South Americans, the only team that can still beat them to the title.
“Argentina is a very well-coached team,” the Bok assistant said.
“They’ve got an intelligent coach [Felipe Contepomi].
“If you look at their game, they’re really on an upward curve in terms of their performance.
“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.
“They are really tough guys up front, so we expect a good challenge in set pieces.
“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.
“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.”
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