Loftus Versfeld is just about the last place you’d want to try to get an elusive first win, but that’s the challenge Argentina are faced with on Saturday. It’s been 20 years since any international team not named New Zealand have won at the hallowed ground, and seeing as the Pumas have never beaten the Springboks anywhere before, the enormity of the task is eminently prescient.
The big guns are back for Los Pumas. Only a handful of the squad that took on Ireland and Scotland remain in the starting XV. Marcos Ayerza and new captain Agustín Creevy bolster the front row, with Gloucester-bound Mariano Galarza brought in to secure the lineout. Last year’s superb back row combination returns in its entirety, with Pablo Matera now a year older and hardened through several months with Leicester Tigers.
As expected Juan Martín Hernández will line up in the midfield for the first time in his test career, forming an exciting duo with Marcelo Bosch. Horacio Agulla starts on the right wing in the absence of injured Juan Imhoff, and powerhouse left winger Manuel Montero is sure to startle those unfamiliar with his name. Fullback Joaquín Tuculet is another who might surprise some. Look out for his quality left boot and a strong step off the right.
Heyneke Meyer raised a few eyebrows when his team selection was read out, but afterwards nearly all would applaud his choices. Eight changes in all have been made to the side that throttled Scotland in June, with the return of captain Jean de Villiers chief among them. The 96 cap veteran will look to his left and find 97 caps worth of Bryan Habana, but will have an as-yet untested rookie in Damian de Allende, his Stormers teammate and 10 years his junior, alongside in the midfield.
Handre Pollard is not one of the changes, but most would have expected Meyer to turn to Morne Steyn at flyhalf. Instead it’s the IRB u20 player of the year who takes his next step towards stardom, though he will have the vastly experienced Ruan Pienaar to help take some of the pressure. It’s a bold move but a wise one with the World Cup only a few months away and Steyn unlikely to learn any new tricks in that time.
Up front it’s mostly the status quo, with Beast Mtawarira, Francois Louw, and Willem Alberts back at their usual positions. The second row is quite something, with one of the largest pairings in test history as Bakkies Botha teams up with his protege Lood de Jager to form a truly frightening steam engine. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Eben Etzebeth is back and prowls on the bench. Argentina have their own tyro in Tomás Lavanini, but three to one seems a little unfair.
By the end of this game there should be reasons to cheer for both sides, but equally some battered bodies. The scoreline, unforunately, probably won’t be so cheerful, at least for Argentine fans. Nearly every article ever written about the Springboks features descriptive terms like monstrous and gargantuan, and for good reason, but this group of forwards might take that to a new level on Saturday. One thing is for certain, there will be some serious meat on the braai after the match. The hungry Springboks feast on the Pumas to the tune of 23 points.
SOUTH AFRICA vs ARGENTINA
Saturday, August 16, 15:05 GMT, Pretoria
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
Assistants: Steve Walsh (ARU) & Marius Mitrea (FIR)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
