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South Africa v Argentina preview, by Garth Hamilton
There is a blue and white striped elephant in rugby’s living room and it’s getting harder and harder to ignore.
Argentina are no longer just Australia’s scrummaging supermarket and it is no longer an acceptable excuse for any team to be ‘caught off guard’ by the Pumas.
In light of Jacque Fourie’s declaration that the Fijians, who came within a whisker of taking a late lead in their quarter final clash, did not deserve the Springbok’s respect you must wonder if the Springboks will find enough humility to ‘respect’ the Argentineans this weekend. To under-estimate Juan Martin Hernandez and his men would be a big mistake.
Since the last world cup South Africa has been the best of the four remaining teams. This however does not really account for the Pumas who don’t compete in a regular international competition. How do we know what they are capable of under pressure? We’ve seen them in one off tests here and there but how will they go when the spot light of the world falls upon them?
For example, France showed in this year’s Six Nations tournament the same ability to perform under pressure in their match against the much fancied Ireland that they did last week against the All Blacks. Of course this template is applied with a judicious amount of hindsight, and I’m certainly not claiming to have predicted last weekend’s result, but it does show how regular competition can be a good marker of a team’s ability.
Against Scotland the Pumas looked to have more than just one eye on the next game and their on-field focus was just that little bit off. Argentina’s game plan of repeated mid-field bombs and long touch-finders has yet to be tried against a superior forward pack as neither France, Ireland or Scotland have a pack to match the Pumas or the Boks. South Africa also have some of rugby’s greatest broken play runners in their backs and you would expect them to ask a lot of questions of the South American’s backline defence.
South Africa can not rely upon waiting for their opponent to wilt as they seemed to expect in their games against the Pacific Island teams. If Argentina can frustrate the South African’s with the same devout focus they showed in the Pool of Death they can beat the Springboks. The challenge for the Springboks is to be the first team to take the game to Argentina for a full eighty minutes.
Argentina to win a tight contest.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.