The Springboks will head to Salta, Argentina to take on the Pumas in Round 2 of the Rugby Championship. Join The Roar from 5:30am (AEST) for live scores and commentary.
These two teams fought out a dire match in abysmal conditions in Pretoria and despite the Pumas having the better of the match the Springboks prevailed 13-6.
Both of these teams will be hoping for better conditions this time around and the Pumas will be buoyed by their first up performance, particularly in the forwards where they managed to really unsettle the Springboks.
The Pumas will need to repeat that forward effort again this morning and they certainly have proven that they have the pack to do it.
The backline, lead by Nicholas Sanchez, will need to step up and execute the chances they are presented with and if they can a ground breaking victory may be on the horizon.
Simply, there exists enough pace and skill in this Pumas backline to cause all sorts of headaches if their forward pack can get on top again.
The Springboks know their last up performance was not good enough, particularly in the forwards, which has traditionally been their strength.
The introduction of Juan Smith into the team should bring some composure to the side and the expectation of a dry pitch should see the Springboks lift dramatically along with their accuracy at the breakdown.
Duane Vermeulen was immense for the Springboks and really stood up for them last week. He again is a key player and the balance of the pack needs to follow his example.
Handre Pollard, the young star five eight has kept his starting spot and will be one to watch this week and many will hope we can see his full array of skills on display in better conditions as well as the wizardry of Willie le Roux from fullback.
Join us here on The Roar as we cover all the action live and don’t forget to have your say as the match unfolds!
Tip: Springboks by 10
handles
Guest
I guess the "Argies" going undefeated all the way to the semi-final in the 2007 RWC must count as home games too, although one of the teams they touched up was France. Actually, come to think of it, they touched up France in the 3-4 play-off game as well, so that would make 6 wins in that tournament. More than any team except the winners, South Africa. Just occasionally it is useful to think before you fire off ill informed opinions.
fanie
Guest
As usual we do not realize how serious the problem is so the fightback was Argentina getting tired and they could not bring closure to the match.In 50 years of watching Springbok rugby i have never seen our pack so humiliated.The second thing is will somebody stand up and explain to me where was the experience.I am so tired of reading how good our Duane and Flo is so Harry there is your opinion and the truth and the truth is Marcell Coetsee came to the rescue. Armand it is really counter productive to compare Vermeulen with Read as Read is light years apart from Vermeulen in fact Whitely is better than Vermeulen and that opinion is based on the following: Whitely is faster has better ball skills can jump in the line out and interacts with the bacline.The watershed that you talked about should start about now whether the courage will prevail i do not know.What i do know is the Boks are bollie in the wet and they are bollie in the dry also the Argies will not do to Oz what they did to the Boks simply put Oz has a better balanced team and the prediction is that Oz will prevail.It does not matter how fast a lie runs in the end the truth will overtake the lie.One thing Meyer has been consistent in is using players that do not perform and he is the only coach in history that can coach the best young player in the world {Serfontein} out of a Springbok team.
Wolfpack
Guest
Johnno - Japan would clearly not be strong enough to be in the RC
Harry Jones
Expert
Look on SA Rugby Mag site for 5 min of highlights
Harry Jones
Expert
ARG will give OZ all they want and more Hourcade has a nice plan and the players seem to be having fun
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Not sure how the ABs vs Boks games will go, but I'm firmly of the mindset that Argentina can beat the Wallabies at home based on this weekend.
Harry Jones
Expert
BB, unbelievable good fortune to escape with 4 log points. I think we are currently relying too much on a small subset of players to be brilliant on the back foot (Vermeulen, Louw), create something out of nothing 2-3 times a game (le Roux and oddly enough, Pienaar) and finish off outrageously difficult chances (Habana, Hendricks). That's a recipe for disaster. If Duane or Flo has a bad day or gets hurt, what do we do? If Ruan's toe doesn't get to the bouncing ball, what then? If Cornal loses that ball in a stretch....? And now we have no tight-head....Malherbe out of the tournament. Jannie would've probably been dropped, but now, he probably starts in Perth. Felt bad for Juan; tough to get up to Test speed, but he didn't do bad---needs another shot I think That's the bad news... Looking on the bright side.... *We won *Louw & Duane are in top form *Hougaard & Coetzee & Strauss looked great *That was one hell of a 20 minute fight back *Hendricks can FINISH!
Meyer should be concerned, his charges were completely outplayed, and if they continue in this vain they aren't going to stand any chance of even beating the AUssies, never mind the All Blacks.
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes! Even when we were chasing the game
Harry Jones
Expert
Being in the RC is the best thing for ARG You'll improve faster than any team out there
almark
Guest
u tube-NZUUTV,
Brett Susan
Guest
For me, despite the poor scrums, the rest of the mess that the Springboks found themselves in is very easy to pinpoint- they just kick far too much ball away. The moment that Pienaar went off, Hougaard showed his instinct to run the ball and to get slick ball to his backs. At that moment, the momentum swing was obvious. If you don't want the ball and keep handing it back to your opponents, expects to have a hard day at the office.
Rock
Guest
So the week before when they played well & should have beat the Boys counts as a home game Johnny?
Alan
Roar Guru
This is getting frustrating now. Argentina have been in positions to beat the Wallabies twice on the Gold Coast and in Perth and they have been in winning positions three times against the Springboks in Argentina. Victory remain so elusive. I feel once Argentina gets on the board however they will develop some great momentum that could lead them to a great showing at next year's World Cup.
Harry Jones
Expert
The good: Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen, the bench, fitness, calmness, and a simple plan to close it out. The bad: The starting front row, the scrum, the push, the engagement, the shove, the hook. The ugly: The tackling.
nobrain
Guest
There is a mistake in the stats, Hernandez scored a drop goal. Also the players on the teams are from last yaer or the year before that one.
nobrain
Guest
Hernandez.
Captain Pugwash
Guest
Is there anywhere to see the highlights of the game?
Captain Pugwash
Guest
Is there anywhere to see the highlights of the game?
Johnno
Guest
Argies like Italy always plucky at home, a different beast than when playing away. But a poor away team. They'll get pummelled by the AB'S in NZ. Maybe not by 50, but the point is the AB'S will be in cruise control the whole game, and do enough. Wallabies will beat em too in OZ. -The Argies have a young team, are better prepared than last few years, have got better, but still reckon poor away. Only time vs the big teams they do well is if it's poor weather. -The Argie crowd is always hostile and good and were in full voice again today -Surprised they couldn't close it, there were some experienced players in the Argie side too, but that's the way it works. -If I were Boks I'd start Morne Steyn, he is so calm -Victor Matfield should be back soon will help, line-out king -Juan Smith was fine don't know what all the fuss was about -Argies if they have any petrol left after all the travel will target Wallaby game in Argentina to win. But they are fitter and fresher younger squad, new coach so not stale. And have prepared better than other years. -Good luck Argies, but still I REALLY enjoy Argentina tests in Argentina a wonderful part of rugby, but still find them boring to watch away. Like India in cricket, boring away from home to watch, but far more exciting at home. NZ cricket team I find the same, always enjoy a cricket test match in NZ, but find the Blackcaps boring away from home. Ireland a boring rugby team to watch away from home, but always good value to watch in Dublin. -Bring Samoa or Japan into the RC still would prefer that than Argentina, overall. Samoa are fun to watch anywhere, as long as they are switched on and have a full squad.