South Africa travel to Salta for their Rugby Championship second leg against Argentina, 26 August.
To Win Match
Argentina 22/10 | Draw 25/1 | South Africa 1/3
Handicap
Argentina 9/10 (+7.5) South Africa 9/10 (-7.5)
The hot, humid, and sticky conditions in Salta lend themselves to the intensity that awaits the Springboks. Los Pumas have won twice against the Springboks, ironically with their most recent 26 -24 win at the exact venue.
Last weekend we saw an impressive run by the Springbok forwards, showing great intensity at the breakdowns, and forcing scrummaging mistakes from Argentina.
Allister Coetzee has made one change ahead of this test, with Francois Hougaard set to play his 44th test replacing Ross Cronje after he suffered an injury at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
We’ve seen how Argentina are as a unit on their own turf and can topple any team that underestimate their collective ability. They will struggle to match the visitors up front, so they’re going to need to turn to a running brand of rugby. Daniel Hourcade would’ve have analyzed and pre-assessed this clash carefully, amending his unit’s mistakes in Port Elizabeth.
The Boks have an adept, solid unit showing great culture and a desire to win, and this weekend’s match will set them up for an encounter with the wounded Wallabies in Perth, and Los Pumas will travel to the Yarrow Stadium to face New Zealand.
South African Team
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Pieter-Steph Du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Damian de Allende
Argentina Team TBA
15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Juan Leguizamón, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (captain), 1 Lucas Noguera Paz.
Substitutes: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Nicolás Sánchez, 23 Matías Moroni.
Verdict: South Africa 9/10 (-7.5)
The handicap has been set at (-7.5) for the Springboks, I think the bookmakers concluded that the 1200 metres high altitude in Salta, won’t make it an easy win for the Boks. Fair call as we might see a different Argentinian outfit come Saturday.
