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World Cup warm-up match
Argentina v South Africa
Velez Sarsfield Stadium
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sunday, 6 August 2023
Kick-off is at 00h10
South Africa will shift their focus towards preparing for the 2023 World Cup when they take on Argentina in a warm-up match at the Velez Sarsfield Stadium in Buenos Aires in the early hours of Sunday morning on August 6.
The Springboks concluded their shortened
2023 Rugby Championship campaign last weekend with a hard-fought 22-21 victory over the Pumas at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, where Manie Libbok scored a try and added another seven points with his boot.
Jacques Nienaber's side finished second in the standings, five points behind New Zealand, who beat them 35-20 in Auckland two weeks earlier.
The world champions are headed to South America for the first of three games to prepare for their title defence at the global showpiece in France which kicks off on September 8.
Nienaber has made wholesale changes to his starting line-up, with fly-half Libbok and lock Marvin Orie the only two players to retain their place in the team, while hooker Bongi Mbonambi has been named captain.
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The 50-year-old coach is giving as many players as possible the chance to impress before deciding on his 33-man squad for the World Cup.
"This is going to be a massive physical battle, and there will be a lot of pressure on the players mentally and physically, which is exactly the type of situation we would like to see them in as we enter our World Cup warm-up games," he said.
"There is not a player in our enlarged squad who is fully confident that he will be in the World Cup squad, so the competition for places is intense.
"Each one of the players is desperate for an opportunity to play, and it's evident in the way they've been training and in the hard work they've been doing off the field, so we're excited to see what they bring this weekend."
Argentina have proven they are no longer pushovers in the annual southern hemisphere competition after beating Australia 34-31 in Sydney on July 15 before going on to take third place.
They are hoping to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Boks, with their last win (32-19) coming on 25 August 2018 in Mendoza.
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Pumas head coach Michael Cheika is looking forward to the rematch and believes they can emerge victorious on this occasion with a more disciplined performance.
"We played better than last week against Australia, although we didn't get the result we wanted. We are going to improve the maul and the scrum, but we had more possession and were a lot in South Africa's 22 without finishing," Cheika said.
"In the first half we had two or three unnecessary offside penalties, so we have to be more disciplined, make good decisions and not give easy an easy way into our half. If we are in their 22, or near the tryline, we have to work out the best strategy.
"We can't wait to play the rematch, because the group is in a very good physical and mental moment."
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 35
Argentina - 3
South Africa - 31
Draws - 1
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