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Forget last week. The moment all fans of Argentinean rugby have been waiting for is upon us. The Pumas' first home game of the Rugby Championship will be one to be remembered...
...but probably not for what happens on the pitch.
Many pundits have spoken of the "extra spice" Argentina would add to the southern hemisphere's annual showdown, yet, if truth be told, most would have expected the dull affair offered up in Cape Town last week.
Indeed, the 'spice' that everyone keeps on banging on about is certainly not going to come from the Pumas' style of play. But when 50,000 hinchas de los Pumas start singing and chanting at Esadio Malvinas Argentinas on Saturday, the uninitiated will find out what all the fuss is about. Rugby in these parts is all about passion - and there is plenty of it. The Springboks will feel very far from home.
The Pumas have never beaten South Africa in 14 attempts and if last week's clash is anything to go by, they might have to wait a while yet to claim their first win (the 14 consecutive Test victories over Argentina is a record for Springbok rugby. It is one better than the 13 against Wales).
The safe money is on another hard-fought slugfest between two teams that base their game on pressuring their opponents into errors with big forwards and accurate kicking. The Boks have bigger forwards (well, bigger everything, really) and better kickers. So they should win, that much is clear.
Pumas captain Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe admitted after last week's battle that he expects a similar game in Mendoza. Argentina don't have the personnel to drastically up the tempo and Heyneke Meyer's selection of Jacques Potgieter over Keegan Daniel indicates the Boks will play even more conservatively.
Meyer's decision to add another battering ram to his back row, despite the absence of Bismarck du Plessis's poaching skills, underlines the South Africans' single-minded approach. Expect to see the Springbok machine rumbling up Route One, as usual.
One of the aspects in which Argentina failed to get the upper hand last week was field position. They were pinned back in their own territory by a combination of errors (due to pressure from the Boks) and their own poor kicking, which often handed possession over too cheaply. If they are to have any hope, they cannot afford to allow Zane Kirchner to take easy marks in his 22 or send bombs into the air without a decent chase.
They were painfully predictable and with Juan Martin Hernandez ruled out, the lack of creativity is unlikely to improve. But if they can cut down on the penalties that led to almost all of the Springboks' points a week ago and maintain their intensity at the breakdown, we will have a proper game on our hands. Lest we forget that two of Argentina's last three matches against South Africa on home soil have been decided by less than ten points - while the hosts have put three tries past their illustrious visitors on each of those occasions.
As stated at various stages over the last fortnight, how the Boks fare hinges largely on Morné Steyn, who will play in his 28th consecutive Test and is set to become South Africa's highest points scorer (the record of 210 career points is currently shared with Percy Montgomery). Steyn was excellent at Newlands but was seldom under pressure in front of a friendly home crown on a sunny, windless day.
The reception this time will be hostile, at best. And with the Zonda wind - which comes down off the snow-capped Andes Mountains not far away - bringing a real chill to the air, the Bulls kicker will be taken out of his comfort zone.
Although Springbok captain Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana are the only members of the team that have played Test rugby in Argentina before, three members of the starting XV - Adriaan Strauss, Ruan Pienaar and Morné Steyn - were part of the SA U21 squad that won the IRB U21 World Championship in Mendoza in 2005, at the same stadium.
Another win seems on the cards for the visitors, but it won't come without a fight...no, make that a war!
Players to watch:
For Argentina: At the tender age of 23, young fly-half Nicolás Sánchez carries the weight of a nation on his shoulders. The loss one Juan Martin Hernandez is a massive blow and Sánchez must now fill some big boots in just his third Test. Read a full profile of Argentina's 10 here.
For South Africa: Hooker Adriaan Strauss must be experiencing a case of déjà vu. In 2005 he replaced the injured Bismarck du Plessis in the U21 squad that won in Mendoza. Seven years later and again he is tasked with filling in for his fellow Free State-born colleague. Strauss brings a different set of skills to the table but his role will be vitally important, not least of all because he also inherits the vice-captaincy. South African fans will be praying the Cheetahs hooker stays injury free because with Chiliboy Ralepelle also crocked, the stocks in the number two jersey are seriously depleted.
Head-to-head: A lot has been said about the Pumas scrum but without retired stalwarts Mario Ledesma and Martín Scelzo, their front row just isn't the same. Nevertheless they pride themselves on their set piece and the battle at scrum time is set to be vicious. The front row in green and gold probably won the contest at Newlands so Saturday's hosts will want to even the score.
Previous results:
2012: South Africa won 27-6 in Cape Town
2008: South Africa won 63-9 in Johannesburg
2007: South Africa won 37-13 in Paris (RWC)
2005: South Africa won 34-23 in Buenos Aires
2004: South Africa won 39-7 in Buenos Aires
2003: South Africa won 26-25 in Port Elizabeth
2002: South Africa won 49-29 in Springs
2000: South Africa won 37-33 in Buenos Aires
1996: South Africa won 44-21 in Buenos Aires
1996: South Africa won 46-15 in Buenos Aires
1994: South Africa won 46-26 in Johannesburg
1994: South Africa won 42-22 in Port Elizabeth
1993: South Africa won 52-23 in Buenos Aires
Prediction: In two Tests in Mendoza, Argentina are currently unbeaten but South Africa's 14/0 record against their hosts is hard to argue against. Also, the Boks have lost just once in 12 Tests refereed by Steve Walsh. With similar game plans on offer, we don't feel Argentina have enough beef to match the Boks' muscle. South Africa by ten points in a low-scoring game.
The teams:
Argentina: 15 Martín Rodríguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernández, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe (c), 7 Álvaro Galindo, 6 Julio Farías Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guiñazú, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:16 Bruno Postiglioni, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Tomás Leonardi, 20 Martín Landajo, 21 Lucas González Amorosino, 22 Juan Imhoff.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Pat Lambie, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.
Date: Saturday, August 25
Venue: Malvinas Argentinas Stadium
Kick-off: 16:10 local (19:10 GMT / 21.10 SAT/ Sunday 26 August 07:10 NZT / 05:10 NSW/ACT)
Weather: 20% chance of rain. Max 12°C, Min 2°C.
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces (France), John Lacey (Ireland)
By Ross Hastie
Comments
Carpelone says...
A bonus point for the Boks. Los Pumas will be tired and leak some soft tries.
Go Bokke!
Posted 11:02 24th August 2012
melkdave says...
Wasnt overly impressed by the bokke last weekend ,though the wining margin was bigger than i expected ,2 soft tries will give the impression of dominace though..Iam however finding it hard to really call the result,Will be pretty low scoring and within 5 either way i beleive which way i dont know honestly.
Posted 10:35 24th August 2012
PREEST says...
Yea Walsh was patronising the Pumas' all through the first test as if they didn't know the rules. It made me cringe when Walsh made that noise of frustration when the Pumas had infringed at the breakdown before awarding a penalty to the Boks.
Posted 10:33 24th August 2012
JayStarr says...
I am really looking forward to this game. This is where the new dimension comes in; where the safe and cushy Tri-nations becomes the uncertain and exciting Rugby Championship: playing in Argentina.
I watched last week's game again and realised that it was a bit like the NZ v. AUS game, just without the points. Even though Australia played so poorly, they were just 5 points away until the end... With everything else remaining the same, one intercept try could have won them that game. If the Argentina player did not knock the ball on his own try line (how often do you see that happen?), the Boks would not have got the Zane Kirchner try. That would've been 7 points less for them. Then, if Argentina kicked those 3 kickable penalties they got in a row (and missed), it would've been 9 points (and momentum) for them, taking it to a 20-15 ball game for the final quarter...
The point is, Argentina was not as bad as the scoreline suggested. I was particularly impressed with their defense - it was really, REALLY good. There were some occasions where I thought, "right, it's just a matter of time now and the Boks are going to get through if they carry on like this", but Argentina was intelligent and rock-solid on defense...
So too at the breakdowns. So too with their tactical kicking. It was just some uncharacteristic errors in the scrum, as well as their missed kicks and silly unforced errors, which counted against them.
These things are easy to correct from one game to another, so I wouldn't be suprised if we see a different Argentina side tomorrow. Even if they don't win tomorrow, they will win (or come very close) at least once this tournament. And I think they will definitely be a different team by the end of this tournament than the one who played last week. They just have LOADS of potential...
May the best team win!
Posted 10:33 24th August 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
urgh...Not steve walsh again... Lets hope that someone's told him that the Puma side is full of highly experienced streetwise rugby players and this ISN'T their 2nd rugby match ever. If they cheat, they are doing it to relieve Bok pressure and they know exactly what they are doing!
Steve, They know the bleedin' rules, stop being so patronising towards Lobbe and do your job! if they cheat, yellow card 'em and they'll adapt and we all great to see a great game or they lose and their coach tells them to wise up before round three, either way the tournament improves.
Posted 09:21 24th August 2012
Ulrich says...
Interesting ref stats.
Posted 08:51 24th August 2012