Preview: South Africa v Argentina
It has been billed as a re-match, a showdown between two World Cup semi-finalists, even a chance for Argentina to exact some revenge on the reigning world champions, not to mention a game to mark Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.
It has been billed as a re-match, a showdown between two World Cup semi-finalists, even a chance for Argentina to exact some revenge on the reigning world champions, not to mention a game to mark Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.
The reality of the matter is rather less appealing – unless it's your 90th birthday. Argentina assembled in Johannesburg last week Thursday from various worldly destinations and were quick to moan at having their vacations truncated by a rugby game.
If the IRB are in no rush to include Argentina in a major tournament then I can hardly see them making an effort to change an international fixture just so the Pumas can return to their respective domestic campaigns sporting fresh tans.
Being in the midst of a re-building phase will do little to aid Argentina in their quest for a maiden victory against South Africa – having lost all twelve previous Tests. Santiago Phelan, Marcelo Loffreda's successor after the World Cup, is still trying to find his best XV as he enters his fourth game in charge.
The biggest area of concern will be at scrum-half, not that anyone expected it to be any different when Augustin Pichot called time on his career last year. Nicolás Vergallo, whilst a solid player, is not in the same class as Pichot and Argentina's game suffers subsequently. A la Robbie Deans and Luke Burgess, Phelan will continue to put faith in his erratic number nine and hope that he comes good given a prolonged period of faith.
The remaining senior players in the Argentinian ranks face a mighty task – muster a performance worthy of their IRB World Ranking, 4th, or suffer what could be an embarrassing defeat. They will also need to be supported by the fresh faces in Phelan's side – one deprived of it's star man Juan Martin Hernandez due to injury.
On the other hand South Africa are using this game to keep the legs and brains ticking over as they enter the business end of their Tri-Nations campaign. Unless Argentina snap out of holiday mode this will be a stroll on the highveld for the Springboks.
Peter de Villiers has done well to resist the temptation of wholesale changes, and even if he had few would have kicked sand in his face for doing so. Rather he is opting to build on some useful foundations – the kind built on rocks such as Victor Matfield, Jean de Villiers and Conrad Jantjes – in order to launch a serious bid on prising All Black hands off the Tri-Nations trophy.
Credit to De Villiers for sticking with his plan then – admittedly a few changes have been made, but nothing too untoward – rather than going down the Graham 'I like to rotate more than a ferris wheel' Henry route. The majority of South Africa's matchday twenty-two have been involved from the start, and barring a few new combinations, know each other inside out.
With Schalk Burger failing to prove his fitness De Villiers has been forced to field a new-look back row unit – which may work to his benefit. With Luke Watson deployed as an outright fetcher Pierre Spies is free to do what he does best – terrorise defences with ball in hand – whilst Juan Smith has a free reign in both attack and defence.
There will be those, myself included, disappointed not to see Andries Bekker given a run out from the off. He has proved he is worthy of inclusion and, given that Bakkies Botha is becoming increasingly predictable in what he does, De Villiers could have used this game to re-assess his options in the second row.
That said De Villiers was quick to stress the importance of this game to the remainder of their Tri-Nations campaign and will hope his players respond accordingly. Now is the time for them to stand tall and take strides towards a first Tri-Nations title since 2004.
Ones to Watch:
For South Africa: Due to his average form of late you will want to keep an eye on how Butch James goes at fly-half, although it is his wing man Jongi Nokwe who deserves some close attention. In for the injured Bryan Habana he is one of the few players in the game quicker than his predecessor, but with it all to prove. If he can match Habana's efforts on his first start – two tries – then he will be happy. There is no doubting his pace, but against the physical Argentines he will need to make all of his 80kg count.
For Argentina: Keeping John Smit out of any side is no mean feat, which is why you will want to observe how Mario Ledesma goes at hooker. For the best part of last season the two battled it out at Clermont, with Ledesma winning the nod from Vern Cotter more often than not. Equally adept doing the hard work up front as he is popping up on the wing with ball in hand there is no doubting Ledesma is the heartbeat of the Argentina pack. He will need to conjure a vintage display if the Pumas are to succeed in keeping the score respectable.
Head-to-Head: A classic battle at fly-half is brewing – the temperamental Felipe Contepomi will look to strut his stuff against the out of sorts Butch James. We all know how good Contepomi can be, but for all that is brilliant about his rugby there is an equal measure of foolishness that hinders him – as seen in the second Test against Scotland when he was yellow carded for a pathetic act of petulance. Then there is James, a star performer at the World Cup and in the two-Test series against Wales, but a lacklustre passenger thus far in the Tri-Nations. Still, De Villiers keeps faith with the Bath pivot, and anything less than a return to form could result in a new fly-half being installed for the vital All Blacks clash at Newlands next weekend.
Recent Results:
2007: South Africa won 37-13, Stade de France (RWC)
2005: South Africa won 34-23, Velez Sarsfield
2004: South Africa won 39-7, Velez Sarsfield
2003: South Africa won 26-25, Boet Erasmus
2002: South Africa won 49-29, P.A.M.Brink Stadium
2000: South Africa won 37-33, River Plate Stadium
1996: South Africa won 44-21, Ferrocaril Oeste
1996: South Africa won 46-15, Ferrocaril Oeste
1994: South Africa won 46-26, Argentina Ellis Park
1994: South Africa won 42-22, Boet Erasmus
1993: South Africa won 52-23, Ferrocaril Oeste
1993: South Africa won 29-26, Ferrocaril Oeste
Prediction: It is hard to see anything but another Springbok victory, the question remains as to how convincing it will be. Argentina are a shadow of their World Cup side whilst South Africa know a fluid performance could see them put a healthy score on the board. The danger is complacency and lack of game time as units, still, they will prevail once more. South Africa by at least 15 points.
The Teams:
South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5