Malcolm Marx of South Africa with the ball during The Rugby Championship match between South Africa and Argentina at Emirates Airline Park on July 29, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images via Getty Images.
The Springboks departed for Argentina on Saturday afternoon ready for a battle of epic proportions next weekend against their Castle Lager Rugby Championship title opponents, Argentina, in Santiago del Estero, where victory would secure the title for the double Rugby World Champions.
The Boks enter the match as the only unbeaten team in the competition, needing three more log points from their next two matches against Los Pumas to seal the title for the first time since 2019, but Erasmus refused to write off the hosts, who defeated New Zealand in their opening match of the tournament and registered a 67-27 win against Australia last week to stay in the title race.
“It doesn’t matter how one looks at it – we don’t want to lose against Argentina, and it’s exactly the same for them,” said Erasmus.
“They must firmly believe they are still in the running for the trophy, so whether we win, or they win, both teams will be very hungry.”
Erasmus expected a stern test for the Boks, especially in a country where the support base has traditionally come across as hostile to visiting teams, and he was open about the fact that Los Pumas would be as desperate as the Springboks for a victory given their passionate home crowd and the high stakes for both teams in the match.
The teams will meet again at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday 28 September in the closing match of the tournament, where the winner of the Rugby Championship will be crowned.
“It’s definitely hostile over there, but we don’t find them to be hostile in terms of fear, but rather passionate fans enjoying supporting their team,” said Erasmus.
“They have a few legends there, and they are a well-coached team that beat the All Blacks and registered the biggest score ever over Australia, so in their hearts we have no doubt they’ll believe they can beat us.”
Erasmus added: “I think it will come down to preparation, who pitches up the best on the day, and which side is the most desperate because I don’t think there’s much separating the teams.”
The Bok coach was delighted to have two days with the team in Stellenbosch to get them into the right mindset for the challenge ahead and for the coaches to put the groundwork in place for the encounter.
“Camps are always valuable, especially if you are going to try players in different positions, and the guys definitely used the two days together as well as they could,” he said.
“The journey to Argentina is a bit of a stretch, but at least we’ve done some work on them, so when we arrive there on Sunday hopefully, we can hit the ground running.”
The Boks left for Argentina on Saturday, flying via Sao Paulo before they will travel to Buenos Aires before making the trip to Santiago del Estero on Wednesday night. The match, at Estadio Unico Madre Ciudades, kicks off at 23h00 (SA time) on Saturday, 21 September.
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