The opening round in the Rugby Championship starts in South Africa at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit where the Springboks host Argentina’s Pumas.
The last time these teams met was in the third v fourth play off in the Rugby World Cup but their last meeting in the Rugby Championship was in Durban where the Pumas beat the Springboks.
While the Springboks will be wanting revenge for that loss several of the players have retired since then so the revenge factor will not be as big as it could have been.
That Argentina victory is the only time in the two team’s history that Argentina have beaten South Africa.
Overall South Africa have played Argentina 22 times since 1993 and the Springboks have won all but two which gives them a record of winning 91% of their matches.
This weekend the match will be played on South African soil where the teams have met on 9 of the contests. The Boks only loss on SA soil was that Durban shock last year so South Africa have won eight of the nine.
The average score when South Africa host Argentina in South Africa is : South Africa 40 Argentina 19.
In terms of selection Argentina will be led by captain Agustin Creevy who wins his 50th Test cap this weekend.
Flanker Juan Manuel Leguizamon partners Pablo Matera in the back row with Facundo Isa making up the loose trio.
In the backs Nicolas Sanchez links up with Martin Landajo while Joaquín Tuculet and Santiago Cordero and Manuel Montero make up the back three. Juan Martín Hernández and Matías Orlando are the centres.
South Africa have started Johan Goosen at fullback while head coach Allister Coetzee has also included Julian Redelinghuys, Bryan Habana, Oupa Mohoje and Lood de Jager in the starting side.
Redelinghuys, capped four times, comes in at tighthead as replacement for the injured Frans Malherbe, who is struggling with a neck injury.
Lock De Jager has recovered from the calf injury he sustained against Ireland in June and takes over the No 5 jersey from Pieter-Steph du Toit, who will provide cover from the bench.
The third change in the pack sees the return to the starting line-up of Mohoje as replacement for Siya Kolisi, who recently underwent ankle surgery.
In the back division, Springbok record try scorer Bryan Habana will run out in his 118th Test after he was named as left wing, while he was also confirmed as the Springbok vice-captain.
The Pumas side is made up of the best players from the Jaguares Super Rugby side. That team struggled this year due to the amount of travel and standard in Super Rugby. They will still be a little fatigued from the travel this year .
The Springboks have included more of Lions players in their starting line up for this match so one can expect a better performance that what was delivered in June.
This Match will be shown on TV in NZ (Sky), Aus (Fox Sports), SA (SuperSport) and in the UK on Sky Sports 4/HD.
Average score: South Africa 36 Argentina 19
Last five results
Fri, 30 Oct 2015 WC 3&4 South Africa v Argentina 24-13 2:1 4-0 Olympic Stadium, London N
Sat, 15 Aug 2015 WU South Africa v Argentina 26-12 2:0 4-0 Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires A
Sat, 08 Aug 2015 RC South Africa v Argentina 25-37 3:4 0-5 Kings Park Stadium, Durban H
Sat, 23 Aug 2014 RC South Africa v Argentina 33-31 3:3 4-1 Salta A
Sat, 16 Aug 2014 RC South Africa v Argentina 13-6 1:0 4-1 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria H
South Africa’s overall record against Argentina
Played 22, Wins 20, Losses 1, Draws 1
Match No.2:South Africa v Argentina
Date : 20 Aug 2016
Venue : Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick Off local: 17.00
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Ref 1:Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Ref 2:Ben O’Keeffe (New Zelaand)
TMO : George Ayoub (Australia)
Teams
South Africa
15 Johan Goosen, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c) , Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Juan de Jongh, 23 Jesse Kriel
Argentina
15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Felipe Arregui, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Ramiro Moyano
