[WATCH] Tough crowd: Boks expect hostile reception in Buenos Aires for Argentina Test
|Published
DETERMINED: Bok No.8 Jasper Wiese is min gespin about the Pumas support
It’s make or break for South Africa against Argentina in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Second on the tournament standings - trailing New Zealand by two points after four rounds - the Springboks only top Australia and Argentina because of a superior points difference.
And with two rounds to play, they have everything to play for this week.
Hunting a bonus point win, the Springboks will know it won’t be easy in Argentina’s backyard - a place waar jy nie sommer kom om te wen nie.
Former Springbok flanker Schalk Burger once likened visiting Argentina to playing for Maties at Florida Park against Tygerberg.
Current No.8 Jasper Wiese, though, says it’s just another away game.
He explains: “You always have to deal with the crowd wherever you go. Argentina is a proud country and I don’t see them as a team that goes away at home, in fact even when they’re not playing at home.
“It is something any team has to deal with when playing abroad - any team has to deal with the crowd...”
The Boks can’t risk being intimidated by the crowd and should only focus on one thing - winning and drukking hard for a bonus point.
👍 It will be tough, but Makazole Mapimpi says excitement is building in the Bok camp for their Test against the Pumas next weekend - more here: https://t.co/GpIzotWxM9#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #CastleRugbyChampionship #ARGvRSA pic.twitter.com/W4J4He6V7v
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 9, 2022
Wiese says of a possible five points: “Every team is playing for a bonus point at this stage of the tournament. You just you want to keep in mind that you’ve got to show up to win it. We will try our best to try and make the country proud.”
One man who will be looking to help the team get the three tries or more for a bonus point is wing Makazole Mapimpi.
To him, the job is simple: “When having half chances you must score - it’s important to finish off those chances as a wing.”
Following their match in Argentina, the Springboks then host the Pumas in Durban in the final round of the competition.