It will be a game of thrones when the Springboks host Argentina at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit tomorrow, with the crown of Rugby Championship champs up for grabs at 5pm.
The Springboks will be looking to make it a jol in Nelspruit, with lock ‘king’ Eben Etzebeth set to overtake Victor Matield’s 127 caps to become the most-capped Springbok of all time with 128.
The celebrations will only go down lekker if the Boks win, though, with the 29-28 defeat to Los Pumas last weekend opening the door for the visitors to snatch the title at the death.
To do that, Argentina need a bonus-point win, while denying SA a losing bonus point.
That will leave both on 19 points, with Los Pumas then taking the crown because of beating the South Africans back-to-back.
Bok hooker Bongi Mbonambi doesn’t want to leave it to chance and says: “It’s going to be a tough game, but we are looking forward to it. We’ll prepare as best as we can...
“We understand the magnitude [of the occasion]...”
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 26, 2024
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am.
Eben Etzebeth will become the most-capped Springbok of all time in Nelspruit on Saturday - team announcement: https://t.co/7il888zjh3 4⃣🇿🇦#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/Cdl0l4vrL4
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 24, 2024
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia.
Sudáfrica 🔜✈️
— Los Pumas (@lospumas) September 22, 2024
👉 Conocé el plantel que viajará esta noche rumbo a Nelspruit para la última fecha del Visa Macro Rugby Championship 2024. #SomosLosPumas pic.twitter.com/ylFUEOEwTW