Kwagga Smith and his Springbok manskap want to boss Argentina at the breakdown in the hopes of wrapping up the Rugby Championship with a fifth win in a row.
The South African team arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday evening where they will stay on to finalise their preparation before travelling to Santiago del Estero on Wednesday to tackle Los Pumas in Saturday’s possible title decider.
Smith played a leading role off the bench in the Springboks’ back-to-back wins over New Zealand, but says the guys normally starting ahead of him must cut the Pumas’ claws with the Argies predicted to pick Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer and Juan Martin Gonzalez as starting backrow.
Of how dangerous this Pumas loose-trio can be after seeing them klap Australia 67-27, Smith says: “Matera and all those boys are really good players. They have been in the system a long time.
“If you look at the amount of caps he [Matera] has and then Kremer – depending on if he plays lock of flank – it is a backrow combination with close to a 100 caps.
“If there is something they will bring to the game it is that experience and because they are Argentinian, they will be really passionate.
“They are great players and the breakdown is going to be a massive challenge and then also the physical battle in the set-piece...”