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Venue: Jonsson Kings Park
Time: 17:05 CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Only thing Argies have going for them is they were very strong in SR, and now have the same coach in Mario Ledesma, meaning if they can bring that form through they should be strong and well organised, that logic has failed in the past though.
Realistically this is a must win for the Bokke, at the very least the Aus and Argentina home games need to be won.
Three wins should be minimum.
What counts in our favour?
- We are experiencing good form after the England series
- there is euphoria in the Springbok camp following the axing of Coetzee
- Coaching setup is better now than it has been for years
- Some big names have come back such as Etzebeth and Francois Louw
What counts against us performing well?
- Folau and his Australian team will be very tough this year, Cheika has always built for the long term and he has been in his job for a while now
- Our best player against England in Vermeulen is playing in Japan
- Ledesma has taken over at the Pumas and this should ensure some more continuity in terms of tactics and player management
Argentina has been beating us for a number of years in Argentina. There is no doubt in my mind that the Argentina that the RC sides will face this year will be the best Arg side since their introduction to the Rugby Championship. With that said i think tactically the Boks are at one of their strongest points in years and even though the pumas will be even better this year than in previous years i think we should be winning Argentina home and away.
The Aussies should at the very least be beaten at home. No draws like last year. I dont think we will beat them away from home.
The All Blacks looks good again following the Crusaders dominance but if we play all our Sharks players against them then we have a realistic chance at beating them at home, and if we win all the home fixtures with maybe a win in ARG then we can win the RC. Thats probably a bit optimistic though so if we can win all the home fixtures then i would consider the RC a success.
You guys are a lot more confident than I am...
A pass for me would be beating Arg home and away and beating Aus at home (losing the rest), I think we'll have to settle for beating Arg and Aus at home. Beating NZ at all is a pipe dream imo. Hope I'm wrong!
I'd replace Orie with Mostert or RG Snyman as well, but again, transformation goals. All things considered it's a good team.I'd replace Mapoe with Kriel
I'd replace Orie with Mostert or RG Snyman as well, but again, transformation goals. All things considered it's a good team.
I'd replace Orie with Mostert or RG Snyman as well, but again, transformation goals. All things considered it's a good team.
I'd forgotten about Snyman, he was immense against England. I'd have him on instead of PSDT/Orie
Talking points for the coming match for me:
- Siya and Whiteley playing together worries me a bit, they both work fairly hard in defense but on attack they both tend to be "link" players who tend to hang out in wide areas of the pitch. This means we don't really have an out an out ball carrying loose forward in the mold of Vermulen, JLDP, Alberts etc. However both our locks ARE known for their ball carrying and our front row can do a job (especially Marx) so maybe they can pick up the slack in this area. I would have been tempted to start Kitsoff, just for the added ball carrying.
- In the centres I think we have the best opportunity for penetration, particularly in the Ezcurra/Sanchez channel, Ezcurra has never impressed me in defense and I'm not even sure his best position is 12 (the Pumas are missing de la Fuente here) Esterhuizen has 15cms and 20kgs on him so this is really his chance to shine.
- Out wide is my biggest concern, Dyantyi can tackle just fine but tends to cut in leaving space out wide, Mampimpi is known for his poor defending, at the same time Delguy (one of the players of the Jaguares season in my view) and Moyano are absolutely electric so any mistakes out wide are going to lead to tries, I would be surprised if both of the Pumas wings score this weekend.
- The return of Figallo will be interesting for the Pumas, I would usually back the Springbok pack to match the Pumas, but his addition has made this a little bit of an unknown quantity, I can't help but feel Beast and Malherbe are not our best tight and loose heads.
All this considered with regards to Pumas form vs South African form, and home venue I do expect the boks to win by 10+ points but if they underestimate the Pumas this could actually get ugly, similarly to how the English scored 3 tries against us in what felt like a couple minutes.