Why Boks reverted to bench ‘bomb squad’ for Argentina battle

On Tuesday it was confirmed that Bok coach Jacques Nienaber made only two changes to his starting team for Saturday’s final round Rugby Championship Test against Argentina, while he also opted to name six forwards and two backs on the replacements bench.

The notable changes amongst the replacements are the return of hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who makes a welcome return from a knee injury, and Kurt-Lee Arendse, who has completed his suspension following a dangerous tackle last month.

BREAKING: FRANS STEYN TO MAKE RARE TEST START AT FLYHALF

Mbonambi will be joined by strong reinforcements in Vincent Koch (prop) and Duane Vermeulen (No 8), who join Mostert and Kwagga Smith as the forwards on the bench.

Faf de Klerk and Arendse, meanwhile, will provide cover amongst the backs, with De Klerk earmarked as the back-up scrumhalf and flyhalf cover, while Arendse will cover fullback and wing depending on how the match unfolds.

STANDINGS: WHAT BOKS NEED TO WIN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

“We know what challenges Argentina will pose and we feel that this would be the best option for us for this match specifically. We have a group of hungry and talented players serving in the bomb squad this week and every player in the match day squad knows what is expected of them if we want to win the Rugby Championship,” Nienaber commented

“We viewed last week as a semi-final and this week as a final, but Argentina are a team that do not give an inch, and they never stop fighting as we saw last week. They defeated New Zealand away from home against the odds and they registered a convincing victory against Australia at home, so we know we are in for a massive battle.

“There will be a few keys to victory this week, and these include set piece dominance, using our opportunities and ensuring that we do the right things in specific areas of the field.

“It is all or nothing for us this week, and we have a team with several players who have won the Rugby World Cup and the British & Irish Lions Series, so they know it will take nothing less than a quality 80-minute effort to win this match and the competition.”

The Springboks are currently level on 14 log points with New Zealand on the Castle Lager Rugby Championship log and trail the All Blacks by 13 points on points’ difference. The Boks, however, will know exactly what they need to do in the match to clinch the title when they take the field as the All Blacks will host Australia in Auckland earlier in the day.

RATINGS: MARX, DE ALLENDE, HENDRIKSE SHINE FOR BOKS

Boks team to face Argentina in Durban:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 78 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5pts (1t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 55 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 45 pts, (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 110 pts (22t)
10 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 77 caps, 156 pts (11t, 10c, 24p, 3d)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)

8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 17 caps, 0 pts
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 70 caps, 35 pts (7t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 105 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 53 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 54 caps, 65 pts (13t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 66 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 51 caps, 55 pts (11t)
17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 14 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Wasps) – 36 caps, 0 pts
19 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 58 caps, 10 pts (2t)
20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 64 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 26 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles) – 41 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5 pts (1t)

STATS & FACTS

Springbok record against Argentina in South Africa:
Played 15, Won 14, Lost 1; Points for 550, Points against 272, Average score 37-17; Tries scored 65, Tries conceded 25; Highest score 73, Biggest win 60 pts (73-13), Win % 93%

Springbok record at Hollywoodbets Kings Park (overall):
Played 34, Won 21, Lost 10, Drawn 3; Points for 835; Points against 601; Tries for 87; Tries against: 59.

Springbok team records at Hollywoodbets Kings Park:
Biggest win: 101-0 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most tries: 15 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most conversions: 13 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most penalty goals: 8 v New Zealand on 1 August 2009
Most drop goals: 3 v South America on 3 May 1980 and v Ireland on 6 June 1981

Milestones:

• Eben Etzebeth will extend his run as the most capped Springbok player against Argentina with this match marking his 19^th Test against Los Pumas from 2012 to 2022.
• Following his two tries last weekend, Malcolm Marx is now the Springbok hooker with the most Test tries – 13. Bongi Mbonambi is second on the list with 11 Test tries.

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 809.
• There are 318 caps in the backline with 491 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 292
• The average caps per player in the backline are 46, the forwards 59, while the players on the bench average 36.