2021 Rugby Championship – South Africa vs Argentina Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is South Africa vs Argentina taking place? South Africa vs Argentina will take place on Saturday 14th August, 2021 at 16:05 (UK)
Where is South Africa vs Argentina taking place? South Africa vs Argentina will take place at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth
Where can I get tickets for South Africa vs Argentina? Ticket information for South Africa vs Argentina can be found on each country’s official rugby union website
What TV channel is South Africa vs Argentina on in the UK? Sky Sports will be showing South Africa vs Argentina live
Where can I stream South Africa vs Argentina in the UK? Sky Sports subscribers can stream South Africa vs Argentina live on Sky Go
THE TEAM NEWS
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Aphelele Fassi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nché
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Dan du Preez, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Morné Steyn
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Santiago Chocobares, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Matías Moroni, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Facundo Isa, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Carlos Muzzio, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Tomás Lavanini, 20 Matías Alemanno, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
THE PREDICTION
South Africa have made 12 changes to their starting XV after a famous 2-1 series win over the British & Irish Lions in Cape Town last Sunday. The Springboks lost the first test to a better-practised Lions outfit before rallying to play well in the second battle, keeping the Lions from scoring a try at all, and then were at their wiliest in the third test in a stop-start match full of gamesmanship and guile. The 2019 Rugby World Cup champions start the Rugby Championship off with the most comfortable fixture here as they host Argentina but the Pumas are no pushovers as they proved last season.
Argentina held Australia to two draws and beat New Zealand in the Tri-Nations Series, with South Africa not travelling due to the pandemic, to finish in second place behind the All Blacks. They will be eager to build on that performance but the element of surprise was their friend last year and they will have to start at the peak of their powers against this now battle-hardened Springboks outfit. Given what we saw in the Lions series, South Africa should be able to cover a cautious -10 at home here in what should be an exciting clash.
