Springboks
Salman Moerat will lead a Springbok team that shows 10 changes to the starting line-up for the penultimate Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash against Los Pumas in Santiago del Estero on Saturday.
Victory will see the Boks claim the Championship title for the first time since 2019, should they avoid defeat by the in-form Pumas.
Coach Rassie Erasmus also retained five players in the starting lineup from the team that defeated New Zealand 18-12 in Cape Town.
They are Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Jasper Wiese, Handre Pollard, and Jesse Kriel.
Lukhanyo Am (centre) and Malcolm Marx (hooker) will start, while Eben Etzebeth joins the retained bomb squad.
Etzebeth will equal Victor Matfield’s Springbok record of 127 Test appearances if he takes the field.
“It would be amazing to wrap up the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title this weekend, but it won’t be easy, and we have a bigger picture in mind as well, which is to build squad depth with an eye on the 2027 World Cup,” said Erasmus.
“The only way we can do that is to expose the younger players to tough opposition under difficult circumstances, and so far, all of them have risen to that challenge.
"We’re excited about this squad and to see what the younger players can do in pretty tough playing conditions with such a passionate support base in Argentina and also at a new stadium," he said.
The Springbok team to face Argentina in Santiago del Estero:
15 – Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 7 caps, 15 points (3t)
14 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 20 caps, 85 points (17t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 75 caps, 80 points (16t)
12 – Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 38 caps, 35 pts (7t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 44 caps, 150 points (30t)
10 – Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 75 caps, 739 points (7t, 100c, 163p, 5dg)
9 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 35 caps, 65 pts (13t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 29 caps, 5 points (1t)
7 – Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 5 points (1t)
6 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 22 caps, 10 pts (2t)
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 0 points
4 – Salmaan Moerat (captain, DHL Stormers) – 9 caps, 0 points
3 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 20 caps, 0 pts
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 71 caps, 100 points (20t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 35 caps, 0 points
Replacements:
16 – Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5 points (1t)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 6 caps, 0 points
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 56 caps, 0 points
19 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 126 caps, 30 points (6t)
20 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 0 points
21 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 47 caps, 45 points (9t)
22 – Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 16 caps, 12 pts (2t, 1c)
23 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 16 caps, 91 pts (1t, 28c, 10p)
