Springboks arrive in Mbombela to face Argentina after narrow defeat

The Springboks have made it to Mpumalanga for their final-round showdown with Argentina in the Rugby Championship. Late on Saturday night, the Boks lost by one point in rural Argentina to Los Pumas, as both sides continued to fight for the Championship.

This weekend, at the Mbombela Stadium, South Africa have their final chance to win the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019, and give Argentina some payback in the process.

The Springboks know that they travelled quite a distance only to lose the match in the end. They blew their first opportunity to wrap up the Rugby Championship, but now they are in the lowveld and they have another shot at taking the tournament honours.

Springboks scrum coach Daan Human took a long view on the experience in Argentina, saying it could serve the players well in the future.

“We always knew it was going to be tough playing them there. There are a couple of guys who played there for the first time, which is not always(the case). They have not been there. They don’t know the stadium pressure. For them, it was an experience as well and hopefully, for them going forward, they would have learned something out of it,” says Human.

The team was quick to take responsibility for the loss because while Manie Libbok may have missed a crucial kick, it was the collective that got them into this predicament.

Bok scrumhalf, Jaden Hendrikse says he continues to back Libbok 100%.

“When Manie was at the Sharks, I backed him 100%. Even if he does something wrong, I will still back him; even if he kicks a miss, I will 100% back him like coach Tony showed us. Now in the review, we had a lot of opportunities. So, we can’t say it was the last kick. We had a lot of opportunities in the game to clinch it.”

The Springboks experienced first-hand what New Zealand and Australia had already felt, that Argentina means business, and has taken their biggest step up since their participation in the Rugby Championship.

Human says, “We are all desperate like they are, I think. It is the best time ever since they are part of the championship that they actually had three good results against all three teams.”

The Boks were taken to a far-flung corner of Argentina for round five, and now in the final round, they can repay Los Pumas the favour in the Bushveld.