Several Springbok stalwarts return to face Argentina

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday included a host of stalwarts, who will all make a timely return from injury – including captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Morne van den Berg – in a quality match-23 to face Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker, who picked up niggled during the Nations Championship last month, also make a welcome return in a starting team that shows 13 changes to the side that ran out against Wales in the Boks’ last Test.

Seven players who featured in the 43-0 victory over Wales in Durban retained their places in the match-23, only two of whom are the in the starting lineup in Aphelele Fassi (fullback) and Cobus Reinach (scrumhalf).

The other five players – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ben-Jason Dixon, Marco van Staden, Cobus Wiese (all utility forwards), and Gerhard Steenekamp (prop) – have been named on the replacements bench.

The starting team includes a completely new pack, with Boan Venter and Thomas du Toit packing down in the front row with Johan Grobbelaar, while Etzebeth will join forces with De Jager at lock, with Kolisi, Elrigh Louw, and Cameron Hanekom taking over the reins in the loose trio.

In the backline, Reinach and Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the halfbacks, while Esterhuizen will partner Canan Moodie in the midfield. Hooker, Edwill van der Merwe, and Fassi form an exciting back three.

“This match is the perfect occasion for players like Siya, Eben, Lood, Sacha, Morne and the other players returning from injury to get a tough Test under the belt and get back into full swing at international level, as Argentina are a formidable team, who will push us to the limit,” said Erasmus.

“The guys have been working very hard to return from injury and there is no better test to measure where they are than facing the Pumas in Argentina.

“The other players in the squad also all deserve their places and have been waiting patiently as we tested combinations in the last few matches, and one can sense the excitement in the group to get back onto the field.”

Erasmus added: “The Argentineans are very similar to South Africans in many ways. Their passion and patriotism for their country and people, and the way they give everything on the field and keep fighting is a testament to the type of Test match we are expecting this weekend.

“They have beaten us twice in Argentina before and they delivered brave performances in their Nations Championship matches, and will have a point to prove on Saturday, so we are fully aware of the challenge ahead.”

Erasmus was excited to see what the fresh mix of experienced and talented rising players could deliver against a quality Argentina team: “This squad includes a bunch of Rugby World Cup winners and extremely talented young players who have been looking forward to playing again for a while, and others who have been working hard week in and week out to play more regularly.

“They have all adapted very well to the time zone and showed true grit at training, so we have full faith that they will rise to the occasion.”

Zooming in on Los Pumas, Erasmus said: “They are a quality team with players who play in several different competitions and countries, and they are well coached under the guidance of Felipe Contepomi, so we have to be sharp from the outset, accurate in our execution, and convert the chances we create into points if we want to get the desired result.

“They have a strong forward pack and dangerous backs, and they will have a very passionate crowd behind them, so we will have to be at our best to win this match.

“We’ve had to grind out results against them on several occasions in the past, so it will take a proper 80-minute effort this weekend, and we are looking forward to the challenge.”

The match, which will be hosted at Estadio José Amalfitani in the Argentinean capital, kicks off at 21h10 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Springbok team to face Argentina in Buenos Aires:

15 Aphelele Fassi (Toshiba) – 17 caps, 35 pts (7t)

14 Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 6 caps, 25 pts (5t)

13 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 45 pts (9t)

12 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 30 caps, 25 pts (5t)

11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 18 caps, 172 pts (9t, 44c, 13p)

9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 52 caps, 100 pts (20t)

8 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 0 pts

7 Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 14 caps, 10 pts (2t)

6 Siya Kolisi (captain, DHL Stormers) – 103 caps, 70 pts (14t)

5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 73 caps, 25 pts (5t)

4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 141 caps, 45 pts (9t)

3 Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 33 caps, 10 pts (2t)

2 Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls) – 9 caps, 0 pts

1 Boan Venter (Lions) – 9 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 12 caps, 10 pts (2t)

17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 18 caps, 10 pts (2t)

18 Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers) – 5 caps, 5 pts (1t)

19 Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 10 caps, 10 pts (2t)

20 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 0 pts

21 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 35 caps, 20 pts (4t)

22 Morne van den Berg (Lions) – 6 caps, 25 pts (5t)

23 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 86 caps, 830 pts (8t, 129 c, 175 p, 5dg)

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Argentina

Played 40; Won 35; Lost 4; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 411, Points against: 784; Tries scored 167, Tries conceded 76; Highest score 73-13; Biggest winning margin 60 points. Win % 87.5%.

Miscellaneous:

• The Springboks have won 12 of their last 14 matches against the Pumas, dating back to 2018, with their only two defeats being in Argentina, in Santiago Del Estero (2024) and in Mendoza (in 2018).
• The Springboks remain unbeaten against Los Pumas in Buenos Aires dating back to 1993, although there have been some tight scores between the teams in South America.
• Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, and Morne van den Berg will all play their first Test matches of the 2026.
• Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 142 Tests when he takes the field on Saturday.
• The last time the teams met in Argentina was in 2024, when the Springboks went down 29-28 in Santiago del Estero.
• The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 541. There are 157 caps in the backline, with 384 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 176 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 22, the forwards 48, while the players on the bench average 22.