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Sacha, Siya, Eben and other big guns back in Bok starting team

rugby04 August 2026 17:51
By:Gavin Rich
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Springboks © Gallo Images

As anticipated Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is using the test against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday as an opportunity to assess the match readiness of a number of experienced World Cup winners ahead of the four-match Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.

Although the party line out of the Boks since they arrived in Buenos Aires, and indeed before departure, has been that the focus is squarely on the challenge posed by the Los Pumas on their home ground, the match is also timed to be the last warmup opportunity before the big event of the year kicks off in Johannesburg two weeks later.

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With that in mind, there is perfect timing to the return to fitness of the World Cup-winning forwards Siya Kolisi (2019 and 2023), Eben Etzebeth (2019 and 2023) and Lood de Jager (2019), all of whom have yet to play this season due to injury.

Kolisi did lead the team in the first Bok outing of the international season against the Barbarians in Gqeberha in June, but that match did not qualify for official international status.

Thomas du Toit, who was the starting tighthead for most of last year, also returns after playing just one half against England at Ellis Park on 4 July, while at the back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is back in the No 10 jersey he excelled in during the second half of last year’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship and during the November tour.

Andre Esterhuizen, out since being concussed when he came on as a replacement in the first test of the Nations Championship against England, gets a chance to start at centre, while Canan Moodie, who has missed out because of injury too, partners him in the midfield.

Esterhuizen and Moodie were in fact the Bok midfield on the night they beat the All Blacks by what was then a record 35-7 in a buildup game to the 2023 World Cup played at Twickenham.

Of course, the Boks eclipsed that record when they won 43-10 in Wellington last year and guess what, Moodie was also at outside centre in that game.

Ethan Hooker is back on the left wing, while Erasmus appears to be giving Aphelele Fassi, who must now be second in line to Damian Willemse at fullback, plenty of time to find his timing and form, something he has struggled with so far in the international season after being injured for much of the recent Vodacom URC season.

Fassi is one of only two players who started for the Boks in their last game against Wales in Durban, the other being scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, who gets another chance to shake off any rust that may be lingering after his own injury layoff.

There are four players who were involved in the Hollywoodbets Kings Park game on the bench, with Gehard Steenekamp moving to a backup role after starting against Wales and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ben-Jason Dixon and Marco van Staden continuing as part of what looks like a traditional Bok ‘Bomb Squad’, with six forwards and just two backs.

While there will be a lot of focus on Saturday night on how the experienced players come through, and Handre Pollard, who is the only outside back listed on the bench, is one of those, there are also players getting an opportunity to show what they can do - namely the Bulls trio of hooker Johan Grobbelaar and loose-forwards Elright Louw and Cameron Hanekom.

The latter was pressed into playing on the blindside flank after getting an emergency call against England but this is his first start in his regular position of No 8.

It is interesting to note that Wessels appears to be covering hooker in this game, and not loosehead prop, as Erasmus completes what has been a thorough audit of his resources in the early games of the new international season.

Another player who is making his seasonal debut after missing the Nations Championship games with injury is Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Bergh.

'PUMAS WILL HAVE A POINT TO PROVE'

“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 play Argentina: Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobbelaar, Boan Venter.

Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Cobus Wiese, Marco van Staden, Morne van den Bergh, Handre Pollard.

STATS & 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 T\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.

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