Erasmus ready for 'high stakes' Argentina clash in Rugby Championship finale / Photo: Michael Bradley - AFP
Erasmus ready for 'high stakes' Argentina clash in Rugby Championship finale
South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said his side are set for a "high stakes" finale against Argentina as they look to win consecutive Rugby Championship titles for the first time.
The Springboks have won a record four Rugby World Cups, including the two most recent editions in 2019 and 2023.
But successive titles in the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, also featuring New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, have so far eluded South Africa.
They head into this Saturday's final round of matches sitting a point ahead of New Zealand following a 67-30 hammering of Argentina in Durban last weekend.
That result also left them with a huge points difference advantage over New Zealand, which is one of several tie-breakers if the top two finish level.
Although South Africa are title favourites, Erasmus expects a stern challenge from Argentina at the neutral venue of Twickenham in London.
South Africa only led 25-23 at half-time in their last meeting with Argentina and Erasmus, speaking after Tuesday's team announcement, he said: "I think the final score flattered us a little bit. At minute 65, it was still a very close game.
"Then they ran out of reserves, and they were 14 men for the last 12 minutes, when we scored a couple of tries. We expect a big fight back from them."
With a historic second successive title in sight, Erasmus said concentrating on their own game would be key for the Springboks.
"The focus for us is on what we have to do to try to win the competition twice in a row for the first time, so the stakes are high for us," he added.
"Probably for us it's a bit nerve-wracking because we have to win this game to win the Rugby Championship."
Erasmus has retained rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fly-half, with the only change to the starting team that won in Durban the return of fit-again prop Ox Nche.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu confirmed his standing as an extraordinary talent with a Springbok record 37 points -- including three tries -- against the Pumas last weekend.
Erasmus believes this week's match marks an important stage in the 23-year-old's development after he resisted the "very inviting" temptation to recall the experienced Handre Pollard.
"It's not him that makes the big hype about it. If he makes a big hype about himself he won't stay in our team for long," Erasmus said.
"Sometimes a game like that (against Argentina) puts more pressure on you in the next game, so we're putting him through his paces to experience this pressure.
"Even if he does well or not, he'll be a better player afterwards."
The Rugby Championship could be scrapped completely in 2026, or at least truncated, with New Zealand set to visit South Africa for the kind of three-Test tour that was a staple of rugby union's amateur era.
"We love playing against Argentina, and against Australia, and I'm not quite sure how that's going to work out," Erasmus said.
J.Schmidt--BVZ
