Last Chance Saloon for Boks' stars against Argentina

The shrill of referee Nika Amashukeli's whistle to start the Springboks' clash against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday may as well make way for the sound of a bell.

For the overwhelming majority of the men clad in green, the match is the equivalent of the last round in the Last Chance Saloon. Some will only get a shot off the bench.

The Springbok squad for the Rugby World Cup (RWC) will be named on Tuesday and for a great many this warm-up match will be tackled with a great sense of urgency.

As many as 10 starters and five players, one of whom would be a very long shot, on the bench, will have some convincing to do.

Canan Moodie, André Esterhuizen, Cobus Reinach, Deon Fourie, Marvin Orie, Jean Kleyn, Thomas du Toit and Trevor Nyakane will have a point to prove, while fellow starters Franco Mostert and Makazole Mapimpi, may want to remind what got them RWC winners medals four years ago.

Naturally the Bok bench is also populated with men like Joseph Dweba, Jean-Luc du Preez, Evan Roos and Herschel Jantjies who need to leave a lasting impression. Gerhard Steenekamp will need a lot to go his way, if he is to earn a seat north.

On Tuesday head coach Jacques Nienaber will unveil 33 names that will represent the country in France and there are about a dozen in this match-day squad who are not dead certs.

With 13 changes to the starting team that did duty in Johannesburg, the men in Buenos Aires may well suffer similar afflictions to the team that ran out at Ellis Park.

That team too showed sweeping changes from the one that lost to the All Blacks and it was reflected in the lack of cohesion and continuity in attack in their narrow 22-21 victory last weekend.

What makes the assignment even more tricky is that while Los Pumas have become redoubtable opponents on the road, they are particularly feisty beasts at home.

The Boks will have to show improvement in several key areas and the withdrawal of lock Lood de Jager due to illness is untimely as the line-out is an area the visitors need to up their game. In Marvin Orie however, they have a player highly regarded for his expertise in that facet.

The Boks will likely also be tested in the air in general play, especially now that beanpole outside back Emiliano Boffelli is back in the Pumas team.

He is not the only change to the team.

Juan Cruz Mallia has been handed a two-week ban for the aerial challenge last week that led to a concussion for Springbok scrumhalf Grant Williams. Martin Bogado takes his place at fullback, while Boffelli comes in for Mateo Carreras on the wing. Santiago Cordero is on the other wing at the expense of Santiago Cordero.

In the pack Pedro Rubiolo replaces injured lock Lucas Paulos,

As if they need more reason to be swept away in the moment, the crowd will likely revel in former captain Agustin Creevy playing in his 100th Test should he be summoned from the bench.

He has been one of the enduring character in the Argentina team but perhaps more importantly, he is a man of character.

It is a commodity coach Michael Cheika believes his team has in spades. “They have a tight knit brotherhood. Now we want to build more belief into the character so that they can back themselves a little bit more,” said Cheika.

After last week's near miss in Johannesburg the coach is keen to see his team's effort backed up with a positive result.

“We competed very well but we were unlucky not to get the chocolates. We want to play at a level we've never played at. Now we get a chance in Buenos Aires to see where we can improve again.

“We get an opportunity to play in Buenos Aires against the World Champions before we leave to go to the RWC. That is an opportunity we would really like to take.”

Teams

Argentina — Martin Bogado; Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Santiago Cordero; Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou; Juan Martin Gonzalez, Santiago Grondona, Pablo Matera; Tomas Lavanini, Pedro Rubiolo; Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo.

Substitutes: Augustin Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Guido Petti, Facundo Isa, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Tomas Albornoz, Matias Moroni.

South Africa — Damian Willemse; Canan Moodie, Lukhanyo Am, André Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Manie Libbok, Cobus Reinach; Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Deon Fourie; Marvin Orie, Jean Kleyn; Thomas du Toit, Bongi Mbonambi (captain), Trevor Nyakane.

Substitutes: Joseph Dweba, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Jean-Luc du Preez, Evan Roos; Herschel Jantjies, Jesse Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Kickoff: 9.10 (SA time)

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Chris Busby (Ireland) TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)