GOOD NEWS: Springboks record in Nelspruit is PERFECT

The good news for supporters of the world champions is that the Springboks have never lost in Nelspruit. Check out their record …

Rugby Championship: South Africa vs Argentina Nelspruit Springboks Rassie Erasmus

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus. Image: SA Rugby website

The Springboks will be out for redemption after slipping to a shock 29-28 defeat against Argentina on Saturday in Santiago which cost them the chance of wrapping up the Rugby Championship with one round to play.

Never lost in Nelspruit

The Springboks travelled back to South Africa on a flight with Los Pumas directly after the match and will resume their full training programme on Monday.

The sides will do battle at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit this weekend.

Kick-off is at 17:00.

The Springboks are five points ahead of Argentina in the standings and all they need to do to secure the title for just the second time in the 13-year existence of the tournament is to:

Win, draw, pick up a losing bonus point or deny the Pumas a winning bonus point.

Simple …

The Rugby Championship log after five rounds. Springboks and Argentina Image: Screenshot. — ***The Rugby Championship log after five rounds. Image: Screenshot***

Coach Rassie Erasmus announced that the players who were rested for the Argentina leg of the tournament would rejoin the squad in Nelspruit.

The good news for supporters of the world champions is that the Springboks have never lost in Nelspruit.

In their four matches played at the stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Springboks have beaten Scotland, Wales, Argentina and New Zealand.

Date	Opponent	Score
15 June 2013	Scotland	Won 30-17
21 June 2014	Wales	Won 31-30
20 August 2016	Argentina	Won 30-23
6 August 2022	New Zealand	Won 26-10

Springboks deeply disappointed after loss to Argentina

Following last Saturday’s result, captain Salmaan Moerat stated: “There were parts of the game when we put them under pressure, and after the yellow card we took our foot off the pedal. Simply said, it was not good enough from us out there.

“Argentina are a tough team to play at home, and as we said in the week, if you do not pitch up fully, they can punish you, and they showed that.”

Erasmus admitted that after their strong start to the game, it was important to build on that momentum, but he said the yellow card to Arendse for a dangerous tackle was the turning point in the game.

“We started well and I’m always nervous when we start well because we generally tend to fight back hard,” said Erasmus.

“But we should have put them away early on. That said, they did well to exploit the yellow card, and that’s where the momentum swung.”

WHERE THE SPRINGBOKS STAND IN THE WORLD RANKINGS

Rank	Country	Points
1	Ireland	92.12
2	South Africa	91.77
3	New Zealand	88.70
4	France	86.96
5	England	85.40
6	Argentina	84.30
7	Scotland	82.82
8	Italy	79.98
9	Fiji	79.64
10	Australia	79.32
11	Wales	76.04
12	Georgia	74.10
13	Samoa	72.68
14	Japan	72.31
15	Portugal	70.61
16	Tonga	68.12
17	Uruguay	67.39
18	Spain	66.29
19	USA	65.70
20	Romania	62.62