The loosehead prop Ox Nché has been forced to withdraw from the all-important Test after picking up a niggle in training. This sees another former Cheetah in Boan Venter promoted from the bench into the starting XV for the must-win clash. 

The change has also led to flanker Marco van Staden joining the squad on the bench, where he will serve as back-up hooker.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels was originally set to be the back-up hooker, but will now wear the number 17 jersey and provide cover for Venter. He could still be called upon to play hooker if needed.

Marco van Staden in action against Argentina. Photo: Gallo

While Van Staden is primarily a flanker, he has previously served as hooker for the Springboks during the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, where South Africa claimed the Webb Ellis Trophy for a record fourth time.

Although a bonus-point win would be ideal, with all four teams still in contention for the Rugby Championship, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus stressed the importance of securing the victory first.

“Two years ago, we learned a tough lesson,” said Erasmus.

“Australia only had to kick the ball out against New Zealand, but they took too long, and it changed the whole picture. Suddenly, we needed to beat Argentina by 40 points here in Durban to win the Rugby Championship, and we ended up chasing the game instead of focusing on the win.

“We won’t make that mistake again. First and foremost, we need to win the Test. Of course, we’ll know what happened in the New Zealand-Australia game, but whatever the outcome there, four points will still keep us in the mix.

“If it opens up for us to score more, that’s great – but we’re not going out to play reckless, running rugby just to chase points. We’re going to play a proper Test match.”

Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Photo: Morgan Piek

Saturday’s Test between the Springboks and Los Pumas at Kings Park is scheduled to kick off at 17:10.

Springboks - 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter

Replacements - 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 André Esterhuizen

Argentina - 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo García, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas

Replacements - 6 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Juan Martín González, 22 Simón Benítez Cruz, 23 Tomás Albornoz

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs