Although the Pumas are technically the hosts, had the must-win clash not been moved to London, it would have been played in Argentina – where the Boks would have had to deal with a hostile crowd.

The 92-Test veteran told OFM Sport he expects it to be a level playing field this weekend, as both teams know the venue well. He added that it is a lot easier travelling to London, as jet lag does not come into play.

Ox Nché and Thomas du Toit. Photo: Morgan Piek

“I wouldn’t say it’s a lot easier – I think the travelling was a lot easier and, obviously, there’s no jet lag, so nothing to fight in that part,” said De Allende.

“It’s a neutral ground, and we have played here quite a lot against different opposition in the past, so we are familiar with it. But, having said that, Argentina have also played here often against England.

“So, yes, I don’t think there’s any advantage for them or for us. It is a neutral ground. I think there have already been 60,000 tickets sold, and I expect the atmosphere in the stadium to be incredible. We’re all looking forward to that.

“I don’t see either of us having an advantage. I think they also travelled on Sunday, so we’ve been here for about the same amount of time. If we were going to Argentina, it would be a bit tougher to beat the jet lag, but, like I said, we don’t have to deal with that now.

“We just fell straight back into our normal routines – sleeping patterns, making sure we recover well, train well, and prepare properly for Saturday.”

The Boks are the strong favourites to win back-to-back Championships, something they have never managed before. While they are still riding the high of last week’s 67-30 drubbing of the Argentines in Durban, 29-Test capped tighthead prop Thomas du Toit stressed that they must only focus on Saturday’s 80 minutes.

Thomas du Toit. Photo: Morgan Piek

“We approach each match as a new block, so this week we trained as though we would for any other Test week,” said Du Toit.

“It was all about going back to basics and sticking to our processes, because last week’s result is history. This is a new game and a fresh challenge, so what happened in Durban has no significance.”

Saturday’s Test between Argentina and the Springboks at Twickenham will kick off at 15:00.

Argentina – TBA

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 Ox Nché

Replacements – 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Jesse Kriel

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs