South Africa are in the pound seats to claim back-to-back Championship titles for the first time, following their emphatic 67-30 win over the Pumas at Kings Park in Durban last week.

For the Boks, the key will be to hit the reset button, to forget about past successes and treat Saturday’s clash as a brand-new game, while adopting the mindset that it’s a final.

Bongi Mbonambi. Photo: X

Coach Rassie Erasmus has stuck with much the same side that did duty in Durban, with the only change to the starting XV being at loosehead prop, where Ox Nché returns from a niggle.

The bench, however, features three new faces, including hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who returns after a lengthy absence to attend to family matters.

Mbonambi, a two-time Rugby World Cup winner, warned that Argentina will come out firing and the Springboks will have to earn the honour of winning back-to-back titles.

“If you watched last week’s game, you’d know it wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggested,” said Mbonambi. “It was definitely no walk in the park in Durban. 

“A lot can change in a week of rugby, so we have to go out there, give our best, and make sure we get the result we want. They’ll be hurting after last week, so we know we’re in for a big challenge. 

“But we’ve done our homework, our prep has gone well, and we expect nothing less than a proper arm-wrestle. They’ll definitely be out for retaliation.”

Mbonambi added that his time away from the game created valuable opportunities for other players in the No. 2 jersey, which he welcomed.

“There’s competition in every position, and we embrace that. The coaches have shown that if you’re good enough, they’ll back you. 

“The important thing is that when you get your chance, you have to grab it, perform on the day, and do your job.”

Saturday’s crunch Test between Argentina and South Africa at Twickenham kicks off at 15:00.

Argentina – 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Cruz Mallia, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Cruz Benitez, 8 Santiago Grondona, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas

Replacements – 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Juan Gonzalez, 21 Joaquín Oviedo, 22 Agustin Moyano, 23 Rodrigo Isgro

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 mvh