Mbonambi bracing for arm-wrestle with Argentina

Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi shot down the favourites tag as the team prepares to face Argentina in their Castle Lager Rugby Championship decider in London on Saturday and said they expected an arm-wrestle of a match and full-out retaliation from the Pumas.

The Springboks won last week’s match against Argentina 67-30 in Durban and currently lead the Castle Lager Rugby Championship standings by one point going into Saturday’s match, but despite winning their last two games with impressive scores – the other being a record 43-10 victory against the All Blacks in Wellington – Mbonambi, who has been named on the bench, expected a tough outing in London.

“If you watch last week’s game, you’ll see that it was not as easy as the score may suggest,” said Mbonambi.

“It definitely wasn’t a walk in the park in Durban and over and above that, a lot can happen in a week in rugby, so we need to go out there and give our best on the field to get the result we want.”

Asked about being the favourites going into the match as the Boks attempt to win the tournament twice in a row for the first time, the double Rugby World Cup winner said: “We don’t focus on those opinions, we approach each game day by day. When you think you are on top, you can be humbled quickly, so we’ll respect them going into this match.

“They’ll be hurting after last week, so we have a big challenge ahead, but we’ve done our homework and our preparation has been going well. That said, it’s definitely going to be an arm-wrestle of a match. We expect a proper retaliation from them on Saturday.”

With Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Marnus van der Merwe also getting an opportunity to make their presence felt at hooker this season, along with the experienced Malcolm Marx, Mbonambi was thrilled to get another opportunity to be in the match-day squad.

“It’s always an honour and privilege to be in the team – when one is not in the set-up, you really miss it,” said Mbonambi.

“There is competition in every position but we love it, and the coaches have shown that if you are good enough, they’ll pick you. The key is that when you get your chance, you have to play as well as you can and do the job on the day.”

He added: “It’s been great to see how Jan-Hendrik and Marnus have been growing and developing as players, and the competition between everyone is fantastic.”

The Boks have Thursday off to rest and prepare mentally for the clash and will wrap up their preparations on Friday with their official captains run.

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Argentina v South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, England - 3pm

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

Television Match Official: Ian Tempest (RFU)

Split Screen/FPRO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Los Pumas starting XV: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, Juan Cruz Mallia; 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Benitez Cruz; 8 Santiago Grondona, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera; 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti; 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (capt), 1 Mayco Vivas. Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Marchetti Coria, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Joaquin Oviedo, 22 Agustin Moyano, 23 Rodrigo Isgro.

Springbok starting XV: 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 (capt); 5 Ruan Nortje, 0 pts, 4 Eben Etzebeth; 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. 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.