The Pumas will say goodbye to the Rugby Championship this Saturday when they face South Africa at the Kings Park stadium in the city of Durban from 12:05 (Argentine time), with ESPN television.
The meeting will serve as revenge for the game played last Saturday, with a 36-20 win for the Springboks at Independiente’s court.
The coach of Los Pumas, the Australian Michael Cheika, confirmed on Thursday the team that will play the rematch and that it will have two variants among the three quarters: wing Juan Imhoff will enter for Lucio Cinti and center Matías Moroni for Matías Orlando.
Meanwhile, in the relay bank, the inclusion of Bautista Delguy stands out, who could debut in this Rugby Championship; that of Pablo Rubiolo, who was part of the Los Jaguares XV team for two seasons and has the chance to make his debut in the senior team; and the return of the pillar Mayco Vivas, by Thomas Gallo.
Rosario wing Juan Imhoff pointed to the site scrums: “We played a final against the best in the world, South Africa will seek victory to become champion and we will have to do our best not to be spectators. Our goal, beyond the result that will be an anecdote, is to continue growing in the game and as a team.
The history Pumas-Springboks
This will be the 34th game between the two, with the Springbooks leading by 29 wins against three and a draw. The last Argentine success against the South Africans by 32 to 19, in 2018 in Mendoza.
The Rugby Championship Standings
Despite having two wins, a 48-17 win over Australia in San Juan and the historic 25-18 win against the All Blacks in New Zealand, Argentina is last in the tournament with nine points. Ahead of him are New Zealand (14), South Africa (14) and Australia (10).
There is a chance, albeit a remote one, of a four-way tie if Los Pumas beat South Africa with a bonus point and Australia beat New Zealand with no extra point.
Also this Saturday, the New Zealand team will host the Australian team, with the possibility of reaching their eighth title in eleven editions of the Rugby Championship. The match will be played at the Eden Rark Stadium in the city of Auckland at 4:05 (Argentine time) with Irishman Andrew Brace as referee.
In the event that the All Blacks and Springboks equal in first place, the points to be taken into account to determine the champion will be:
- 1) Most wins
- 2) Results between the equal teams
- 3) Higher point balance
- 4) Margin of points for and against against the tied team
- 5) Most tries scored
