Wounded and with their backs to the wall, a proud Argentina team will come out fighting when they face the Springboks in London, Siya Kolisi said.
Saturday’s showdown in front of 80,000 fans at the neutral venue of Twickenham is expected to bring the Rugby Championship tournament to a rousing climax (kickoff 3pm SA time).
Thanks to a thumping 67-30 bonus point win over Argentina in Durban last week, the Boks only need a win to secure consecutive titles.
Saturday’s victory put the Boks on top of the log with 15 points, one ahead of the All Blacks and four ahead of the Wallabies, while Argentina dropped out of the running, sitting bottom on nine points.
“We know what is going to happen in London on Saturday and how tough it is going to be,” Kolisi said.
“The Boks know how it feels in that circle after a loss, because we have been there before.
“There is one more game for the team, and the job is not finished yet.
“This week, we are going to go as hard as we can to try to win it.
“It is going to be tough, and we know Argentina is going to come out fighting.
“We expected a tough start against the Pumas in Durban.
“SA knew what Argentina were going to bring in Durban because they are a proud team.
“They took their opportunities in the first half when we made our mistakes.”
Kolisi praised his team for the magnificent second-half display, which blew the Pumas away.
“The way we regathered ourselves in the second half was impressive,” he said. “When we made a mistake, nobody dropped their heads, and we got back up and replied.
“The main message at halftime was that we were making stupid errors and giving away penalties.
“But we were able to gather ourselves and improve in the second half, and we came back composed and played as hard as we could, but Argentina didn’t lie down.
“We recognise our mistakes and ill-discipline, but we are also happy with how we responded when we made a mistake.
“SA must stick to what we do well, like putting the ball in the air, looking after the ball and getting into the 22 so we can take our opportunities.”
Pumas skipper Julián Montoya was disappointed with his side’s display in Durban.
“We weren’t good enough, and I am very disappointed,” he said.
“Credit to SA, they are the best team in the world, and they capitalised on every mistake we made.
“The game is 80 minutes, not 40 minutes, and we weren’t as accurate as we should have been.
“We lost the physical battle, and then we couldn’t come back from the poor moments.
“It was a tough day, and now we have to regroup and go again.”
The Boks have made one change to their starting XV for their final Rugby Championship Test.
Prop Ox Nché is returning to the front row as the Springboks seek to retain their title.
Nché missed last weekend’s victory over Argentina in Durban and will be a significant boost to the scrum.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus expects a challenging duel against the Pumas.
“Last week, they were in the running to win the title, and they’ll be determined to make up for that result, so we are expecting them to throw everything at us on Saturday,” he said.
“They may be out of the title race, but they have beaten the All Blacks, Wallabies and British & Irish Lions this season, and it would be a big target for them to defeat us too, so it’s going to be another hard grind.
“They have a powerful pack and hard-running backs, and they showed in the first half last week that if they stick to their structures and play well, they are a huge threat.”
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