The Boks are at the moment degree on 14 log factors with New Zealand on the Rugby Championship log and path the All Blacks by 13 factors on factors’ distinction.
However, when the Boks take to the subject towards Argentina on Saturday night they are going to know precisely what they should do to clinch the title as the All Blacks will host Australia in Auckland earlier in the day.
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In his column for Sport24, Mallett stated it was definitely a giant bonus for the Boks to know what the permutations can be earlier than kick-off.
“The final round of the Rugby Championship takes place this weekend and, all things considered, the Springboks are in the pound seats. They (the Springboks) will know if they just need a win with a bonus point, or a win with a bonus point and a certain amount of points difference to get ahead. Obviously, Australia winning the early game on Saturday would be the most ideal outcome for the Boks, but I just can’t see that happening, given they’re playing in Auckland where they haven’t won in a very long time…
“From a South African perspective, you just have to hope that the All Blacks don’t beat the Wallabies heavily to the point where the title is effectively decided by the Durban kick-off. If the All Blacks beat Australia by 20 points and get a bonus point, suddenly there’s a 33-point difference between us and the All Blacks and they’ve got five points above us. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but that would mean the Boks would have to almost stop Argentina from scoring a point.
“There is no doubt that the Boks can score 35 points, but in playing a brand of rugby which will be more attack minded, you do open yourself up to the possibility of turnovers, knock-ons, and the opposition getting opportunities to score tries as well.
“If the points difference is around that mark, the Boks would almost certainly have to keep Argentina below 10 points on the day, and for us to score over 40. That would be realistic, and anything more than that, I think will be very difficult.”
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The Boks-Argentina conflict on Saturday kicks off at 17:05.
Springbok crew: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Frans Steyn, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Duane Vermeulen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Argentina crew: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matias Moroni , 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Subs: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Bautista Delguy.
STATS & FACTS
Springbok file towards Argentina in South Africa:
Played 15, Won 14, Lost 1; Points for 550, Points towards 272, Average rating 37-17; Tries scored 65, Tries conceded 25; Highest rating 73, Biggest win 60 pts (73-13), Win % 93%
Springbok file at Hollywoodbets Kings Park (total):
Played 34, Won 21, Lost 10, Drawn 3; Points for 835; Points towards 601; Tries for 87; Tries towards: 59.
Springbok crew information at Hollywoodbets Kings Park:
Biggest win: 101-0 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most tries: 15 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most conversions: 13 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most penalty targets: 8 v New Zealand on 1 August 2009
Most drop targets: 3 v South America on 3 May 1980 and v Ireland on 6 June 1981
Milestones:
- Eben Etzebeth will lengthen his run as the most capped Springbok participant towards Argentina with this match marking his 19th Test towards Los Pumas from 2012 to 2022.
- Following his two tries final weekend, Malcolm Marx is now the Springbok hooker with the most Test tries – 13. Bongi Mbonambi is second on the checklist with 11 Test tries.
Miscellaneous:
- The complete Test caps for the Springbok beginning line-up is 809.
- There are 318 caps in the backline with 491 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are an additional 292
- The common caps per participant in the backline are 46, the forwards 59, whereas the gamers on the bench common 36.
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The Rugby Championship title race has gone right down to the wire
The Boks and all their supporters can even be preserving a really shut eye on the All Blacks and Australia match-up on Saturday, which kicks off at 09:05am SA time.
New Zealand crew – 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Subs: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 23 Sevu Reece.
Australia crew – 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Lalakai Foketi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Pete Samu, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper (c)
Subs: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Nick Frost, 20 Fraser McReight, 21 Nic White, 22 Reece Hodge, 23 Jordan Petaia.
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