The Springboks and Argentina will lock horns in the title-deciding match of the 2024 Rugby Championship at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday, 28 September.
Kick-off is at 17:00.
The weather forecast looks perfect for running rugby with little to no wind expected and a high of 30 degrees Celsius on the day.
As the game progresses, the temperature is expected to cool with some cloud cover offering some relief for the players.
New record
Meanwhile, Eben Etzebeth will set the record as the most capped Springbok of all time this weekend.
Etzebeth was named on Tuesday by coach Rassie Erasmus in the starting XV for the Test.
The 32-year-old is currently tied with Victor Matfield on 127 Test caps for the Springboks.
He will take sole possession of the record when he runs out onto the Mbombela Stadium field.
How do the stellar careers of Victor Matfield and Eben Etzebeth compare?
| Victor Matfield | Eben Etzebeth | |
| Place of birth | 11 May 1977 | 29 October 1991 |
| Current age | 47 | 32 |
| Place of birth | Pietersburg | Cape Town |
| School | Hoërskool Pietersburg | Tygerberg |
| Springbok # | 705 | 833 |
| Position | Lock | Lock |
| Tests played | 127 | 127 |
| First Test | v Italy, Port Elizabeth, 2001 | v England, Durban, 2012 |
| Age on debut | 24 | 20 |
| Last Test | v Argentina, London, 2015 | v Argentina, Santiago 2024 |
| Age in final Test | 38 | 32 * |
| Test points | 35 | 30 |
| Tests won | 79 | 79 |
| Tests lost | 46 | 43 |
| Tests drawn | 2 | 5 |
In addition, Etzebeth could become the winningest Springbok of all time, should South Africa emerge victorious.
Matfield, Etzebeth and Bryan Habana are, incredibly, all tied on 79 Test victories ahead of the match.
Etzebeth will have the opportunity to hold that ‘record’ on his own come the final whistle this weekend.
| Victor Matfield | Eben Etzebeth | Bryan Habana | |
| Springbok # | 705 | 833 | 766 |
| Position | Lock | Lock | Wing |
| Tests played | 127 | 127 * | 124 |
| First Test | v Italy, Port Elizabeth, 2001 | v England, Durban, 2012 | v England, London, 2004 |
| Age on debut | 24 | 20 | 21 |
| Last Test | v Argentina, London, 2015 | v New Zealand, Cape Town, 2024 | v Italy, Florence, 2016 |
| Age in final Test | 38 | 32 * | 33 |
| Test points | 35 | 30 | 335 |
| Tests won | 79 | 79 | 79 |
| Tests lost | 46 | 43 | 42 |
| Tests drawn | 2 | 5 | 3 |
* Denotes still active
Only seven players out of the 944 of all time to have donned the famed green and gold jersey have played 100 Tests for the Springboks.
| Player | Tests | Tries |
| Victor Matfield | 127 | 7 |
| Eben Etzebeth * | 127 | 6 |
| Bryan Habana | 124 | 67 |
| Tendai Mtawarira | 117 | 2 |
| John Smit | 111 | 8 |
| Jean de Villiers | 109 | 27 |
| Percy Montgomery | 102 | 25 |
Meanwhile, the Springboks need only a point from the match to guarantee their first Rugby Championship title since the abbreviated version in 2019 and their first full tournament title since 2009, while they will also clinch the title if Argentina win the match without a bonus point based on competition points.
The only permutation that would see Argentina snatch the title from the Springboks is if Los Pumas win with a bonus point and deny the hosts a point, which would see them claim the title based on the fact that they would have had two wins over South Africa.
TEAMS
South Africa
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am
Argentina
TBA
Stats and facts
Springbok record against Argentina
Played 37; Won 32; Lost 4; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 267, Points against: 720; Tries scored 148, Tries conceded 69; Highest score 73-13; Biggest winning margin 60 points. Win % 86.4%.
Miscellaneous
- Eben Etzebeth will reach the magnificent career milestone of setting a new record as the most capped Springbok player of all time with 128 Tests when he takes the field after matching Victor Matfield’s record of 127 caps last week
- South Africa have won 15 of the 16 outings between the teams in South Africa. Argentina’s only victory was a 37-25 win in 2015
- Handre Pollard leapfrogged Morne Steyn (742 points) into second place on the Springbok all-time scorers’ list, with the flyhalf now on 749 points after slotting two conversions and two penalty goals against Argentina last week. Percy Montgomery leads with 893 points
- This will mark the Springboks’ fifth Test at the Mbombela Stadium and the second against Argentina at the ground in Mpumalanga, where the Boks remain unbeaten. They defeated Los Pumas 30-23 in the last outing between the teams in Nelspruit in 2016
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 778
- There are 260 caps in the backline, with 518 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 344 caps
- The average caps per player in the backline is 37, the forwards 64, while the players on the bench average 43
How many Tests will Eben Etzebeth play before hanging up his boots?
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