The Springboks will announce their 23-man team to face Argentina at 11:30am on Tuesday, before Saturday’s Test in Buenos Aires.
Rassie Erasmus’ side have arrived in Argentina for a one-off encounter that will also provide preparation for their four-Test series against the All Blacks in August and September.
South Africa go into the match on an 11-game winning run and will be determined to maintain that record against the Pumas. However, the fixture also offers several players the chance to build valuable match fitness during the current Test season.
Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are among those who could be given important playing time in Buenos Aires.
The possible Springboks selection is:
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porten, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
The replacements could be:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Morne van den Berg and 23 Quan Horn.
Should Erasmus select that matchday 23, the three touring players left out would be experienced internationals Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach and Thomas du Toit.
The Springboks head coach said the squad had travelled to Buenos Aires with the challenge ahead firmly in mind, while also acknowledging the need to recover from the journey and adapt to the time difference.
“It’s great to be back in Buenos Aires, and we are looking forward to the challenge of facing the Pumas here once again,” said Rassie Erasmus.
“It was a long journey, and there is a fair time difference between the countries, so the players will have time to rest and acclimatise today, and then we’ll return to the training field tomorrow (Monday).
“Fortunately, we did most of the groundwork for the match at our training camp in Johannesburg earlier this week, so we have a good base to build on in the next few days.”
The team announcement will come after the players have had time to rest and acclimatise on their arrival in Argentina. The squad is scheduled to return to training on Monday, having completed most of its preparation during a camp in Johannesburg earlier in the week.
Saturday’s Test will kick off at 21:00.
