London
18 °C
Manchester
Glasgow
16 °C
Dublin
19 °C
Belfast
Washington
16 °C
Denver
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston Texas
New Orleans
El Paso
Phoenix
Los Angeles
10 °C
2 °C
15 °C
29 °C
18 °C
16 °C
South Africa's Kolisi wary of Argentina 'fight' in Rugby Championship finale / Photo: Grant Down - AFP
NYSE - LSE
South Africa's Kolisi wary of Argentina 'fight' in Rugby Championship finale
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi expects Argentina to show plenty of "fight" at Twickenham on Saturday despite last week's 67-30 mauling as the Springboks chase a second straight Rugby Championship crown.
Kolisi's back-to-back world champions top the table by a single point heading into the sixth and final round of the southern hemisphere championship.
A bonus-point victory against the Pumas in London would guarantee South Africa the title regardless of the result between Australia and New Zealand in Perth earlier on Saturday.
The South Africans will start the match at Twickenham, technically a "home" game for Argentina, as favourites after a dominant display in Durban last weekend.
But this year's tournament has been one of the most exciting and unpredictable since Argentina joined South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the competition in 2012, with the Pumas defeating both the All Blacks and the Wallabies.
Kolisi, asked Friday what had impressed him most about Argentina, replied: "It's the fight and also, compared to the years before, the discipline they have and how consistent they are in the way they play.
"And they haven't taken away the Argentinian flair at any moment of the game. When it's broken, they take the opportunities.
"I've watched them against New Zealand and against Australia, where they can turn from their own goal-line, the way they can attack you and go score down by the posts. You have to be alert all the time."
The skipper said he admired the professionalism of the Pumas, many of whom play for European clubs, in making light of long flights to play for their country.
"On the field as well, you can just see how connected and how united they are as a team in everything that happens, every place they play," the flanker said.
South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said the Springboks faced "a tough day at the office".
"These guys, they like to live off the scraps, they like to live off the loose moments," he added.
Stick said the memory of South Africa's 29-28 loss to the Pumas in Argentina last year was still vivid.
"What happened to us last year in Santiago del Estero, the passage of 20 minutes, where we're just not at our best and they've capitalised and punished us in those 20 minutes and we lost the game," he said.
"So, that's the nature of the Argentine team. On a good day, they can punish you."
H.Zampino--INP
