Springboks v Argentina: Team line-ups, kick off time

After a brief break from action, the Springboks head back into battle on Saturday as they tackle Argentina in an important one-off game where they will be looking to tick a number of boxes.

For several returning players, it is a timely opportunity to bank some game-time before the four-Test series against the All Blacks kicks off, while the Springboks will be looking to continue building momentum after starting the season with three successive wins in July.

Although some star players may be a bit rusty as they make their comeback on Saturday, Siya Kolisi will still lead a strong Springbok side that also includes the likes of Eben Etzebeth and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Meanwhile, veteran flank Pablo Matera will captain a new-look Argentina side that features four uncapped players in a match 23 that is without a number of star players who are caught up with European club commitments.

THE SPRINGBOKS’ CLASH AGAINST ARGENTINA KICKS OFF AT 21:00

The Springboks’ upcoming match, which will be hosted at Estadio José Amalfitani in the Argentinean capital, kicks off at 21:00 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

SPRINGBOKS – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter.
Subs: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Morné van den Berg, 23 Handre Pollard.

ARGENTINA – 15 Gerónimo Prisciantelli, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Joaquín Moro, 7 Benjamin Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Moreno, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Boris Wenger.
Subs: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Tomás Rapetti, 19 Ephraim Elijah, 20 Juan Penoucos, 21 Juan Martín Scelzo, 22 Agustín Moyano, 23 Matías Moroni.

Bok record against Argentina:
Played 40; Won 35; Lost 4; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 411, Points against: 784; Tries scored 167, Tries conceded 76; Highest score 73-13; Biggest winning margin 60 points. Win % 87.5%.

Miscellaneous:

• The Springboks have won 12 of their last 14 matches against the Pumas, dating back to 2018, with their only two defeats being in Argentina, in Santiago Del Estero (2024) and in Mendoza (in 2018).
• The Springboks remain unbeaten against Los Pumas in Buenos Aires dating back to 1993, although there have been some tight scores between the teams in South America.
• Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, and Morne van den Berg will all play their first Test matches of the 2026.
• Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 142 Tests when he takes the field on Saturday.
• The last time the teams met in Argentina was in 2024, when the Springboks went down 29-28 in Santiago del Estero.
• The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 541. There are 157 caps in the backline, with 384 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 176 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 22, the forwards 48, while the players on the bench average 22.