Boks: How they can win the Rugby Championship

This past week coach Jacques Nienaber praised the Boks’ fighting spirit to grind their way to a crucial bonus-point 36-20 victory against Argentina last Saturday, which allowed them to match New Zealand on 14 log points.

The Springboks held a comfortable 22-6 halftime lead and weathered a strong fightback from the hosts before scoring two tries in the last six minutes to seal the bonus point, which kept them in the title race going into this weekend’s tournament finale against Los Pumas in Durban.

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The All Blacks will be expected to beat the Wallabies in Auckland this Saturday, but Australia cannot be written off, while a bonus-point victory is no guarantee for the Kiwis.

Meanwhile, with the Boks back at home, they would be confident of claiming all five available log points in the final encounter against the Pumas.

As a reminder, a win earns four log points, while scoring three or more tries than the opposition earns a bonus point. If teams finish level on log points, the determining factors will be most wins, then overall points difference.

If still level then the points difference in matches between the two teams will be the final deciding factor.

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Here is how things look for the Boks:

Think I’ve finally got it right. Rugby Champs log if teams level on log points.

Most wins, then PD (All Blacks +41, Boks +28). If PD the same then it’s PD in games between Boks and All Blacks:

Match 1: 26-10
Match 2: 23-35
Total: 49-45 pic.twitter.com/OeJUPyl0xq

— Simon Borchardt (@SimonBorchardt) September 17, 2022

TEAM TO FACE ARGENTINA IN DURBAN:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 78 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5pts (1t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 55 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 45 pts, (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 110 pts (22t)
10 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 77 caps, 156 pts (11t, 10c, 24p, 3d)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)

8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 17 caps, 0 pts
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 70 caps, 35 pts (7t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 105 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 53 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 54 caps, 65 pts (13t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 66 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 51 caps, 55 pts (11t)
17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 14 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Wasps) – 36 caps, 0 pts
19 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 58 caps, 10 pts (2t)
20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 64 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 26 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles) – 41 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5 pts (1t)

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TATS & FACTS

Boks’ record against Argentina in South Africa:
Played 15, Won 14, Lost 1; Points for 550, Points against 272, Average score 37-17; Tries scored 65, Tries conceded 25; Highest score 73, Biggest win 60 pts (73-13), Win % 93%

Springbok record at Hollywoodbets Kings Park (overall):
Played 34, Won 21, Lost 10, Drawn 3; Points for 835; Points against 601; Tries for 87; Tries against: 59.

Springbok team records 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 goals: 8 v New Zealand on 1 August 2009
Most drop goals: 3 v South America on 3 May 1980 and v Ireland on 6 June 1981

Milestones:

• Eben Etzebeth will extend his run as the most capped Springbok player against Argentina with this match marking his 19^th Test against Los Pumas from 2012 to 2022.
• Following his two tries last weekend, Malcolm Marx is now the Springbok hooker with the most Test tries – 13. Bongi Mbonambi is second on the list with 11 Test tries.

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 809.
• There are 318 caps in the backline with 491 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 292
• The average caps per player in the backline are 46, the forwards 59, while the players on the bench average 36.