Overview
- The Springboks named a largely refreshed starting XV in Buenos Aires on Saturday with captain Siya Kolisi back from a hamstring injury to make his first Test appearance of 2026.
- Locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager, flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Morné van den Berg also returned to the matchday squad to provide experience up front.
- Argentina named a changed, partly inexperienced side led by Pablo Matera that includes four debutants and omits many Europe-based regulars because the fixture falls outside the international release window.
- New Zealand began their tour with a 38-21 win over the Stormers and will use heavy rotation and provincial matches to test players, a parallel approach that keeps selection open for the upcoming Tests.
- Rassie Erasmus’s months-long policy of heavy rotation and split training groups aims to build depth and manage workloads, which is why this Buenos Aires Test is being treated as a live audition for the All Blacks series.