Overview
- Rassie Erasmus named a 23 for the one-off Test in Buenos Aires on Saturday, August 8, that restores captain Siya Kolisi, locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager, flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Morné van den Berg to the matchday group.
- Assistant coach Deon Davids said the primary aim is to give those returning players significant game minutes to rebuild match fitness rather than immediately extend them to full 80‑minute roles.
- The Springbok starting XV contains 13 changes from the side that beat Wales, with a heavily refreshed pack and seven players back from injury to test combinations and resilience against a tough Los Pumas side.
- New Zealand named a touring matchday 23 to face the Stormers with Patrick Tuipulotu to captain and Beauden Barrett starting, but hooker George Bell sustained a calf injury and Bradley Slater has been called up to join the tour.
- Both camps will treat the Argentina Test and the All Blacks’ provincial fixtures as live auditions to manage workloads, finalise combinations and gauge readiness for the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series beginning at Ellis Park on August 22.