BOK TEAM: Dogs Of War Back For Buenos Aires Battle

Siya Kolisi headlines a super troop of stars returning from injury in a revamped Springbok side for Saturday’s one-off Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.

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Kolisi captains a side showing no less than 13 changes to the starting XV that blanked Wales 43-0 last time out, with Cobus Reinach and Aphelele Fassi the only players holding on to their jerseys.

Back from injury along with Kolisi are Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker.

The all-new pack, in particular, highlights South Africa’s unrivalled depth, with Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar and Thomas du Toit forming the front row, Etzebeth and De Jager reuniting in the second row and Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom joining Kolisi in the back row.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been handed the keys at flyhalf, where he links up with Reinach, Esterhuizen and Canan Moodie make up the midfield, and Edwill van der Merwe joins Hooker and Fassi in the back three.

Coach Rassie Erasmus has loaded up on power by opting for six forwards and just two backline players on the bench. Backed to make an impact when they come on later in the game are Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Cobus Wiese, Marco van Staden, Van den Berg and Handre Pollard.

“This match is the perfect occasion for players like Siya, Eben, Lood, Sacha, Morne and the other players returning from injury to get a tough Test under the belt and get back into full swing at international level, as Argentina are a formidable team, who will push us to the limit,” said Erasmus.

“The guys have been working very hard to return from injury and there is no better test to measure where they are than facing the Pumas in Argentina.

“The other players in the squad also all deserve their places and have been waiting patiently as we tested combinations in the last few matches, and one can sense the excitement in the group to get back onto the field.”

He added: “This squad includes a bunch of Rugby World Cup winners and extremely talented young players who have been looking forward to playing again for a while, and others who have been working hard week in and week out to play more regularly.

“They have all adapted very well to the time zone and showed true grit at training, so we have full faith that they will rise to the occasion.”

Fast facts:

•  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 season.
  
• 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.

South Africa: 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.

Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Handre Pollard.