Steyn starting at ten for the Boks this weekend

The Rugby Championship has never been this close with all four teams still in with a chance of winning the competition, however the Springboks and the All Blacks hold the upper hand going into their respective clashes on Saturday.

The big change comes at flyhalf where Steyn will earn his 78^th cap for the Springboks. The last time Steyn started at flyhalf for the Springboks was against Italy in 2008.

He comes in for Damian Willemse who has been ruled out due to concussion.

“The one change was injury enforced as Damian Willemse has been ruled out due to concussion, and we were pleased the calmness Frans Steyn brought at flyhalf when Damian left the field,” Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said.

“The energy and enthusiasm Pieter-Steph (Du Toit) has been showing at training has also been great, and we know what he is capable of in this loose trio, so I am sure he will make an impact among the loose forwards.”

For the clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Nienaber is going with a six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench. Having played against Argentina last week, Nienaber believes this will suit them best going into this weekend.

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“We know what challenges Argentina will pose and we feel that this would be the best option for us for this match specifically.

 “We have a group of hungry and talented players serving in the bomb squad this week and every player in the match day squad knows what is expected of them if we want to win the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.”

The Springboks welcome back Bongi Mbonambi to the bench for Saturday’s clash with Duane Vermuelen and Vincent Koch also coming back into the matchday 23 along with Kurt-Lee Arendse amongst the backline reserves.

This weekend’s clash is a must-win, however the Springboks will know what they need to do to win the Rugby Championship when the morning’s fixture between New Zealand and Australia concludes at Eden Park.

Going into the clash, Nienaber understands that Argentina have a lot riding on the match too.

“We viewed last week as a semi-final and this week as a final, but Argentina are a team that do not give an inch, and they never stop fighting as we saw last week.

“It is all or nothing for us this week, and we have a team with several players who have won the Rugby World Cup and the British & Irish Lions Series, so they know it will take nothing less than a quality 80-minute effort to win this match and the competition.

“This is a massive game for both teams, so we need to be switched on mentally and physically from start to end of the match.”