South Africa vs. Argentina: 5 Key Battles in 2015 Rugby Championship Game

The Rugby Championship concludes with a dead rubber between South Africa and Argentina.

Both sides come into this clash having lost their first two opening games and hoping to salvage something from the shortened competition.

Their paths have not been similar to this point. Argentina have gone down without firing many shots against New Zealand and Australia, changing a huge amount of personnel along the way.

The Boks, on the other hand, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Australia and were denied by a cute line-out move late in the game by New Zealand.

The home side start as heavy favourites to end their losing run, but let’s look at where this game could be won and lost.

1. Vincent Koch vs. Marcos Ayerza

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One cap plays 59 when South Africa tighthead Vincent Koch packs down against Argentine loosehead Marcos Ayerza.

Koch has been boosted to the starting lineup after injury to regular tighthead Jannie du Plessis, and he couldn’t have asked for a more formidable opponent for his first start than Ayerza.

The wily Leicester Tiger has been around the block and has got the better of far more experienced men than the young Stormers No. 3.

ESPN.co.uk’s Sam Bruce says the Argentine “failed to assert himself on the Wallabies scrum and made minimal impact around the field” last week, so his next opponent could feel the backlash.

Koch is going to have to front up in the collision at scrum time to ensure he keeps a stable platform for Bismarck du Plessis to hook the ball. That's no mean feat with Ayerza in full-on destruction mode.

2. Handre Pollard vs. Juan Martin Hernandez

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Another contest between two men at opposite ends of the experience scale plays out at fly-half this weekend.

Handre Pollard has not quite been in the sensational form we saw from him in this competition last season, but he still looks a threat when keeping the ball in hand and taking it flat to the gain line.

This will surely be his plan this weekend to see if Damian de Allende can punch holes with his strong lines of running.

The Pumas have made a huge overhaul in their starting 15, with Juan Martin Hernandez taking the reins from an ineffective Nicolas Sanchez at No. 10.

Hernandez may be a long way from the player who lit up the 2007 World Cup, but he knows how to run a game and has an enormous boot that can be used to good effect to relieve the pressure on his team.

3. The Breakdown

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According the ESPN.co.uk, the Boks top the turnover charts with 19 this far, while the Pumas languish in last place with just nine.

Most of these have come from their excellent work at the breakdown, where, alongside the likes of Schalk Burger and Francois Louw, hooker Bismarck du Plessis has been a wrecking ball.

The Pumas know this only too well, and among the raft of changes they have made, the key alteration is the reinstatement of what looks to be their first-choice back-row trio.

Pablo Matera, Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Leonardo Senatore should give the Bok scavengers a run for their money.

They will need to, because if South Africa enjoy the same sort of success they did against Australia and New Zealand, it will be a long evening for the South Americans.

4. Jean de Villiers vs. Marcelo Bosch

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South Africa’s captain makes his full return after that nasty knee injury sustained in November in Cardiff.

De Villiers slots in to the No. 13 jersey after youngster Jesse Kriel performed so impressively in the first two weeks in that position.

Kriel shifts to the wing, and the focus will be on De Villiers to see if he can impose himself on opposite number Marcelo Bosch.

Kriel has made some telling incisions from that position and the elder statesman will need to do the same.

As for Bosch, the Saracens man is famed for his uncompromising style but more for his huge boot, and he will be in the picture for any penalties on halfway.

5. Jesse Kriel vs. Horacio Agulla

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It’s clear how highly Kriel is rated by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, and we have now seen a further show of faith in the young Bulls man as he is given his chance on the wing.

The Pumas have their own box of tricks in Horacio Agulla, who can make something happen from nothing and is an expert finisher.

Either man could be the match-winner on Saturday.