South Africa vs. Argentina: Live Stream, Preview for Rugby Championship 2017
South Africa and Argentina will be out to get their 2017 Rugby Championship campaigns off to a strong start on Saturday, when they meet at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
For the Springboks, an overall triumph is long overdue in this tournament, with Australia and New Zealand the dominant forces in the competition. South Africa last lifted the title in 2009, when the competition was the Tri Nations.
In 2012, Argentina were introduced into this format for the first time to make this a four-team tournament and they are still awaiting their maiden title. Last year they won just one of their six matches, against South Africa.
The stakes will be high in this one, with both sides aware of how important a strong start is, especially with the All Blacks and the Wallabies meeting in the day's other fixture.
Date: Saturday, August 19
Time: 4:05 p.m. (BST), 11:05 a.m. (ET), 5:05 p.m. (Local)
TV Info: Sky Sports Action (UK)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK)
Preview
Although they have long been considered one of the heavyweights of the rugby world, South Africa have endured a mixed spell as of late.
A look at their recent results suggest some impressive form, as they won a three-match series 3-0 against France on home soil. However, losses to England, Wales and Italy last year yielded some significant concerns for this team.
It's why there are some serious doubts about the stewardship of coach Allister Coetzee, although he has called on the Port Elizabeth fanbase to get behind their players on Saturday.
"I asked for the camp to start here in Port Elizabeth—we had a similar experience ahead of the French series in Plettenberg Bay and that really went well," he said, per George Byron of the Herald. "…Port Elizabeth is not called the Friendly City for nothing and there are massive [numbers of] Springbok supporters here."
The South African Rugby Twitter account released the following clip looking ahead to Saturday's showdown and the tournament as a whole:
Still, for Coeztee there will be a massive amount of pressure to get his team purring for the match in Port Elizabeth.
If they win and make it four victories in succession, the struggles of 2016 will be forgotten for now. But a poor performance and a win for the Pumas would make it difficult for him to come back from.
Rugby journalist Simon Borchardt believes the coach has made the wrong decision in his appointment of the captain too:
With so much seemingly resting on this game for the home side, Argentina will head to Port Elizabeth knowing they have a decent chance of springing a surprise.
As the ninth-best team in the world, according to the official World Rugby rankings, challenging for the trophy at this tournament should be beyond the Pumas. But it's imperative they show something in this Rugby Championship; head coach Daniel Hourcade's squad was timid in two losses to a makeshift England team recently.
As noted by journalist Paul Tait, Argentina have traditionally found the going tough in the Rugby Championship:
"Los Pumas have scored 466 points in the Rugby Championship, including 40 tries.
— Paul Tait (@Argentina_2027) August 12, 2017"
On defense Argentina have conceded 861 points and 97 tries.
The first game of a new tournament can be an ideal time to catch opponents off guard, and as the underdogs here, that should be the Pumas' game plan. If they can be competitive and cohesive early on, there's a chance South Africa will become frustrated.
However, after finding their feet in the wins over France and building some momentum moving into this competition, the Springboks will do just enough to win this one.
Prediction: South Africa 28-17 Argentina
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