Springboks may lift Rugby Championship trophy at 1am, Sunday

The Springboks are now just a couple of log points away from wrapping up the Rugby Championship title, which would be the first time they have done so in a ‘full round’ competition.

The last time South Africa won the Championship was back in 2019, but that was a truncated tournament during a World Cup year.

After winning their first four matches of this campaign, the Springboks are now on 18 points on the Rugby Championship log – eight above Argentina, with two matches remaining in the competition against Los Pumas, in Santiago (21 September) and in Nelspruit a week later (28 September).

It all adds extra incentive to this Saturday’s match in Argentina, but due to the time difference, kick off will only be at 23:00 (SA time). As a result, if fans in South Africa hope to see the Springboks lift the Rugby Championship trophy, they will need to stay awake until around 01:00 on Sunday as they hope for a positive result.

In the 17 matches played on Argentinian soil, the Springboks have won 14, lost two and drawn one.

If the Springboks can emerge victorious this weekend, it would be the first time in their history – since the Rugby Championship expanded to include Argentina – that they have won the title since the competition was a ‘full’ double round.

THE SPRINGBOKS HAVE CEMENTED THEIR RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP ASCENDANCY

The two sides have never met before at the venue for this weekend’s match.

DateResultVenue6 November 1993Won 29-26Ferrocarril-Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires13 November 1993Won 52-23Ferrocarril-Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires9 November 1996Won 46-15Ferrocarril-Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires16 November 1996Won 44-21Ferrocarril-Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires12 November 2000Won 37-33River Plate, Buenos Aires4 December 2004Won 39-7Velez Sarsfield Stadium, Buenos Aires5 November 2005Won 34-23Velez Sarsfield Stadium, Buenos Aires25 August 2012Drew 16-16Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza24 August 2013Won 22-17Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza23 August 2014Won 33-31Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta15 August 2015Won 26-12Velez Sarsfield Stadium, Buenos Aires27 August 2016Lost 26-24Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta26 August 2017Won 41-23Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta25 August 2018Lost 32-19Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza10 August 2019Won 46-13Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta17 September 2022Won 36-20Estadio Libertadores de America, Buenos Aires5 August 2023Won 24-13Velez Sarsfield Stadium, Buenos Aires

Referee

The Test in Santiago will be refereed by England’s Christophe Ridley who not only will be making his Rugby Championship debut, but has never previously handled a match involving the Springboks.

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