“We owe it to SA and ourselves to bounce back” Daan Human

The Test at the Mbombela Stadium will decide the winner of the 2024 Castle Lager Rugby Championship after the Boks’ 29-28 defeat in Stantiago del Estero last weekend, and Human said they had a lot to work on this week.

The Springboks, who are currently on 19 log points – five ahead of Argentina – only need one point from the match to guarantee their first Castle Lager Rugby Championship title since 2019, while they will also clinch the title if Argentina win the match without a bonus point based on competition points.

The only permutation that would see Argentina claim the title for the first time, is if the visitors win with a try-scoring bonus point and deny the hosts a point, which would see Los Pumas crowned champions since they would have beaten South Africa twice.

“It’s special to be here (in Nelspruit and back in South Africa) and hopefully we can deliver a good performance for the public,” said Human.

“We know the whole country is behind us, and we owe it to them, the supporters that will attend the game on the weekend, and ourselves to bounce back strongly. So, hopefully we can deliver a good performance that can earn us a win and see us win the Rugby Championship.”

Looking back at last weekend’s performance, Human – who said everyone in the squad was fit and available for selection – admitted that there was hard work ahead for the team this week.

“Obviously we are still very disappointed with the result last week,” said Human.

“We always knew how tough it would be to play against Argentina at home and it was the first time some of our players played there, and hopefully they learned something from the experience.

“There certainly wasn’t a lack of effort from the team. That said, we have a lot to improve on.”

Human also gave Los Pumas due credit after they defeated the Boks, New Zealand and Australia this season, and he expected them to take the field equally hungry on Saturday.

“I think this is the first time they beat all three other teams in the Rugby Championship, and they’ll take confidence from that, so we know what lies ahead for us this weekend,” said the scrum guru.

Bok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, meanwhile, said the team fully supported replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok, who pushed a late penalty goal wide, which could have seen the team win the match in the final minute.

“I’ve come a long way with Manie, and just like the rest of the team, we back him 100%,” said Hendrikse.

“We just had our match review and coach Tony (Brown) showed us how many opportunities we had that we did not convert into points, so the game should not have come down to one kick.”

Both Human and Hendrikse praised lock Eben Etzebeth, who is set to become the most capped Springbok of all time on Saturday after matching Victor Matfield’s record of 127 caps in Argentina.

“He’s a great person, a real team man and always willing to learn,” said Human. “Personally, if I think of a true Springbok, Eben certainly is that person.”

Hendrikse added: “It’s a massive milestone to become the most capped Springbok. I remember watching him play as an 11-year-old boy, so I’m very proud of him with the rest of the team.”

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will announce his matchday squad for the match on Tuesday.