Boks splitting squad for Argentina battle

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Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks will employ a split-squad system for the home-and-away Rugby Championship clashes with Argentina.

According to Sunday newspaper Rapport, Salmaan Moerat could lead the Springboks in Santiago, as Siya Kolisi is set to undergo an operation on his fractured nasal bone, while Eben Etzebeth could be rested.

Thomas du Toit, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marco van Staden, Steven Kitshoff, Makazole Mapimpi and Manie Libbok could all get an opportunity for game time on tour after sitting out the second Test against the All Blacks.

The unbeaten Springboks currently lead the Rugby Championship on 18 points following back-to-back home victories over the All Blacks in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Argentina trail behind on 10 points in second place, after Los Pumas bounced back from a narrow defeat to Australia by demolishing the Wallabies in a record-breaking 67-27 win.

After a week-long bye, the Boks will travel to Santiago to face Argentina, before hosting Los Pumas in the final round of the tournament in Nelspruit. Rassie Erasmus’ side need just a single log point to claim their first southern hemisphere title since 2019.

Speaking after the win in Cape Town, Erasmus explained how the Boks will handle the final leg of the Rugby Championship.

“The guys who are playing against Argentina already know. We’ve already announced that internally,” Erasmus said. “They’ve been practicing together already.

“We’ve got three days off. We will get together again on Wednesday night in Stellenbosch. We will send one group over to Argentina and we will keep one group here for the home leg.”

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images

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