South Africa coach pleased with players' form ahead of All Blacks test

South Africa's coach Rassie Erasmus stated that Saturday's challenging match against Argentina was essential for regaining match fitness for players returning from injury. The Springboks narrowly defeated Argentina 17-10, a game Erasmus described as "disjointed" due to the need to get several players back into game shape.

“

We had seven or eight guys who'd played almost no minutes over the last six, seven weeks, so I always thought it was going to be disjointed.

"We just had to get a lot of players through some match fitness," Erasmus explained. Key players like captain Siya Kolisi, who left the field with a hamstring issue after 25 minutes, and World Cup-winning locks Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth, along with halfbacks Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, featured in the game. Erasmus emphasized that the match was not preparation for the All Blacks, as Argentina plays a different style.

“

We just had to get a lot of players through some match fitness.

Erasmus acknowledged the game was "obviously, it wasn't pretty. Obviously, it wasn't perfect, but that we expected." He noted that while Argentina plays a similar physical game, South Africa struggled to match them physically. However, he was pleased with the team's defense and discipline, though he identified areas needing improvement in attack. The team will now focus on player injuries and select the squad for the first test against New Zealand, which begins on August 22 in Johannesburg.

“

I wouldn't say it's a good practice, honestly, because Argentina plays a different style (to New Zealand), and it's very intimidating in the stadium here. Obviously, it wasn't pretty. Obviously, it wasn't perfect, but that we expected.