Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Final - New Zealand v South Africa - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - October 28, 2023 New Zealand's Mark Telea in action with South Africa's Kwagga Smith REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
(Reuters) - South Africa are eager to seize the moment and clinch the Rugby Championship title in Argentina on Saturday, but are wary of a fired-up home side that are not out of contention themselves, according to Springboks loose forward Kwagga Smith.
The world champions lead the table by eight points from second-placed Argentina and victory in Santiago del Estero will ensure a fifth title for them and a first since 2019.
But their hosts have already beaten New Zealand 38-30 and trounced Australia 67-27 in their last outing, leaving the Springboks focused on the fight.
"It is a huge opportunity to win the Rugby Championship but we can’t look too far ahead," Smith told reporters on Monday. "They will be desperate to get five points to set up what would be a final in Nelspruit next week."
Argentina ran in nine tries in beating Australia and their total of 15 is the highest in the Rugby Championship so far this season.
Smith believes his side cannot let the game get loose against the South Americans.
"They have a lot of guys who come from Sevens and have x-factor in their backline," he said. "They also have the experience in the forwards to get dominance. We need to rock up physically and do our jobs.
"When there is a loose ball on the ground we need to clean it up and when they are attacking from loose ball we need to stay together as a team. You can easily fall in to the trap of playing as an individual.
"(Pablo) Matera and the other (forwards) are really good players and have been in the system a long time. If you look at the caps they have, they are all close to 100. They will bring that experience to the game."
Smith adds South Africa will need to sharpen up around the breakdown, where they were dominated by New Zealand in their 18-12 victory in Cape Town in the previous match.
"New Zealand got a lot of turnovers and that broke momentum when we wanted to attack. Argentina have a few goods stealers and fetchers, so it will be a big battle at the breakdown," he said.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
