Boks ready for high-stakes showdown at Twickenham

Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks will add another chapter to their illustrious history should they beat Argentina in London this afternoon in the final match of the 2025 Rugby Championship.

In the 30 years of the tournament, South Africa have never lifted the title two years in succession. Now they are tantalisingly close to defending the crown they won last year.

This year’s Championship has been one of the most competitive in recent memory. Until last weekend, all four participating nations were still in contention.

Now, it is a straight shoot-out between the Springboks and their old foe, New Zealand.

The All Blacks face the Wallabies in Perth at 11.45am (SA time), with the Boks kicking off against Argentina at Twickenham at 3pm.

South Africa currently hold a one-point lead over the second-placed All Blacks, and by the time they run out in London they will know precisely what result they need to secure the trophy for a second consecutive season.

Argentina chose to host the Boks at Twickenham rather than at home, banking on the lucrative gate receipts from the 80 000-seater stadium.

The decision is unlikely to trouble the Springboks, with thousands of expatriate South Africans expected to turn the occasion into something of a home game.

Still, captain Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick struck a cautious note in Friday’s media briefing.

“Breaking records is nice, and so is winning competitions, but the quality of our performance will be the most important aspect for us because we also have a tough end-of-year tour to Europe coming up in November,” Stick said. “Our main focus is on the match against Argentina and ensuring that we deliver an 80-minute performance.

"Last week’s result (the 67-30 victory over the Pumas) is in the past, and we certainly learned a few things from that match after leading by only two points at half-time.”

Kolisi echoed the sentiment: “Last week was tough, and we were only able to break through after 60 minutes. Although we cannot control the result, the magnitude of this match makes it huge, and we are looking forward to it.”

The Bok skipper added: “There are a few guys in our team who haven’t won the Rugby Championship before, and we want to honour them and make it a special game for them. But setting records is not our focus. It’s all about our performance and trying our best to do the job tomorrow.”