The Springboks will take the lessons learned in their heart-breaking 29-28 defeat against Los Pumas in Santiago del Estero into what is essentially the deciding match of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit this Saturday.
Bok loose forward Elrigh Louw added that although he was gutted after the defeat, it would be a dream come true to win the competition and lift the trophy.
The Springboks gained a valuable losing bonus point from the clash at Estadio Unico Madre Ciudades, which saw them jump up to 19 points on the table. Argentina finished the fifth round with 14 points. This means the Boks need only point from their closing match of the tournament in Nelspruit to clinch their first title since 2019.
Louw, who was one of a handful of players in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ match-day team that played his first Test in Argentina, said they were not caught off-guard in the clash with the vocal home crowd and Los Pumas’ physicality and tenacity, and he shared the coach’s sentiments that they missed out of a few chances could have seen them win the match.
“We all knew what we are going to face and be up against in Argentina with the hostile crowds,” said Louw.
“Coming to play in Santigo del Estero wasn’t easy, but we learned a few lessons which we’ll take into next week’s game.
“In the first few minutes we executed things very well, played our game, and took things to them. But then we made silly errors and slipped tackles which let them back in, and with the crowd behind them, it’s something you don’t want.
“So, we’ll make sure we take what we learned from the game into the next one.”
Louw was delighted that the team were still in pole position to claim the title and said: “We obviously wanted to beat them there, but the motivation will always be there. So, we’ll take the battle to Mbombela and go from there.”
Reflecting on his international season this year and being involved in this Springbok group, where he has become a regular in the squad, Louw said: “This probably rates as the top highlight for me so far, and lifting the Rugby Championship trophy would be awesome.
“It’s not something that I thought I would be able to achieve, and we are only a game away from possibly doing it. So, I’m very motivated and I can’t wait for next week.”
The team arrived in Nelspruit on Sunday evening and will begin their programme for the week on Monday.
