Springbok captain Duane Vermeulen stressed the importance of closing off the home leg of their 2023 season on a high note before the team enters their Rugby World Cup warm-up games and said a victory would be special for many reasons.
The match, which kicks off at Emirates Airline Park at 17h05 on Saturday, will not only mark the team’s last game on local soil this season, it will also be Jacques Nienaber and assistant coach Felix Jones’ last home game as Springbok coaches and possibly Vermeulen’s last dance in the green and gold jersey in South Africa.
Nienaber and Jones will join Leinster and England respectively after the World Cup, while Vermeulen may decide to hang up his boots following the global spectacle.
“As a team we spoke about the fact that it’s probably my last game in the jersey in SA and it will also be the last for two of our coaches,” said Vermeulen.
“It may be a bit emotional but the important thing for me will be to channel that emotion into leading the team well.
“It’s also our last game on home soil before the Rugby World Cup and we want to finish on a high note. If we play well and get a good result, it would be even more special.”
This, and the team’s desire to bounce back strongly from their defeat against New Zealand in Auckland, will be fuelled even further by the fact that every player realises the importance of making a statement as Nienaber prepares to announce his 33-man Rugby World Cup squad on Tuesday, 8 August.
“The World Cup squad has not been named yet, so this will be an opportunity for every player in the squad to try to cement a place in the group,” said Vermeulen.
“As players it is vital that we use every opportunity we get, and if we deliver quality performances, it will allow us to play the way we want to play against Argentina.”
Commenting on the threat the Pumas posed, Vermeulen said: “We definitely can’t sit back and rest on our laurels. Argentina are a physical side and they can play a complete game. They have strong forwards, skilful backs, and a massive work rate. They also don’t stand back.”
Vermeulen added: “As forwards we need to step up because we want to give Grant (Williams) and Manie (Libbok) the platform to have a good game. We didn’t do that for Faf (de Klerk) against New Zealand, and we’ve been working hard to ensure that we get things right this week.”
