South Africa v Argentina: Talking points ahead of bronze medal match
Last Updated: 29/10/15 5:17pm
We look at five talking points ahead of the third-place play-off between the Boks and Argentina at the Olympic Stadium.
The third-place play-off is one of the least glamorous ties in the international game, but Friday's game presents differing challenges for the two sides taking part.
Injury-ravaged Argentina have made nine changes to the side that lost 29-15 to the Wallabies in their semi-final while Heyneke Meyer has opted for minimal adjustments to the team downed 20-18 by the All Blacks at Twickenham. Here we look at five talking points ahead of the clash between the two losing semi-finalists in east London.
Stratford send-off?
South Africa could potentially be saying goodbye to a few of their stalwarts on Friday night.
Little has been said officially, but Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana could all be playing their final test match at the Olympic Stadium.
The four were involved in the Springboks' 2007 World Cup win, each starting in the final in Paris, and were also part of South Africa's Test series win over the British and Irish Lions in 2009.
Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez retired from the game following the Boks' quarter-final exit from the 2011 World Cup, but were lured back into the international fold by Heyneke Meyer.
The quartet have over 400 caps to their names collectively, and when you consider that captain Jean de Villiers retired during the Boks' campaign, a big gap could be left in South Africa's leadership group.
Breaking the set-piece mould
For years Argentina's rugby was played in the same mould as South Africa's; a pack of forwards so big they needed to be evenly distributed on the aeroplane on the way to games, and a kicking fly-half to claim territory on the back of set-piece dominance.
With limited resources at their disposal, using their strength was seen as a way to survive on the international stage.
Then in 2012 the Pumas joined the Tri-Nations to form the Rugby Championship, and ever since then, have shown a steady improvement not just in results, but in performance too.
"Argentina are the best example of how a rugby team can evolve," Thinus Delport told Sky Sports. "If you compare the way they are playing now to the way they played three or four years ago, the two are miles apart.
"Graham Henry was brought in as a consultant and they've really bought into a different style. Not only that, but they back themselves confidently to play that way.
"South Africa doesn't have that. The Springboks seem to break down after five or six phases; after that the support runners are depleted. There is a shift that needs to take place in the way South African teams play."
Spotlight on Meyer
Heyneke Meyer took over the Springbok coaching job at the beginning of 2012, and has had mixed results in the role.
With Meyer at the helm the Boks managed just one victory in eight games against the All Blacks, and lost to Argentina and Japan for the first time in their history earlier this year.
Before the World Cup Meyer drew criticism from political party The Agency for New Agenda, who took action against SARU while claiming the team selection was 'racially exclusionary and biased in favour of whites'.
Though nothing materialised from the claims, Meyer's place in charge of Bok rugby could be under threat if SARU deems he has not delivered on results or made enough effort to transform the team to reflect South Africa's multi-cultural society.
Despite this, Meyer is adamant he wants to stay in the job, and vowed to build on the work done with the rising stars of South African rugby.
"It is easy to criticise and obviously I've made a lot of mistakes. But I want to be part of the solution and see the youngsters come through," he said.
"I will always regret I couldn't win the World Cup for my country and I will always believe in this team. I just believe they are going to get better. This team will be invincible if they can go forward and keep them together."
The coach has also received backing from senior player Duane Vermeulen.
"He's a guy who really motivates you in the way he presents himself, the way he speaks to you," said the No 8. "He always captivates you with one or two stories that he tells; and that's not stories out of a book, it's life experience."
Unstoppable forces and immovable objects
Argentina's expansive game plan has served them well; they are ranked second for points scored and tries scored in the World Cup, both behind New Zealand, while Nicolas Sanchez has scored the most individual points in the competition.
Santiago Cordero has made the most metres in the competition while Joaquin Tuculet is ranked fourth overall in the category. Cordero is also tied with Anthony Watson for the most clean breaks during the tournament, while Juan Imhoff is tied in second place.
Conversely, the South African's barely feature in the attacking stats. In fact the Boks are top of the table in two telling categories: penalties and drop goals.
However, the defensive efforts of Meyer's men have been warrior-like. In terms of tackles made, Lood de Jager leads the tournament with 74, Schalk Burger is second with 68, and Francois Louw is fourth with 59.
When the two teams meet, Argentina's expansive game will be tested by the resilient defence of the Springboks.
Habana chases the record
Bryan Habana has been named on the left wing for his 117th international for the Springboks. The Super Rugby winner is top of South Africa's try-scoring charts, 26 tries ahead of Joost van der Wethuizen in second place.
Against the USA in this year's tournament the Toulon winger scored a hat-trick, with his third try bringing him level with Jonah Lomu for the most World Cup tries scored.
The former Bulls and Stormers flyer will be looking to go one better against the Pumas to secure yet another world rugby record.
Habana's wing partner JP Pietersen says it's consistency that has helped Habana amass his records.
"Bryan gets better as he gets older," Pietersen said. "He's a legend around South Africa.
"When we need something big, Bryan Habana always steps up. To be equal try scorer with Jonah Lomu is a seriously amazing achievement.
"Everyone in the team has utmost respect for him. I've been playing with him all my Test career and I enjoy seeing him at his best."
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar; 1 Tendai Mtawarira, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 3 Frans Malherbe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 6 Francois Louw, 7 Schalk Burger, 8 Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Lodewyk de Jager, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.
Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Nicolas Sanchez (c), 9 Tomas Cubelli; 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Julian Montoya, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 4 Matias Alemanno, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 6 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon.
Replacements: 16 Lucas Noguera, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Juan Pablo Socino.
