The last time the teams met was in two Tests in 2019. The Springboks won their Castle Lager Rugby Championship match in Salta by 46-13 to clinch the series, and a few weeks later beat the Pumas by 24-18 in a friendly in Pretoria, where Nkosi scored both the Boks’ tries.

After a series of competitive performances by Los Pumas in the last two seasons, which included a 25-15 victory against the All Blacks last year, Nkosi said the Boks were ready for a tough outing.

“We expect them to be confident and come to the line,” said Nkosi, who will earn his 12^th Test cap in the encounter.

“They are a very physical team, and they have a good mix of athleticism and power, which is very similar to what we bring to the table.

“They’ll confront us physically too. The battles you fight against Argentina one could liken to the battles against the British & Irish Lions because of the make-up of their team. So, we expect them to be confident and stand their ground, but we’ve also made plans of our own.

“They’ve slayed a few giants in the last few matches they’ve played, and we respect them, so we need to be on form to ensure that we do not draw the short end of the stick.”

This weekend’s Test may mark his first of the season after playing supportive role up to now, playing in both South Africa ‘A’ matches during the Castle Lager Lions Series – he started against the British & Irish Lions and played off the bench against the Vodacom Bulls – but Nkosi said it remained a privilege to be in the squad.

“The excitement (of being in the squad) hasn’t changed for me,” said Nkosi.

“As coach (Jacques Nienaber) explained, each week you have a different responsibility, and in the last few weeks my responsibility has been to prepare the guys (that are playing) and for me that is also exciting because it could have been someone else in that role.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to playing against Argentina. They are a very strong outfit, and they deserve immense respect, so we’ll prepare with that in mind.”

The match kicks off at 17h05 on Saturday and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.