All four teams are still in the race to win the title - New Zealand face Australia in Melbourne on Thursday - with two matches to play, and Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids said the hosts would have all the motivation they need to register a victory this weekend, which is expected to set the scene for a scintillating battle.

“We have had mixed results in Argentina and given how close the race is between the teams for the title, we need to get the rewards from this match and to be as ready as we can for the next two games,” said Davids, who fronted the media at the team hotel in Buenos Aires with hooker Malcolm Marx on Monday.

“Our goal is to win the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and it is important to strive to get maximum points from our games, but this will require small steps and we realise it will involve a process to achieve this.”

Davids reported a clean bill of health within the team, and said all the players - apart from hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who joined the team in Buenos Aires on Monday where he will undergo medical assessments after suffering a knee injury last month - were available for selection.

Marx agreed whole-heartedly with the coach’s comments and said: “The next two weeks are going to be massive for all four teams in the competition because every side still has a chance of winning, so intensity is going to be key.”

Davids adopted a positive attitude to the pressure on the team and said playing in matches such as these were beneficial with an eye on the 2023 Rugby World Cup: “It’s good to play in such tough competitions and consistently at a such a high level of intensity. We need to get used to the feeling of playing in quarterfinals, semi-finals, and Finals, especially since everything we do now is part of our build-up to the Rugby World Cup.”

Davids and Marx spoke highly of Argentina as a team, with Davids saying: “They are a well-coached side and it showed in their victories against Australia and New Zealand. I also think they would have learned a lot of lessons going into the last two games.

“They will also be playing in front of a passionate home crowd, so they won’t need additional motivation against us. It is going to be an extremely challenging battle.”

Marx added: “Argentina have a great scrum and it will be a big challenge, but we have to focus on ourselves and we have a week to prepare as well as possible to play to the best of our ability.”