Should the Wallabies defeat the All Blacks in Melbourne earlier on Saturday, the Springboks will be in with a fighting chance to win the title if they defeat the Pumas. If things play out this way, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and his charges will know the exact permutations when they take the field as the other encounter kicks off at 11h45 (SA time).

Both the Springboks and Pumas pride themselves on their physicality and power, and Davids said on Monday this would make for a challenging encounter.

“Argentina are a team that play with a lot of pride, and they don’t go away,” said Davids.

“They fought until the end against Australia and earned the win, and against New Zealand, they started slowly, but went on to win the second half. So, it’s going to be a grind from the start, but we have to be accurate and play in the right areas of the field.”

Zooming in on their strengths, Davids said: “They have a massive set piece, and they have extreme speedsters in the backline, so if you concede possession against them it could count against you.”

Frans Malherbe on the charge against the Wallabies in Pretoria.

Malherbe also spoke highly of the visitors and their forward pack, saying: “They are a physical side that keep playing for the full 80 minutes. They also have a big scrummaging culture, so we have to be ready for that.”

Kolbe focused on the backs and said: “The aerial contest and battle for dominance is going to be big. Argentina showed in their last two matches what they can do, and with players in their backline that have played on the Sevens circuit, they’ll pose challenges.”

Davids said the Boks had had a hard look at themselves after their 35-20 defeat against the All Blacks in Auckland and that they were determined to bounce back strongly this weekend.

“We had a thorough look at our performance against New Zealand and we need to be better across the board – that will be our main drive going into this match,” said Davids.

“We have a quality squad, and we believe in the players. I don’t think a team can become poor after one performance. Looking forward, we believe we have the right plans in place, and we know what we want to achieve.”

Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids.

With Nienaber set to name his squad for the match on Tuesday, Davids said they had a two-pronged approach to team selection for their remaining matches in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup.

“We’ll select a team we believe can get a positive result against Argentina, as we do each time we select a team,” said Davids. “But we’ll also look at building match fitness, and that will remain part of our strategy as we progress to the World Cup.”

Should Kolbe be selected in the matchday squad, it will mark his first appearance in the green and gold at Emirates Airline Park – a prospect that excited him immensely.

“I’ve never played at Emirates Airline Park as a Springbok, so if I get the opportunity to play, it would be fantastic,” said Kolbe.

“The atmosphere at the stadium is electric and we’d love it if people come out in numbers and support us. It’s our last home game before we leave for the World Cup, so it would be special to play in front of a passionate crowd.”