Boks still wary of Los Pumas, says Nkosi

Springbok winger S’bu Nkosi has made it clear that his team are not under-estimating Los Pumas as Saturday’s Rugby Championship fixture approaches. 

The Argentinians have selected a talented team packed with plenty of power, pace and athleticism. 

Jacques Nienaber has picked a very different-looking side from the one which did duty against the Lions recently and Nkosi and co. seem raring to go. 

“Argentina are a very strong outfit and they deserve all the respect we can give them and we will prepare with that in mind,” Nkosi said. “I expect them to be confident and to come off their line. 

“Argentina are a very physical team and I must say they have a good mix of athleticism and power. They are very similar to what we bring to the table, so we are expecting them to confront us physically. 

“The battles you fight against Argentina are different to the battles you would fight against the Lions. That is because of the make-up of their team, and we expect them to be confident and to stand their ground. 

“But we have made plans of our own. We need to give them respect, because they have slayed a few giants over their past few games. We need to be on point to make sure we don’t throw the short end of the stick. 

“The excitement never changes, and it is always pretty exciting for me to be here at all with the Boks. There are a lot of people who are not here but would like to be here. 

“As our coach Jacques Nienaber says each week, you have a different responsibility. The way it has gone in the past few weeks, my responsibility has been to prepare the guys. 

“That is also exciting because it could be someone else wearing those shoes, but it has been me. So excitement does not change, only the responsibility, and I am looking forward to playing Argentina.”