The 2025 Rugby Championship decider at Twickenham pits a determined Pumas side – fresh off a disappointing showing in their 67-30 loss to South Africa in Durban – against a fearsome Bok outfit who lead the table with 15 points and will likely need to win to secure back-to-back titles for the first time in their history.
On paper, this neutral-venue “home” game for Los Pumas favours the world champions with a large expat population in London to support them, but Argentina will be looking to use their physicality and confidence from recent wins over Australia and New Zealand to make it tight.
FlyHalf: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu vs Geronimo Prisciantelli
Control of tempo and territory is going to be crucial in what is effectively a high-stakes final for the Rugby Championship.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu was outstanding last time out in Durban, scoring a record 37-point haul, including a hat trick of three tries. He led the South African backline with confidence and executed with flair and precision. Any hope Argentina has of competing with the Springboks in this game starts with containing him.
Prisciantelli brings X-factor with his passing and kicking skillset but faces a baptism of fire under pressure from the Springboks loose forwards who will be looking to shut him down at every opportunity.
While Prisciantelli has potential, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has shown off his ability to take the game away from the opposition at the highest level and the Argentinian could have trouble avoiding errors in the pressure cooker environment at Twickenham.
Openside Flanker: Pieter-Steph du Toit vs Marcos Kremer
The breakdown is likely to end up being the defining battleground for this game and the duel between Kremer and Du Toit and ruck time is a mouthwatering prospect.
The experienced Kremer is Argentina’s breakdown hound and boasts an average of two steals per game in 2025, which has been vital for their defensive resilience. He will need to be careful to stay on the right side of the rules, though, as Feinberg-Mngomezulu will punish any transgressions in kicking range.
Du Toit, the 2019 and 2024 World Player of the Year, is a freakish athlete who has the most offloads in the Rugby Championship so far, shredded Argentina’s ruck last time out and scored two athletic tries.
Keeping him under wraps is almost as important for Los Pumas as controlling Feinberg-Mngomezulu and his ability to contribute in every area of the pitch with tackles, steals and carries is key for the Springboks.
Hooker: Malcolm Marx vs Julian Montoya
The lineout was a nightmare for Argentina in Durban, with the Springboks dominating the setpiece no matter who was throwing in the ball.
The experienced Montoya marshals Argentina’s pack with grit and wins turnovers in tight games but he has struggled with his lineout throwing in the 2025 Rugby Championship and South Africa punished him dearly in this area of the game last time out.
Marx offers so much outside of lineout time with his mobility and off-the-ball work and was very accurate with his throwing in Durban, which provided a stable platform for the Springboks to pillage Los Pumas’ defence.
Argentina will need to find a way to wrestle a modicum of control back on their own lineouts at least in order to challenge South Africa in London.
Fullback: Damian Willemse vs Santiago Carreras
South Africa’s use of the aerial game has been a crucial part of their strategy in the 2025 Rugby Championship and it is an area of the game they have dominated against every opponent so far.
Twickenham is known to have a wider pitch than most, which is going to make controlling the kicking game and high ball even more important for creating and preventing counter-attacking opportunities.
The venue’s boisterous atmosphere could also play a role in how well players are able to deal with corralling high kicks.
Carreras, who plays his franchise rugby for Gloucester, excels in aerial contests and broken-field runs and he will be very familiar with English conditions.
However, he is up against a dynamic defender with explosive speed in Willemse, who has shown his excellence under the high ball on plenty of occasions at international level.
He has been one of the Springboks’ best players at centre and fullback over the past couple of weeks and Carreras will have his hands full getting the better of this duel.
