South Africa vs Argentina Rugby tips – Championship Round 5

South Africa v Argentina Round 5 best bets

South Africa v Argentina Round 5 preview

The Rugby Championship title race is on a knife edge as world champions South Africa host Los Pumas at Kings Park, Durban, in Round 5.

The Springboks produced a devastating second-half performance to crush New Zealand 43-10 in Wellington two weeks ago and now sit just one point off the top of the table, with the top online bookmakers marking them as a $1.12 favourite. Argentina kept their hopes alive with a 28-26 win over the Wallabies in Sydney and have already beaten both Australia and New Zealand this season.

Rassie Erasmus has made minimal changes to his winning side, bringing Eben Etzebeth back into the engine room and shifting Damian Willemse to fullback. Damian de Allende and Canan Moodie form the midfield, while Ethan Hooker starts on the wing.

Felipe Contepomi has opted for a powerful Pumas pack with Franco Molina, Lucas Paulos and Pablo Matera all coming into the starting forwards. Juan Cruz Mallía captains from fullback and Rodrigo Isgró starts on the wing opposite Mateo Carreras.

South Africa v Argentina Round 5 team lineups

South Africa starting XV

15 Damian Willemse
14 Cheslin Kolbe
13 Canan Moodie
12 Damian de Allende
11 Ethan Hooker
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
9 Cobus Reinach
8 Jasper Wiese
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
6 Siya Kolisi (c)
5 Ruan Nortje
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Thomas du Toit
2 Malcolm Marx
1 Ox Nche

Bench: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Morne van den Berg, Manie Libbok, Andre Esterhuizen

Argentina starting XV

15 Juan Cruz Mallía (vc)
14 Rodrigo Isgró
13 Lucio Cinti
12 Santiago Chocobares
11 Mateo Carreras
10 Santiago Carreras
9 Gonzalo García
8 Joaquín Oviedo
7 Marcos Kremer
6 Pablo Matera (vc)
5 Lucas Paulos
4 Franco Molina
3 Joel Sclavi
2 Julián Montoya (c)
1 Mayco Vivas

Bench: Ignacio Ruiz, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo, Juan Martín González, Simón Benítez Cruz, Tomás Albornoz

Springboks v Pumas betting predictions

Argentina have covered big handicaps in South Africa before and their powerful pack plus improved discipline make them dangerous again. The +16.5 line at $1.90 with BetOnline gives them a sizeable head start.

Ethan Hooker’s pace and finishing ability on the wing complements the Boks’ bruising midfield. With Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu pulling the strings at fly-half, Hooker should get try-scoring chances. At $2.05 with BetOnline, the anytime tryscorer price appeals.

Both teams have shown attacking intent throughout 2025 and Kings Park has produced open games in recent years. The over 54 total points at $1.87 with BetOnline looks good value for punters expecting end-to-end rugby.

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