Coetzee has a perfect opportunity to get the team into shape.
Argentina’s triumph over the Springboks heralds the team’s migration away from underdog status.
Heyneke Meyer’s men need to keep the momentum going when they meet The Pumas for a test match in Mendoza Argentina on Saturday.
Argentina stood on the brink of a remarkable first victory over SA on Saturday before the Springboks rallied to snatch a 16-16 draw.
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/ 29 September 2011
The Blue Bulls will be desperate for a win over the Pumas in Pretoria as they bid for a place in the Currie Cup semifinals.
A brace of late tries by Jacques Botes spared the Sharks’ blushes as they secured a narrow 33-20 Currie Cup victory over a brave Pumas side in Durban.
The unbeaten Lions are reaping the rewards of the zero tolerance approach their coach John Mitchell has taken with the team.
The Bulls secured a nail-biting 16-12 victory over the Pumas which moved them away from the embarrassing log position they previously held.
Griquas confidently beat the Pumas 40-33 in their Absa Currie Cup match in Nelspruit on Friday.
Defending Currie Cup champions Sharks clinched a 23-22 win over the Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday night.
Lions mentor John Mitchell was not impressed with his team’s performance after narrowly beating the Pumas 31-27 in Johannesburg on Friday.
The new season of the Absa Currie Cup begins when Lions host the Pumas in Johannesburg in what has been labelled as a crucial match for the hosts.
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/ 6 February 2009
The Mpumalanga Pumas will show you how to throw out a football team and its goalposts from their stadium — and get away with it.
SA’s 63-9 rout of Argentina was a confidence booster for the Tri-nations clash with the All Blacks next weekend, said coach Peter de Villiers.
The Eagles saved their best for last when they trounced the Pumas 50-12 in a Vodacom Cup rugby match at George on Saturday. The match was only of academic value and neither side qualified for the cup play-offs. The Eagles scored eight tries to the two of the Pumas.
The Free State Cheetahs emphasised that they are top contenders to lift the Vodacom Cup title this year with a solid 34-20 win over the Pumas in Witbank on Friday night. In other matches, the Wildebeest beat the Griffons 33-7 in Welkom and a brace of tries by Wylie Human sealed another victory for Western Province.
On the day Jonny Wilkinson set a world points record, the England flyhalf was upstaged by opposite number Chris Paterson in Scotland’s upset 15-9 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday. Paterson, a metronome-like place kicker, is on a remarkable run of 30 successful penalties and conversions in a row dating back to the 2007 World Cup.
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/ 23 February 2008
In a game riddled with errors, turnovers and bad handling at times — not surprising in the searing heat of a Durban summer’s day devoid of a cooling breeze — the Pumas upset the Wildebeest by 30 points to 10 in their first-round Vodacom Cup rugby match at the Absa Stadium on Saturday.
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/ 3 December 2007
The appointment of Jake White’s successor as Springbok coach has been postponed until the president’s council meeting, which is being held on January 9. Johan Prinsloo, CEO of the South African Rugby Union, on Monday confirmed that the four candidates’ final interviews with the appointment committee will be held on January 7 and 8.
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/ 19 October 2007
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France and Argentina clash on Friday in a World Cup third place play-off overshadowed by simmering French resentment at their opening night shock defeat to the Pumas five weeks ago. That 17-12 embarrassment threatened to send the hosts’ campaign into freefall before they righted their listing ship with a spectacular quarterfinal win over the All Blacks.
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/ 16 October 2007
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Former president Nelson Mandela will give the Rugby World Cup final in France a miss on Saturday, his spokesperson Zelda la Grange said. ”Because of his age, it is very difficult for Madiba to undertake long trips,” she told the South African Press Association on Tuesday.
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/ 15 October 2007
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South Africa may have reached the World Cup final, but they will have achieved nothing if they don’t beat England in Saturday’s showdown, said coach Jake White on Sunday following the Springboks’ 37-13 victory over Argentina. The 43-year-old also insisted that the 36-0 walloping of England four weeks ago counted for nothing.
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/ 14 October 2007
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Bryan Habana scored two breathtaking tries as South Africa ended Argentina’s glorious Rugby World Cup adventure with a 37-13 semifinal win at the Stade de France in Paris on Sunday. The Springboks will now face England, whom they beat 36-0 last month at this ground in a pool game, when they return for Saturday’s final.
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/ 13 October 2007
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How much do Argentina have left in the tank? The answer should be clear in the second half of a ferocious forwards clash between the Pumas and South Africa on Sunday. Cracks appeared among the Pumas last Sunday when they let slip a 19-6 lead around the hour mark to give Scotland a sniff at victory. The Springboks are too dangerous for anybody to afford easing off at any time.
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/ 12 October 2007
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If this World Cup has taught us anything it is that too much preparation can be stifling. It is plain madness to spend four years preparing for a tournament that might be decided by the whim of a referee. The moral is: empower the team you have and remind them that the World Cup is an adventure, not a destination.
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/ 11 October 2007
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Argentina and South Africa have pumped up the volume in a war of words ahead of their World Cup semifinal on Sunday by exchanging mutual insults. Pumas full-back Ignacio Corleto blasted the 1995 champions as ”arrogant” while Springboks scrumhalf Fourie du Preez claimed opposite number Agustin Pichot was ”irritating”.
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The battle of the brothers swung decisively in Argentina’s favour at the Stade de France on Sunday as the Pumas charged into the World Cup semifinals for the first time. The South Americans won a closely fought quarterfinal 19-13 and will play South Africa next Sunday for a place in the World Cup final.
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/ 30 September 2007
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Argentina defeated Ireland 30-15 on Sunday to ensure the Pumas finished unbeaten at the top of Pool D and qualified for a World Cup quarterfinal against Scotland next weekend. Wingers Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla scored tries while playmaker Juan Martin Hernandez drop-kicked three goals.
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/ 28 September 2007
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When the draw for Rugby World Cup 2007 was made, certain things were assumed. It seemed a foregone conclusion, for instance, that the big game in Pool A would be South Africa against England and that the only potential giant-killer among the other three teams in the group would be Samoa.
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/ 23 September 2007
In a shock result in a Currie Cup first-division game at Outeniqua Park in George on Saturday, the Eastern Province Mighty Elephants sprang a surprise when they defeated the Eagles 34-17. In Wellington, Griquas beat the Boland Cavaliers 57-22, and the Lions outplayed the Valke 61-30 in Johannesburg.
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/ 21 September 2007
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Hosts France kept their nerve and their hopes alive of landing their first World Cup title in Paris on Friday as they beat Ireland 25-3 in their crunch group-D clash at the Stade de France. Two second-half tries by winger Vincent Clerc and 15 points from man-of-the-match Jean-Baptiste Elissalde were enough to see the Irish off.
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/ 10 September 2007
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Argentina made another statement for inclusion in a top annual competition with their win over France but their treatment as second class citizens is manifest in having to play their second World Cup match four days later. The Pumas meet Georgia in the next Pool D game at the Gerland stadium on Tuesday.