Pumas and Springboks look to end on a high

South Africa great Victor Matfield insisted he had no regrets about coming out of retirement as he prepared to play his final match for the Springboks.

The 38-year-old originally retired from the global game after the 2011 World Cup, but he returned from the wilderness last year in time to play in this year’s competition and he will earn his 127th cap during the third place play-off against the Pumas.

“We showed during the pool phase that we can score great tries when we make the right decisions on the field”.

“Before this tournament, let’s be honest, Japan was one of the joke teams”, said Jones after his team bowed out with a 28-18 victory over the United States.

Argentina had a few excuse having made ten mainly enforced changes from their semi-final defeat to Australia. They lost to Argentina on home soil and they have stagnated by sticking with players who had passed their sell by date.

Jones thinks that possibly 60 percent of the current squad will still be available for the 2019 world cup in Japan, but he says the hierarchy of Japanese rugby needs to embrace change in player development if the team’s core is to be supplemented with new blood, talent and players able to continue the success he achieved by instituting the “Japanese Way” of play.

“I am honoured and delighted to be representing Argentina and the global rugby family at this exciting and critical time for our sport”, he said of his election to what is effectively the board of rugby’s global governing body.

“I can’t wait to see South Africa and Argentina battle for third place and meet all the famous players on the pitch – it will be such an exciting day”.

Within five minutes the Pumas were down to 14 men, scrum-half Tomas Cubelli sin-binned for not retreating ten yards, and South Africa took advantage nearly immediately.

“There’s so much to say about that guy, he’s been an inspiration to so numerous guys in South Africa”, said Vermeulen. “But I want to be part of the solution and see the youngsters come through”, Meyer told reporters.

“This team will be invincible if they can go forward and keep them together”.

South Africa’s Bryan Habana (C) during the national anthem before the game. The Super Rugby victor is top of South Africa’s try-scoring charts, 26 tries ahead of Joost van der Wethuizen in second place.

Bryan Habana, who was chasing a record 16th Rugby World Cup test try had a number of chances but wasn’t able to convert any of them.

It’s probably fitting that Habana and Lomu will share the record for tries scored at Rugby World Cups, although who knows, one Julian Savea could shatter that record given time. “I’ve been playing with him all my Test career and I enjoy seeing him at his best”.

Cubelli tried to create something to get the Pumas back into the match was he returned from his spell off the pitch, but the two-time world champions quickly won the ball back, while Handre Pollard kicked three penalties before the interval to give South Africa a commanding lead heading into the break.