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Pretoria - Gaining a win in the right manner will be more important for South Africa than any thought of a bonus point when they face Argentina in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday, captain Jean de Villiers said.
"The points on the log are important and we want to start stacking them up, but to us our execution and the way we play is more important," he told reporters on Friday ahead of the match at Loftus Versfeld.
"If we do that well, and it is all about the processes, then the rest will sort itself out."
An attacking bonus point is awarded if a team scores four tries or more.
The Springboks would be expected to take one from the first fixture in their six-game programme against a team they beat 73-13 at home last year, running in nine tries.
De Villiers said his team wanted to ensure they created the right platform to attack first, suggesting that creating attacks was the biggest area of concern.
"From a defensive point of view we are always up for it and we always pride ourselves on the way we defend," he said. "No matter what they throw at us, we'll be prepared for anything."
De Villiers, 33, returns to the team, and the captaincy, after a long injury layoff.
The inside centre, who has not played for 12 weeks due to a knee injury, said he felt as if he was starting again.
"It gives me new energy as well, having to prove myself again and show that I'm still good enough, but that is exciting," he said.
"I'm just as young as the guy on my inside and outside tomorrow."
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein
Argentina:
15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Paul Matera, 5 Thomas Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera 2 Agustin Creevy (captain), 1 Marcos Ayerza
Substitutes: 16 Matias Cortese, 17 Paz Lucas Noguera, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Thomas Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino
