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Pumas wing impressed by Bok duo

Durban - Argentina wing Juan Imhoff has more than three times as many Test caps (27) as Damian de Allende (5) and Jesse Kriel (2) combined.

But the 27-year-old Racing Metro flyer believes the Springbok youngsters have moved seamlessly into the world of Test rugby, and he is very impressed with what he has seen so far.

“I think that they don’t look like new players. They play like they have been playing for 10 years,” said Imhoff.

“Kriel is fast, he can straighten. He cut through the line against the All Blacks... I love players like this.

“I think it’s very difficult to play against. They are young players but they have a lot of confidence.”

While Argentina’s compliments are often directed at their forwards, Imhoff believes the Pumas backline also possesses the ability to hurt opposition.

“We are trying to be more offensive in our play. It is difficult for us because we are changing the team every week,” he said.

“If we can work a little bit harder with a more specific game plan, especially for this game, then we can be more aggressive in that area.

“We know that with the skills and the types of players we have that we can be dangerous.”

The Pumas take on the Springboks at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday (17:05 kick-off).

Teams:

South Africa:

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lwazi Mvovo

Argentina:

TBA

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