Argentina's participation in a tournament outside the Rugby World Cup will finally happen this weekend but it might not be the party they were hoping for.
Argentina have a massive step up to make now that they are part of a tournament that contains the current Rugby World Cup champions and three of the four nations that have won the world cup.
It was not too long ago that Argentina were still playing an amateur game but the IRB have worked hard to get them involved in the professional era and in an annual rugby tournament.
Argentina's quest to join what was the TriNations was given a big push when they came third in the 2007 Rugby World Cup - after being knocked out in the Semi-final by South Africa who went on to win the title that year.
Argentina have struggled to match their 2007 Rugby World Cup performances since then but hopefully they will get up speed quickly now that they have regular fixtures.
In 2007 Juan Martin Hernandez was the star of the Pumas team but has had limited game time since then due to injury. This weekend he has been named in the team and is one to watch.
South Africa's Springboks have played Argentina's Pumas 13 times since they first met in 1993 and South Africa have yet to lose to the Pumas so they have a 100% winning record against Argentina.
The average score when South Africa play Argentina is South Africa 42 Argentina 21.
South Africa have played Argentina five times in South Africa but this match will be the first time the teams will meet at Newlands in Cape Town.
On average when the Springboks play Argentina in South Africa they score 45 points and the Pumas score 22 points.
In the five matches that South Africa has hosted Argentina the closest result was in 2003 when the Springboks edged the Pumas out 26-25 thanks to a late Louis Koen kick.
The Springboks have made a couple of changes for this match and one of those is Keegan Daniel coming in for Pierre Spies at No.8 while Willem Alberts comes in to replace Jacques Potgieter.
The Bookies have given Argentina a 15 point start for this match - with an offer of Bet 5 and Get 50 in Bets. Argentina have never beaten the Springboks and with this match being away from home it's highly unlikely that they will pull it off this weekend. The Springboks should win by 20.
This match will be shown on TV in NZ, Aus, SA and in the UK on Sky Sports 2HD.
Average score: South Africa 42 Argentina 21
Last five results
09 Aug 2008 South Africa v Argentina 63-9 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
14 Oct 2007 South Africa v Argentina 37-13 Stade de France, Paris
05 Nov 2005 South Africa v Argentina 34-23 Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
04 Dec 2004 South Africa v Argentina 39-7 elez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
28 Jun 2003 South Africa v Argentina 26-25 Boet Erasmus, Pt Elizabeth
South Africa's overall record against Argentina
Played 13 , Wins 13, Losses 0, Draws 0
Match : South Africa v Argentina
Date: 18 Aug
Venue : Newlands, Cape Town
Kick Off local: 17:00
Referee: S. Walsh (ARU)
Assistant Ref 1:J. Garces (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2:J. Lacey (IRFU)
TMO : J. Meuwsen (SARU)
Teams
South Africa
15. Zane Kirchner , 14. Lwazi Mvovo , 13. Jean de Villiers , 12. Frans Steyn , 11. Bryan Habana , 10. Morné Steyn , 9. Francois Hougaard , 8. Keegan Daniel , 7. Willem Alberts , 6. Marcell Coetzee , 5. Andries Bekker , 4. Eben Etzebeth , 3. Jannie du Plessis , 2. Bismarck du Plessis , 1. Tendai Mtawarira ,
Replacements , 16. Adriaan Strauss , 17. Pat Cilliers , 18. Flip van der Merwe , 19. Jacques Potgieter , 20. Ruan Pienaar , 21. Pat Lambie , 22. JJ Engelbrecht ,
Argentina
Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino; Gonzalo Camacho, Marcelo Bosch, Santiago Fernandez, Horacio Agulla; Juan Martin Hernandez, Nicolas Vergallo; Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (capt), Alvaro Galindo, Julio Farias Cabello; Patricio Albacete, Manuel Carizza; Juan Figallo, Eusebio Guinazu, Rodrigo Roncero
Replacements: Bruno Postiglioni, Marcos Ayerza, Juan Pablo Orlandi, Tomas Leonardi, Leonardo Senatore, Martin Landajo, Martin Rodriguez
