Springboks urged to hit target against Wallabies

Rugby Championship Round 5 TodaySouth Africa vs Australia 4pm SS1SundayArgentina vs New Zealand 00:15am SS1NEWLANDS. All the talk from the Springboks in the build-up to Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship test against Australia at Newlands can be summed up by one simple statement – “We are on a knockout footing”.Everyone spoken to in the Bok camp this week has stressed that this game is the most important one. In other words, there won’t be anything to play for the following week when the All Blacks come to Johannesburg if they don’t win. And that’s the right attitude.Yes, the bonus point for scoring four tries, if they can get it, is important too. Maybe even crucial, for it really would seem a tall order for the Boks if they went to Ellis Park five points behind the All Blacks on the log, and thus needing to both win big and deny the Kiwis a bonus.But coach Heyneke Meyer was also correct to state that you can’t just assume the All Blacks will grab a full house of five points when they play the Pumas in the later game of this weekend’s round in La Plata.The Pumas have strengthened their pack with the return of Patricio Alabacete, and the last time they played at home they were unlucky not to beat the Springboks. So if they take the same mongrel onto the field against the All Blacks who knows what will happen?Well, it’s hard to see Argentina winning, but they could prevent Kieran Read’s team from scoring four tries. And that would mean a win at Newlands for the Boks would keep next week interesting.What the Boks don’t want to do on Saturday is lose the game and then fall completely out of the race. That would render the Ellis Park match a complete anti-climax as New Zealand would already have their name on the trophy.