De Allende: Twickenham doesn’t favour Boks or Pumas

South Africa recorded a commanding 67-30 victory against the Pumas in Durban last weekend. 

The Boks top the Championship table, one point clear of New Zealand, who play Australia in Perth. 

De Allende says both teams will have good support in London, despite it being neutral ground. 

“It’s a neutral ground, we have played here quite a lot and against different opposition in the past, so we are quite familiar with it. 

“But yeah, in saying that, Argentina has also played here quite a lot against England. So yeah, I don't think there's an advantage for them or an advantage for us. It’s a neutral ground.

“I think there's already been 60,000 tickets sold. I think the atmosphere in the stadiums has been incredible.” 

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has retained rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fly-half for Saturday’s game, with the only change to the starting team that won in Durban the return of fit-again prop Ox Nche.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu confirmed his standing as an extraordinary talent with a Springbok record 37 points -- including three tries -- against the Pumas last weekend.

Erasmus believes this week's match marks a critical stage in the 23-year-old's development after he resisted the "very inviting" temptation to recall the experienced Handre Pollard.

"It's not him that makes the big hype about it. If he makes a big hype about himself, he won't stay in our team for long," Erasmus said.

"Sometimes a game like that (against Argentina) puts more pressure on you in the next game, so we're putting him through his paces to experience this pressure.

"Even if he does well or not, he'll be a better player afterwards."

The Rugby Championship could be scrapped entirely in 2026, or at least truncated, with New Zealand set to visit South Africa for the kind of three-Test tour that was a staple of rugby union's amateur era.

*AFP contributed to this report

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