The Springboks will face a World XV before competing in the Rugby Championship, which will be followed by a Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.

For Argentina, Bath wing Horacio Agulla is among the 36 Pumas players who over the weekend travelled to Sydney, where the squad will undergo demanding preparations prior to the Rugby Championship. First up for them is a friendly against Randwick Rugby Club.

Daniel Hourcade, head coach of Argentina, said: "The players who are coming from Europe are already physically prepared, but when it comes to rugby everybody will do similar training with the All Blacks game only three weeks away."

Springboks head coach Heyeneke Meyer said: “It was great to see players such as Morné [Steyn], Heinke [Van der Merwe], Bryan [Habana], Schalk Brits and Francois play in and win finals with their clubs in Europe. The next five matches, before we finalise the squad for the Rugby World Cup, will be very important as we want to ensure the right 31 players are on the plane to England on September 11.

“We have done a lot of planning and research and are well-prepared for the season. We’ll use the matches against the World XV, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to fine tune where necessary, but the next two months also provide the players with an opportunity to put themselves in contention to make the World Cup squad.”

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