Springboks trust 10 changes vs Pumas are good enough to clinch Rugby Championship

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Salmaan Moerat will captain a much-changed South Africa side that will try to clinch the Rugby Championship crown against Argentina this weekend in Santiago del Estero.

The Springboks lineup underwent 10 changes on Tuesday after beating New Zealand 18-12 in Cape Town 10 days ago to remain the only unbeaten team.

The only starters to hold their places were prop Ox Nche, lock Ruan Nortje, No. 8 Jasper Wiese, flyhalf Handre Pollard and center Jesse Kriel.

Change was signalled when seven starters were left at home last Saturday to rest up for the tournament-closing match with the Pumas next week in Nelspruit. The rested were front-rowers Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe, flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, and backs Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux. Also, scrumhalf Grant Williams didn't go because of an arm injury.

Captain Siya Kolisi travelled while delaying fixing a broken nose but has been stood down, also.

There's a new front row including Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit, Moerat joining Nortje in the second row, and new flankers Ben-Jason Dixon and Marco van Staden. Cobus Reinach will feed Pollard, Lukhanyo Am has paired with Kriel in midfield, and Makazole Mapimpi, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Aphelele Fassi fill out a new back three.

Coach Rassie Erasmus also turned over his team against Australia after winning the first test 33-7. He wanted to build squad depth and spread test experience. They won the second 30-12.

“It would be amazing to wrap up the Rugby Championship title this weekend but it won't be easy, and we have a bigger picture in mind as well, which is to build squad depth with an eye on the 2027 World Cup,” Erasmus said.

"The only way we can do that is to expose the younger players to tough opposition under difficult circumstances, and so far, all of them have risen to that challenge.

“This group features players who have played either against New Zealand, Australia or both, so they have come up against tough opposition in the last few weeks, and this weekend will be equally demanding both physically and mentally, and it excites us as a group.”

Lock Eben Etzebeth, on a 6-2 bench, will likely appear on Saturday and equal Victor Matfield's Springboks test caps record of 127.

Argentina will name its team on Thursday.

South Africa: Aphelele Fassi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Jasper Wiese, Ben-Jason Dixon, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat (captain), Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Niche. Reserves: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Jaden Hendrikse, Manie Libbok.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

New Zealand's Sevu Reece left, is to late to prevent South Africa's Malcom Marx from scoring a try during a rugby championship test match between South Africa and New Zealand at Cape Town Stadium South Africa, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)