Don't cry for the Boks in Argentina

After years of travelling not being on tour with the Springboks is extremely agreeable, but I must confess to being quite nostalgic at the thought of them being in Argentina and Buenos Aires.

If the Springboks were to rate their favourite cities to visit, Sydney and BA would come out on top and you'd be surprised how many of them would pick the Argentinean capital ahead of any other destination in the oval world.

A city with a population of just on 20 million Buenos Aires on the Mar del Plata - a broad, muddy river so wide you can't see the far shore - has a vibrant atmosphere unlike any other I have visited.

Black-and-yellow taxis, seemingly fitted with perpetually honking hooters, charge around like bumble bees, the many pedestrian malls are a hive of activity, bargains in beautiful leather goods abound and there is a mood of friendliness lacking in most enormous cities.

Ask anyone who has been to BA to list his first impressions and he is likely to state: "The most beautiful girls anywhere and the biggest and best steaks you can find." I didn't know in quite what order to arrange those two statements, but I have never known anyone - albeit all men with an interest in rugby - to come up with any other memories of Argentina.

Small wonder the men of Buenos Aires boast that the obelisk that dominates the world's widest avenue - Avenida de 9 Julio - is, in fact, a tribute to their virility!

The Boks love being among the porteños (people who live by the port) of BA because they are afforded great courtesy without being overwhelmed by fans and the media.

Needless to say, rugby is very low on the list of priorities of a country utterly obsessed with soccer and in which the doings of Maradona still rate more news coverage than almost any national crisis you can think of.

The currency is in US dollars, which tends to make things enormously expensive, but promotes easy financial transactions, most people can speak a little English and, unlike the French, tend not to take umbrage if you can's speak Spanish.

Best of all the weather is warm and balmy which means practises are fun.

A characteristic of Buenos Aires is the unique time frame in which residents live their lives. They work a long day, go home for a siesta and don't go out to the many clubs until at least 11p.m. at night. many has been the South African who has fallen asleep just when his Argentinean host is getting into full swing!

Another aspect that makes touring Argentina fun is the fact that South Africans hold the revered status of founding fathers in their small rugby community - especially Dr Danie Craven.

Barry Heatlie, the man who holds the distinction of having led South Africa to its first international victory, settled in Buenos Aires in 1905 after he had run into personal troubles and felt the need to leave the country.

In South America Heatlie joined a sugar company, of which he became general manager by the time of his retirement in 1924, and is credited with having played an important role in establishing the game of rugby in Buenos Aires.

South Africa gave further impetus to rugby in the Argentina by sending a Junior Springbok rugby team to tour there in 1932 and 1959 and Gazelles teams in 1966 and 1972.

By inviting the Pumas to make a tour to South Africa in 1965 Dr Craven effectively placed Argentina on the IRB's agenda and it is a gesture that has never been forgotten.

Before the 1965 tour Craven had assigned the Izak van Heerden to prepare the Puma team and to take charge of them on tour and the visionary Natalian is often described as "the father of Argentine rugby."

The Pumas, however, have a sense that it is time for the pupil to teach the master the lesson. In the guise of the South American Jaguars - a ruse dreamt up by Craven to give his beloved Springboks some international exposure during the wilderness years of isolation - they beat the Boks 21-12 in Bloemfontein in 1980, with the great Hugo Porta scoring all their points, but they have never done so in the blue-and-white of Argentina.

Two of the rugby-writing friends I have made in Argentina, former Puma hooker Nicky Gonzalez del Solar and Frankie Deges, tell me there is a belief in the Puma camp the opportunity may present itself on Sunday*.

With the Pumas having, finally, embraced a more professional attitude and buoyed by the performance of their pack against the Wallabies in June the Argentineans go into the match having made an important psychological adjustment in that they will be trying to win rather than trying not to lose by too great a margin.

It's a warning Harry Viljoen and his charges will do well to heed.

*The match will be broadcast live on Sunday evening at 21.40 on CSN, SuperSport1 and SuperSport International.