Smit wary of plucky Pumas' spirit

PARIS, France -- South Africa captain John Smit believes that team spirit is the greatest strength of Sunday's Rugby World Cup semifinal opponents Argentina.

The South Americans have reached the last four for the first time after stunning most pundits by winning the so-called "Pool of Death" with four victories from as many outings, then beating Scotland 19-13 in the quarterfinals.

Skipper Agustin Pichot has led a star-studded back line including veteran center Felipe Contepomi and fly-half Juan-Martin Hernandez, whose tactical kicking has capitalized on the forwards' awesome strength.

The Springboks, seeking to add to their sole title in 1995, have never lost to the Pumas in 11 meetings.

Smit's side have taken over the mantle of tournament favorites following the surprise exits of New Zealand and Australia last weekend, but he is wary that Argentina have the depth to cause another upset.

"As much as they have individual players of extreme talent like Pichot, Hernandez and Contepomi -- the names just carry on going -- but we have seen that they have not relied on individual talent but on spirit among all 15 players on the field," Smit said.

"So that, for me, is more of a threat than any individual player.

"We know that they are a tight unit, we know that they're close because they have done so well and we know they are certainly playing for their lives as much as we are."

South Africa were also tested in the quarterfinals, with Fiji drawing level at 20-20 before coach Jake White's team rallied to score two late tries.

Hooker Smit added: "There have been a huge amount of surprise results and teams that have improved dramatically over the past four years, so there is a huge amount of pressure for both teams.

"Both teams want to put everything they have into it and be able to progress to the final which gives an opportunity to win the World Cup and I think that puts pressure on any team playing in a play-off situation.

"We are expecting to field a lot of kick returns. Certainly if we can use the ball well in terms of how we field it -- what we do with it from there and how close we can get to structure from broken play -- I think that will aid us in how we approach the game."

The Springboks welcome back veteran prop CJ van der Linde following an injury, while Argentina have named the same starting lineup for the third straight game. E-mail to a friend