Lock Salmaan Moerat will lead the Springboks against Argentina in the Rugby Championship clash in Santiago on Saturday.

Listen to this article 8 min Listen to this article 8 min In another display of the microscopic detail the Springboks go to, to gain an edge, captain Siya Kolisi will make his Test debut in the coaches' box against Argentina in Santiago.

Kolisi will not feature on the field against the Pumas in a likely Rugby Championship decider despite being on tour with the team.

Kolisi suffered a broken nose in the 31-27 victory against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on 31 August. Instead of undergoing surgery, he played through the pain a week later in Cape Town.

At that stage it was expected he would undergo surgery to set the bone instead of touring Argentina for the one-off match. It was a surprise when he was named in the touring party, but it was a very clear plan by the Bok management.

From the outside, it appears strange that Kolisi was taken all the way to Argentina only to miss out on playing altogether, but as ever with coach Rassie Erasmus, nothing was done on a whim.

"Siya was brought here as cover if someone was injured, he was not scheduled to play," Erasmus confirmed.

"Naturally...