Under-fire coach Heyneke Meyer has had to deny he is a racist on the eve of a Rugby World Cup warm-up match which suddenly has a ‘must win’ feel to it.

Beaten for the first time ever by Argentina in Durban last weekend, the Springboks have an immediate chance for revenge as they head to Buenos Aires for a rematch.

Beaten six times in eight Tests, Meyer has been panned by the South African media, while he has also been criticised by labour umbrella body COSATU for not picking black players.

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Two black players, the Zimbabwe-born Tendai Mtawarira and Bryan Habana, were in the starting line-up for the shock 37-25 defeat to the Pumas. That number will jump to four on Saturday.

The full-back Zane Kirchner and winger Lwazi Mvovo are injury replacements, Habana retains his place and Trevor Nyakane replaces Mtawarira at prop, with the latter dropping to the bench.

Meyer said: “You’re always going to get players that are unhappy if they don’t play. I don’t look at colour. I look at the best players. I’m totally committed to transformation and I have a great relationship with my players.”

While Meyer and his men in green and gold would happily accept the underdogs tag in Buenos Aires, Argentina insist the country who won the 1995 and 2007 World Cup finals are favourites.

“We anticipate a much tougher match than last weekend and are definitely not the favourites,” coach Daniel Hourcade said. “The Springboks are a very good team and are prepared for a backlash after what happened in Durban. We must be ready for a battle.”