BUENOS AIRES – The Springboks came away with a hard-fought 17-10 win over Argentina on Saturday evening (8 August). Still, the victory came at a cost, with captain Siya Kolisi limping off with a suspected hamstring injury in the first half.

It was far from a vintage Springbok performance, with several players returning from injury and showing understandable rustiness. Argentina were extremely physical on defence and effectively neutralised one of South Africa’s key weapons, the maul, for much of the opening period.

How the match unfolded

Argentina opened the scoring in the third minute through a Santiago Carreras penalty before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu levelled four minutes later.

Los Pumas, roared on by a boisterous home crowd, scored the first try in the ninth minute. Pablo Matera did brilliantly to offload to Benjamin Grondona, who went through untouched to score, with Carreras converting the lead to 10-3.

South Africa were scrappy for much of the half, with box kicks overcooked, handling errors and general inaccuracy, while Argentina were willing to move the ball at every opportunity.

Just when it looked like the home side would take a lead into the break, the Springboks struck with a long-range attack from halfway. Andre Esterhuizen, who had been well marshalled by the Argentinian defence up to that point, produced an exceptional offload in a tackle. Canan Moodie drew the fullback before finding Edwill van der Merwe, and the speedster did the rest. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted as the teams went into half-time locked at 10-all.

The Springboks were notably better in the second half, with the bench making a significant impact. They took the lead in the 63rd minute from a dominant five-metre scrum, with Cameron Hanekom controlling brilliantly to dot down. Handre Pollard converted for a 17-10 advantage.

Argentina threw everything at the Springboks in the closing stages, taking the ball through 17 phases in the final minutes, but South Africa’s defence held firm, forcing Los Pumas wide and eventually into a knock-on to end the contest.

Hanekom the standout

Cameron Hanekom was the standout player for South Africa, earning an 8.5 rating for his physicality on both attack and defence. He won a ruck turnover, made several big tackles, carried with purpose and controlled brilliantly at the base of the scrum for his try. The youngster gave away a penalty for a high tackle early on but grew into the match impressively.

Eben Etzebeth (7) got through 80 minutes on his return from injury, while Canan Moodie (7) and Edwill van der Merwe (7.5) also impressed. Van der Merwe took his try chance well and was solid throughout.

The bench earned a collective 7.5, with Ben-Jason Dixon and Zachary Porthen making their presence felt and Handre Pollard’s cool head proving crucial in the final quarter.

Kolisi a concern

The biggest concern from the match was Kolisi’s hamstring injury, which saw him leave the field in the 25th minute. The Springbok captain had been prominent with several big carries before his withdrawal, and his fitness will be closely monitored ahead of the All Blacks series.

Erasmus: Attack must improve

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus acknowledged there is plenty to work on ahead of the All Blacks Tests, particularly on attack.

“Argentina play a different style of rugby, and the stadium is genuinely intimidating, but it’s a win, although it wasn’t pretty and perfect. That said, we are happy with the result and with the way we ground it out,” Erasmus said.

“They play a similarly physical game to us, and we’ve always struggled to get on top of them physically, but to concede only one try, which came from an offload we probably should have stopped, tells me our defence was largely intact.

“Our discipline was also relatively good, but what we need to sort out is our attack. A number of players were short on game time on their return from injury, but getting them through 80 minutes was always going to affect our fluency. The positive is that we got them through the game.”

What’s next

The Springboks return to South Africa to prepare for the All Blacks, with the first Test taking place in Johannesburg on Saturday, 22 August. If the Argentina performance was a grind, the Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand promises to be an entirely different challenge altogether.

Scorers

Argentina 10 (10)
Tries: Benjamin Grondona
Conversions: Santiago Carreras
Penalties: Santiago Carreras

Springboks 17 (10)
Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Cameron Hanekom
Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handre Pollard
Penalties: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Source: Kick Off