LONDON – The Springboks weathered a fierce Argentine storm to claim the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title with a nail-biting 29-27 victory at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday, overcoming early deficits and late drama to secure their crown.
In a match that ebbed and flowed like a championship final should, South Africa found themselves trailing 13-3 at one stage before mounting a stirring comeback that seemed to have settled the contest, only for Argentina to set up a grandstand finish with two late tries.
The Pumas came out firing in front of the London crowd, dominating the early exchanges and striking first blood with a try in the opening minutes. Bautista Delguy crossed the line to give Argentina a 7-0 advantage.
South Africa managed just a solitary penalty goal in response before Argentina extended their lead through the boot of Santiago Carreras, who slotted two penalty goals to establish a commanding 13-3 advantage as the Springboks struggled with uncharacteristic handling errors and discipline issues.
However, the world champions showed their championship mettle just before halftime. Capitalising on their dominant scrum – long considered the foundation of Springbok rugby – the visitors struck back through scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, who burrowed over to cut the deficit to 13-10 at the break.
The second half belonged initially to South Africa, with hooker Malcolm Marx becoming the hero of the hour. The dynamic forward crossed twice in quick succession to swing momentum decisively in the Springboks’ favor, before Reinach added his second try to establish what appeared to be a comfortable 29-13 lead.
But Argentina, true to their never-say-die spirit, had other plans. The Pumas roared back into contention with tries from Delguy – his second of the match – and Rodrigo Isgro, setting up a frantic finale that had the Twickenham crowd on their feet.
In the end, South Africa’s experience and composure proved decisive as they managed the closing stages to secure the victory that confirmed their championship triumph.
The result caps a successful campaign for the Springboks, who can now turn their attention to the upcoming northern hemisphere tour with confidence restored after this hard-fought triumph over spirited opposition.
FULL-TIME SCORE:
Argentina 27 (13) – Tries: Bautista Delguy (2), Rodrigo Isgro. Conversions: Santiago Carreras (3). Penalty goals: Carreras (2).
Springboks 29 (10) – Tries: Cobus Reinach (2), Malcolm Marx (2). Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty goal: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
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