Good start enough for scrappy Boks
Beale, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Peta Hiku tries; Shaun Johnson 3 cons)
If there is one consolation from the Warriors’ defeat, it is that three other top-eight sides also lost in this round, including the Roosters last night.
After trailing 12-0 at the break in Canberra, the Roosters levelled the match at 12-12 midway through the second half. But a 69th-minute Sam Williams penalty was the only scoring in the final quarter and the Raiders held on for a 14-12 victory.
The result snapped streaks of four straight losses for Canberra and five wins for the Roosters.
That result followed on from South Sydney’s 38-18 loss in Brisbane and Penrith’s 20-12 upset defeat at home to Newcastle in this round. South Africa scored four tries in the second half to reel in Argentina 34-21 in the Rugby Championship, avoiding a second straight surprise defeat to the Pumas in Durban.
The Springboks scored first but soon trailed 14-5 after Argentina hit back with tries by first five-eighths Nicolas Sanchez and flanker Pablo Matera at Kings Park, where the Argentines won their first test over South Africa in a big shock in 2015.
This time, South Africa avoided the upset with three tries and 17 unanswered points in the first 15 minutes of the second half, with wingers Aphiwe Dyantyi and Makazole Mapimpi each completing a double.
South Africa dominated territory throughout but wasted opportunities in attack and were sloppy again with 13 minutes left to gift Argentina centre Matias Moroni an intercept try.
At that stage, the Pumas were less than a converted try behind and in striking range at 27-21.
Halfback Faf de Klerk’s snipe from close range, the sixth try for the Boks, put the game beyond doubt and gave coach Rassie Erasmus a winning start in the Rugby Championship.
“I think for the first 25 minutes of the second half, we were okay,” Erasmus said. “But out of the 80 [minutes], that was the only 25 that was really good. Apart from that, we were scrappy.”
The Springboks had lock Eben Etzebeth back in action after an eightmonth injury absence and No 8 Warren Whiteley returned for his first test in more than a year.
Erasmus has three wins from five tests since taking over the Springboks this season.
He beat England 2-1 in a home series in June but his progress will be judged when South Africa face the Wallabies and top-ranked All Blacks later in the championship.
Argentina’s coach was also in charge of his first game in the Championship, with Mario Ledesma having far less time to prepare his team after taking over the Pumas at the start of this month.
Argentina host the Springboks in Mendoza in a return game next weekend.