Springboks leave it late before getting past Argentinians

THE ghost of Durban past almost came back to haunt the Springboks against a spirited Los Pumas side in the safari setting of Mbombela Stadium last night.

A year ago Argentina recorded a historic 37-25 win over the Springboks in Durban, and with just over 10 minutes remaining in this tightly contested arm-wrestle, they looked well on their way to upsetting the applecart and condemning the hosts to yet another ugly piece of history.

But it was not to be for the courageous and growing force that Argentina have become.

With another dark chapter staring them in the eyes, Allister Coetzee’s men dug deep with a late surge at the death that saved them from being devoured by the Pumas.

It took 10 minutes and two moments of brilliance to save the Springboks as Johan Goosen and Warren Whiteley scored tries within eight minutes of each other to earn their side victory.

Again, it was the timely substitutions of Jaco Kriel, Steven Kitshoff, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Juan de Jongh and Jesse Kriel that injected urgency and better execution to the cause as the visitors capitulated under the renewed faith and firepower of the Springboks.

The Springboks will claim this victory, but it will serve as a reality check to how difficult the Rugby Championship will become going forward, and the pitfalls that await them in Salta next weekend against the same opposition, while they will be shaking in their boots at the prospect of playing against an All Black side that put the Wallabies to the sword earlier in the day.

This was far from the ideal start Coetzee was looking for, and it left more questions than answers on the Springboks’ ability to become a southern hemisphere force again.

For all the talk about decision-making and how key it would be to the Springboks’ showing major improvements from their June series win against the Irish, the hosts made poor choices and were worse in their execution.

Whatever it was that the home side had in mind never translated to action on the field, and often their overzealousness got the better of them, especially in the opening exchanges, when they had the Argentinians against the ropes.

There was early reward for the hosts when they were still getting their basics right, and keeping it simple by gaining an ascendency in the set piece, but things quickly fell apart due to their reluctance to show patience.

Ruan Combrinck’s seventh-minute try came from a clean catch from the kick-off, with Elton Jantjies carving through the defence with his deceptive pace before off-loading to Johan Goosen who, in turn, passed to Combrinck, who rammed his way over.

That would be the last fluent passage of play from the Boks, as their tardiness with possession allowed Argentina to gain parity in proceedings and ultimately wrestle the game away from the hosts.

It is when wearing their hearts on their sleeves that Los Pumas are most dangerou, and in the many moments of broken play they punished the Springboks’ brittle and disorganised defence.

They staged a comeback midway through the first half with a trylineto-tryline score by centre Matais Orlando, and maintained their 13-10 lead into the interval, after the Springboks had self-destructed when Lionel Mapoe dropped the ball over the line and Elton Jantjies hit the upright with a penalty attempt.

Argentina had built a 10-point lead with 13 minutes left after a Nicolas Sanchez penalty and another try engineered from nothing by wing Santiago Cordero.

The Springboks fought back – but another performance like this it might not be enough to save them in Salta next week, and it certainly won’t be enough to mount a challenge for tournament silverware.

Tries: Ruan Combrinck, Johan Goosen, Warren Whiteley. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (3). Penalties: Elton Jantjies (3).

Tries: Matais Orlando, Santiago Cordero. Conversions: Nicolas Sanchez (2). Penalties: Nicolas Sanchez (2).