Bittersweet celebration as Boks beat Pumas
The Springboks missed out on winning the 2022 Rugby Championship despite beating Argentina by a comfortable margin in Durban yesterday.
To win the title, the world champions needed not only to score three tries more than Argentina, but also had to beat them by at least 39 points.
So, it was a bittersweet Heritage Day celebration as South Africa beat Argentina 38-21.
The Boks did well to dominate possession in the first half as well as play with a high tempo as they tried to gain momentum through powerful attacking runs and a clear desire to offload.
They celebrated what they thought was the first try of the match with Eben Etzebeth bundling over from a lineout, but the on-field call was overturned by the TMO for the Bok lock separating from the rolling maul.
The men in green and gold broke the deadlock at the close of the first quarter as Jasper Wiese scored his first Test try, with skipper Siya Kolisi later crashing over from a lineout maul as the Bok pack turned the screws.
Frans Steyn was on target to make it 14-0, and the flyhalf nailed a penalty kick from inside his own half before the interval, but Argentina hit back with a converted try from scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou that saw the stadium scoreboard read 17-7 at half time.
After the break, Gonzalez showed some fancy footwork down the left to cross the whitewash in the left corner for a 1714 scoreline.
But replacement forwards Duane Vermeulen, Kwagga Smith and Kurt-lee Arendse later combined strongly off a lineout that culminated in a penalty try after Argentina inside centre Jeronimo De La Fuente earned a stint in the sin bin for collapsing the maul.
Pumas outside centre Matias Moroni dotted down after sustained pressure, and right wing Emiliano Boffelli converted, to make it a three-point game with 10 minutes left on the clock.
However, another penalty try and a last-minute Arendse touchdown for the Boks ensured Jacques Nienaber’s troops avoided a second shock defeat to Argentina in Durban. – Report by