The Springboks secured a narrow 17-10 victory against Argentina at the Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires, but the triumph came at a massive cost. While the victory finalises their preparation for the upcoming All Blacks series, a freak accident saw captain Siya Kolisi forced off early, leaving the World Champions sweating on his fitness ahead of the blockbuster clash at Ellis Park on August 22.
South Africa's rush defence initially pressured Argentina, but discipline collapsed early. Cameron Hanekom conceded a penalty after just two minutes, allowing Santiago Carreras to slot the three points and open Argentina's account.
Four minutes later, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu levelled the scores at 03-03 with a cleanly struck penalty.
The Boks' defensive lines shattered in the ninth minute when Benjamín Grondona crashed past several defenders to score the opening try. Carreras added the conversion, surging Argentina into a well-deserved 10-03 lead.
Unforced errors continuously plagued the Springboks, offering the Pumas easy turnover ball to launch rapid counter-attacks. Despite South Africa gradually finding a semblance of playing rhythm after the 20-minute mark, the resilient Argentine defence consistently kept the visitors from gaining meaningful ground.
The turning point of the half came at a heavy price when captain Siya Kolisi suffered a freak injury after 25 minutes, forcing him off the field to be replaced by Marco van Staden.
With the first-half clock in red, the Springboks finally showed their clinical edge. Brilliant handling across the backline put Edwill van der Merwe into space to cross for South Africa's first try. Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked the conversion to level the scores at 10-10 just before halftime.
The hosts played the far superior brand of rugby in the opening stanza of the second half, capitalising heavily on a stuttering performance by the boys in green.
Both teams heavily struggled for rhythm at the restart. Argentina’s stellar defensive unit dominated the opening 15 minutes of the second half, routinely stifling the Bok attack.
Despite the Springboks slowly territorialising the second half, it took until the 64th minute to break the deadlock. Cameron Hanekom powered over the line from the back of a dominant scrum. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted, giving South Africa a 17-10 lead for the first time in the match.
The final 15 minutes devolved into an incredibly scrappy affair, where rugby was definitely not the winner. Nevertheless, the Boks did just enough to hold onto their defensive lines and secure the 17-10 win away from home, hoping the cost of victory does not prove too high for the battles ahead.
Scorers:
Argentina: Try: Benjamín Grondona. Conversion: Santiago Carreras. Penalty: Santiago Carreras.
Springboks: Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Cameron Hanekom. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalties: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Gerónimo Prisciantelli, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Joaquín Moro, 7 Benjamín Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Moreno, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Boris Wenger. Replacements: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Tomás Rapetti, 19 Efraín Elías, 20 Juan Penoucos, 21 Juan Martín Scelzo, 22 Agustín Moyano, 23 Matías Moroni.
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Handre Pollard.