Springboks End Rugby Championship With Win Over Argentina
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South Africa held off a late surge by Argentina in the final game of The Rugby Championship, to secure a 22-21 win over Argentina in Johannesburg this afternoon.
The game got off to a tragic start for the home side as scrum-half Grant Williams was taken off in the opening minute, after a collision with Los Pumas fullback Juan Cruz Mallia. Williams was replaced with Sale Sharks talisman Faf de Klerk immediately. The visitors would be the first to get on the scoreboard through a Santiago Carreras penalty in the third minute after Libbok was caught offside. South Africa came close to scoring a minute later after a Jesse Kriel charge down on a box kick in the Argentina five.
Carreras would double Argentina’s lead in the nineth minute after a penalty to go up 6-0. South Africa responded with a Libbok penalty to cut the deficit in half. 9 mins later, South Africa found themselves with a line out in the Argentina 22. A quick line out saw Malcolm Marx and Eben Etzebeth link as the lock powered over in the corner for the games opening try. Libbok failed to add the extra two points leaving the score at 8-6 to end the first 20 minutes.
Marx seemed to be frustrating the South Americans at the break down, as they conceded a multitude of penalties. A strong line out maul after Libbok found touch in the corner, saw Damien de Allende cross the whitewash off the back of the maul. This time Libbok made no mistake, slotting in the extra two points to give the World Champions a 15-6 lead
Argentina came close to registering their first try of the game, however a steal by prop Steven Kitshoff saved the home team. However, Argentina would score the final points of the half again through the boot of Carreras to reduce the deficit to 15-9. It wouldn’t a happy ending for the visitors as lock Lucas Paulos was also taken off in a stretcher. The Springboks would finish strong, as Arendse thought he had scored his fourth TRC try, but was ruled to have stepped out.
The second half began with an early onslaught from the world champions, before a knock on by substitute Marvin Orie gave Los Pumas some breathing space. Carreras would miss another penalty in the 47th minute before a another Kitshoff turn over on South Africa’s tryline. Carreras would miss another penalty in the 60th minute, and Argentina were made to pay for that ten minutes later, after Faf de Klerk pounced on a loose ball after an Argentina backline error.
De Klerk found Libbok on the wing, who dotted over the line before converting his own try. This would spark a rampant onslaught by the South Americans that would see de Allende succumb to the pressure, as he was sent off in the 72nd minute for a deliberate knock on during the Argentina attack. Two minutes later Argentina was on the scoreboard through a Mateo Carreras try, with Santiago Carreras failing to capitalise with the conversion with five minutes to play.
The final five minutes were frantic for the Springboks, defending wave after wave of Argentina’s attacks. The pressure would see Cheslin Kolbe chase down and dot the ball down in his own tryline, to award Argentina a five-metre scrum. Los Pumas were eventually awarded for their resilience with a try from Gonzalo Betranou, after multiple crash ball phases in the Springbok five. Carreras added the extra points; however, it was too little too late as the Springboks ended their 2023 Rugby Championship campaign with a win, and a second-place finish ahead of third placed Argentina.
