The victory wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Springboks ultimately got the job done in London on Saturday to claim the necessary four log points to finish at the top of the Rugby Championship log.
Although the Springboks and All Blacks finished level on log points, the tie-breaker that ultimately counted was the points difference, which is where South Africa were vastly superior.
HOW THE FINAL RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP LOG LOOKED AFTER SPRINGBOKS’ WIN
On Saturday, the Springboks fought their way back from 13-3 down in the 25th minute to take a 15-13 lead shortly after halftime and then had to overcome a strong finish from Argentina in the second half to secure a nail-biting victory.
“I’m satisfied with the result and winning the Rugby Championship back-to-back. This was a massive game for us, and although it was a far from perfect performance, I would prefer to see us learn while we are winning than losing,” Rassie Erasmus commented.
“We are still in a good position for the Rugby World Cup draw, but there is no doubt we have five tough matches ahead, and there is a lot of work ahead for us.
“The reality is that Argentina defeated Australia, New Zealand, and the British & Irish Lions, so we’ll celebrate tonight and take that positive from this match.”
Erasmus and his skipper echoed their sentiments all week that it would be a tight battle, with the Bok coach saying: “We knew it would be tough and at halftime you could see the guys were tired, but at the same time Argentina played well.
“They played a loose game, and we got a yellow card in the first half, while there were also a few close calls that could have changed the game. But they definitely showed massive fight and that they can really take things to the gutters.”
REMAINING FIXTURES THIS YEAR
- 1 November: vs Japan, Wembley. Kick off: 18:10.
- 8 November: vs France, Paris. Kick off: 22:10.
- 15 November: vs Italy, Turin. Kick off: 14:40
- 22 November: vs Ireland, Dublin. Kick off: 19:40.
- 29 November: vs Wales, Cardiff. Kick off: 17:10.
