New Zealand retained the Rugby Championship title after South Africa could only beat Argentina 38-21 in the final match of the tournament on Saturday.
The All Blacks' dominant 40-14 defeat of Australia had set the Springboks the sizeable task of securing a bonus-point win by at least 39 points to be crowned champions in Durban.
And Ian Foster's side could ultimately watch on with some degree of comfort early on Sunday morning back home, as the world champions could not prevent them from claiming a fifth title in six championships and had to settle for second place.
An 11th-minute Springboks try was ruled out as Eben Etzebeth had stripped the ball from team-mate Siya Kolisi in an offside position, although their pressure soon told with a yellow card for Marcos Kremer.
South Africa made the most of their numerical advantage when Jasper Wiese scored the first and surely easiest try of his international career, walking the ball over at the back of a scrum.
No sooner had Kremer returned than Juan Martin Gonzalez headed for the sin bin, and it was captain Kolisi's turn to capitalise as he powered through for the second, before Frans Steyn dispatched a long-range penalty.
But Gonzalo Bertranou lunged for the line on the stroke of half-time to silence the Kings Park crown, then Gonzalez raced down the left for the first try of the second period.
Argentina had designs on winning the match, yet they conceded pivotal penalty tries either side of Matias Moroni's score in a half that saw two yellow cards for each side, with the Springboks forced to scrap for their victory as Etzebeth and Faf de Klerk were off the field at the same time.
Kurt-Lee Arendse's last-gasp try at least allowed South Africa to finish with a flourish, with the Pumas consigned to finishing bottom of the table.
First-half frustrations again
If South Africa were to hold any hope of stealing the championship from New Zealand, they needed a strong start. However, three of their previous six home Tests against Argentina – despite all ending in victory – had seen the Springboks fail to take a lead into half-time.
They had to stay patient again in this encounter, frustrated in front of the posts against 15 men, but two tries with men in the sin bin looked to have kept South Africa just about on course until Bertranou dealt the home crowd a blow shortly before the interval.
Seven-try repeat a step too far
South Africa had not scored 39 points, let alone won by that margin, since a 40-9 defeat of Georgia in July 2021.
The last victory the Springboks celebrated that would have been enough to take the title in these circumstances was a 66-7 success against Canada at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, while the last against Argentina was a 73-13 win in 2013.
There were seven second-half South Africa tries in that thrashing of the Pumas, but a repeat never appeared likely this time.
Sturm Graz 0-1 Club Brugge: Tzolis strike seals visitors' first win
Christos Tzolis scored the only goal as Club Brugge edged out Sturm Graz 1-0 for their first win in this season's Champions League.
The Greece international delivered the decisive blow in the 23rd minute at 28 Black Arena on Wednesday.
Both sides were seeking their first point in the competition, having recorded defeats on matchday one against Borussia Dortmund and Brest respectively.
Brugge broke through midway through the first half, as Tzolis controlled before firing in off the post from the edge of the penalty area.
The visitors went close to doubling their lead after the break, but Sturm Graz goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen came to the hosts' rescue with a series of fine saves.
Urged on by the home fans, Christian Ilzer's side went in search of an equaliser, but it did not arrive as Brugge held out for the points.
Data Debrief: Third time unlucky for Sturm Graz
Sturm Graz have now suffered four successive Champions League defeats for the third time in their history.
Meanwhile, the Austrian side have now lost their last four European matches against Belgian opposition without scoring.
By contrast, Brugge maintained their perfect record of three straight wins against Austrian opponents, while they have now kept four clean sheets in five Champions League away games - as many as in their previous 22.
Tzolis' strike came from one of three shots on target, becoming the first Brugge player to register that amount in a single Champions League game since Hans Vanaken did so against Paris Saint-Germain in September 2021.
RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus: Ten-man Bianconeri claim improbable comeback win
Ten-man Juventus twice came from behind to stun RB Leipzig 3-2 on Wednesday as Francisco Conceicao's 83rd-minute strike contined the Serie A giants' winning start to their Champions League campaign.
Juve were reduced to 10 just before the hour mark when goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off for a handball outside the box, having already lost captain Bremer and Nicolas Gonzalez to injury.
Benjamin Sesko, whose opener was cancelled out by Dusan Vlahovic prior to the red card, quickly restored Leipzig's lead from the penalty spot with his third European goal of the season.
But Vlahovic came to Juve's rescue again three minutes later, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to level the game at 2-2.
And the unlikely turnaround was complete as Conceicao's fine finish gave the Bianconeri all three points in Germany.
While Juve have six points from six, wasteful Leipzig are still waiting to get off the mark, having been similarly frustrated late on against Atletico Madrid on matchday one.
Data Debrief: Joy for Juve's 10 men
It is not a record they will be proud of, but Juventus have had more goalkeepers sent off in the Champions League than any other club, with Di Gregorio the fourth.
But finally the Bianconeri managed to overcome that setback to earn a positive result. Previous examples had seen Angelo Peruzzi dismissed in a draw with Galatasaray and Edwin van der Sar sent off in a defeat to Panathinaikos, while Gianluigi Buffon's red card against Real Madrid came moments before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a decisive penalty in a two-legged quarter-final, despite Juve winning 3-1 on the night.
Buffon's moment of madness came in April 2018, and this was Juve's first Champions League win with 10 men since September of the same year against Valencia.
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna: Mac Allister and Salah strike as Slot's side stay perfect
Liverpool made it two wins from two in this season's Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah were on target for Arne Slot's side, who maintained their perfect start to the league phase, having also beaten AC Milan 3-1 on matchday one.
The Reds broke through after just 11 minutes when Mac Allister timed his run perfectly to steer Salah's teasing cross beyond Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead six minutes later when Darwin Nunez fired home, only to be denied by the offside flag, while the woodwork thwarted Dan Ndoye at the other end.
The visitors looked to hit back after the break and went close in the 56th minute as Riccardo Orsolini forced a strong save from Alisson Becker, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday.
However, the hosts gave themselves breathing space - and eventually the three points - with a quarter of an hour remaining, when Salah brilliantly curled into Skorupski's far corner of the net.
Data Debrief: Salah makes more history as Reds continue to enjoy home comforts
In wrapping up the victory, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five successive home Champions League games.
The Egyptian is also only the third player to achieve the feat for a Premier League side, following in the footsteps of Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy (six).
Also assisting Mac Allister's opener, Salah has now been directly involved in 14 goals (eight goals, six assists) in his last 11 home European appearances, as many as in his 20 previous such games.
It helped Liverpool record their 11th straight group/league win at Anfield in major European competition, while they have now scored at least twice in each of their last 10 such games.
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