South Africa 48-7 Argentina: Rampant Springboks seal Rugby Championship crown

By Sports Desk September 28, 2024

South Africa secured their first Rugby Championship title in five years with a dominant 48-7 victory over Argentina in Nelspruit. 

The Springboks dominated from the off, with first-half tries from Aphelele Fassi (two), Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe handing Rassie Erasmus' side a comfortable advantage. 

But an ill-disciplined Pumas display proved to be their downfall, with replacement Pablo Matera seeing his yellow card upgraded to a red on 20 minutes for making needless head contact during his challenge on Vincent Koch. 

The fixture was then firmly ended as a contest after a competitive first period when full-back Santiago Carreras joined Matera in the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, reducing the visitors to 13 players while allowing the Springboks to hammer home their advantage. 

Malcolm Marx was the first to capitalise, with Du Toit quickly notching his second try of the encounter, before Jesse Kriel sealed a memorable triumph after latching onto the end of Handre Pollard's kick.

Tomas Albornoz scored the Pumas' only try in the contest, with the Springboks avenging last weekend's one-point defeat in Argentina, which briefly delayed their coronation. 

Data Debrief: Etzebeth makes history as Springboks seal title

South Africa sealed just a second Rugby Championship triumph in the competition's full format since 2009, while adding to last year's World Cup success. 

There was also an historic 128th Springbok appearance for lock Eben Etzebeth, who surpassed Victor Matfield as his county’s most-capped player.

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    The teams traded blows in the first half, but the All Blacks soon found their groove after the break, as the Wallabies failed to find a way back into the contest.

    Australia made a slow start last week, but they came out flying in Wellington with Fraser McReight getting an early try after seven minutes.

    Anton Lienert-Brown soon crossed to get the All Blacks up and running, but Scott Barrett's missed conversion meant they could not draw level.

    Noah Lolesio's two penalties on either side of Tupou Vaa'i's try kept Australia in control, at least until the stroke of half-time.

    Caleb Clarke exploited a gap to cross under the posts, and Barrett kept his cool, adding the extras after the half-time siren to send New Zealand into the break 19-13 up.

    Australia had no answers after that, with Tamaiti Williams and Clarke extending New Zealand's advantage as the Wallabies' fight fizzled out. 

    Data Debrief: New Zealand take Wellington by storm

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    The All Blacks have also won their last nine in a row against the Wallabies, but bettered their previous two victories in which they only won by a three-point margin. 

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  • The Rugby Championship: Springboks targeting revenge with glory on the line The Rugby Championship: Springboks targeting revenge with glory on the line

    South Africa had the chance to clinch their first Rugby Championship title since 2019 last Saturday, only to be edged out by Argentina, setting up a grandstand finish.

    Rassie Erasmus' side had a perfect record to that point, but that narrow 29-28 defeat now means the Pumas have a slim chance of getting their hands on the trophy for the first time.

    Argentina will be backing themselves for another upset after impressing in the tournament, and they will look to overturn the odds with one more big win.  

    Meanwhile, Australia will be aiming to finish their underwhelming tournament on a high, though they face another stern test against the All Blacks.

    Ahead of the final round of fixtures, we look at the best Opta facts and figures to preview both games.

    NEW ZEALAND V AUSTRALIA

    After succumbing to the record-breaking 67-27 defeat against Argentina in the fourth round, Australia failed to turn their luck around despite a spirited fightback against New Zealand last time out.

    Joe Schmidt will endeavour to finish the tournament on a high after seeing his side struggle for much of it, though they face an uphill task having won only one of their last 13 Tests against the All Blacks (D1 L11).

    The Wallabies have also won only one of their last five Test matches (L4), and have lost their last two, though they have scored more points in those defeats (55) than they managed in the three Tests prior (39 – W1 D2).

    New Zealand will still feel fairly confident though, having won their last eight matches against Australia, although their last two victories in that run have come by a three-point margin.

    In Wellington, the All Blacks are undefeated in five Tests against their hosts (W4 D1), conceding only 10.8 points per game in that streak.

     

    However, overall, they have won just one of their last seven trips to the city (D2 L4), beating France 26-13 in June 2018, going winless in their last five Tests since in Wellington (D2 L3).

    It is likely that Australia will need to take advantage of any opportunity they get, with their success of stealing opposition line-outs an obvious strength.

    They have won the joint-most of any team in the tournament so far (nine, level with New Zealand), though they will need to improve on the one they managed against Scott Robertson's side in the last match.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    New Zealand – Rieko Ioane

    Rieko Ioane has made dominant contact on 64% of his 35 carries (18/35) in the Rugby Championship – the best rate of any player in the tournament (min. 10 carries).

    He has made three line breaks across his last three Test matches, more than he logged in his seven games prior for the All Blacks (two).

    Australia – Hunter Paisami

    Hunter Paisami has scored three tries in his last four Test matches, including one against New Zealand last time out.

    He had not crossed the try line in his 26 career appearances for the Wallabies prior to that run.

    SOUTH AFRICA V ARGENTINA

    South Africa had one hand on the trophy last weekend, and though they have opened the door for Argentina, they still have a great chance of winning the trophy.

    The Springboks will be confident they can bounce back from that loss, having won 17 of their 18 Test matches against Argentina on home soil (L1), with their only such defeat coming back in August 2015 in Durban.

    Their record in Nelspruit is even stronger, winning all four of their Tests in the city, overcoming half-time deficits in three of those victories. South Africa defeated New Zealand 26-10 in their last match there, which is their largest margin of victory at Mbombela Stadium.

    However, Argentina's confidence will be sky-high after snapping an eight-match losing streak against South Africa – they have never won back-to-back games against them before.

    The Pumas have also won their last two Tests against Tier One opposition, as many as they managed in their seven such fixtures before that (W2 L5). If they can beat South Africa again, they will register their longest such winning streak since the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

    And Felipe Contepomi will be urging his side to maintain their high discipline level as they aim to overturn the odds.

    Argentina are the only team yet to receive a red or yellow card in the tournament and have conceded the fewest penalties (50) of any team in the campaign. In fact, they have not received a red or yellow card across their last 12 Test matches.

    Only a win by a bonus point, without South Africa picking up one of their own, will be enough to hand Argentina their first title, but they have scored 96 points in their last two outings, so they cannot be overlooked.

     

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    South Africa – Ruan Nortje

    Ruan Nortje has won 31 lineouts (including two steals) in the Rugby Championship – seven more than any other in the tournament.

    In addition, he has been the first to arrive at 63 of the Springboks' rucks, the second most of any player for a team in the campaign (Carlo Tizzano – 64 for Australia).

    Argentina – Mateo Carreras

    Mateo Carreras has been directly involved in six tries in his last six Test matches (five tries, one try assist), including two tries and a try assist in his last two Tests.

    He has scored a try in each of his two career appearances against South Africa, as well as a try assist in his most recent meeting against the Springboks.

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