Argentina came desperately close to claiming their first ever victory in the Championship, losing to the boot of Morné Steyn with history in their sights. When Marcelo Bosch hammered over a penalty from beyond halfway it looked like the result was theirs at last, even after butchering a 12 point lead in a poor 10 minute stretch. Alas a poor clearance from the restart and a bit of indiscipline handed Steyn a routine kick to win the match.
Passion streamed down the face of Juan Manuel Leguizamón as Juan Fuentes belted out a superb rendition of the national anthem. The opening minutes established that the home side was there to win, and if there were any doubts lingering they were evaporated at the first scrum as the Springboks were blasted backwards on their own put-in. Handré Pollard managed to keep his side in touch with three penalty goals, but it didn’t take an analyst to show that the visitors were well short on gusto.
For nearly the entire first hour of the match there Argentina were completely dominant. The selection of Juan Martín Hernández at centre allowed the Pumas to attack wide and flat, and caused all sorts of problems for the Springbok defense, caught out on more than one occasion. Marcos Ayerza was handing a pasting to Jannie du Plessis at the scrum, and the only time the South Africans looked half interested was when Bryan Habana scored from an errant pass completely against the run of play.
Even with the clear advantage the Pumas had failed to capitalise on the scoreboard, going into the break down by a penalty, but two brilliant tries early in the second half, first to reserve scrumhalf Tomás Cubelli and then to inspirational fullback Joaquín Tuculet, vaulted them back into the lead. When Nicolás Sánchez stretched the gap to a dozen with just over a quarter remaining it was do-or-die time for South Africa. Fortunately for Heyneke Meyer, his team found another gear and at last showed the urgency that had thus far been absent.
Cornal Hendricks redeemed himself for an earlier missed tackle on Manuel Montero by powering over in the corner, just barely managing to dot the ball down on the white line. Ten minutes later it was Marcell Coetzee, showing superb form in recent weeks, who went over from the back of a maul to seal his side’s resurgence. Steyn’s conversions were never in question, which led to the final dramatic minutes.
Pumas captain Agustín Creevy expressed his dismay after the game, proud of his side’s performance but regretful that they failed to take control when the win was theirs for the taking. At this level fatigue is no excuse, and the accuracy just wasn’t good enough in the crucial minutes following their run of points. Still there is hope yet, with the Wallabies once again looking vulnerable and the vaunted scrum back in tip-top form. A visit to Napier is up first, however, and the All Blacks look in no mood for generosity. The Boks will take a bollocking from Meyer, but thankfully have reeling Australia next to restore some energy.
ARGENTINA 31 vs 33 SOUTH AFRICA
Saturday, August 23, 19:10 GMT, Salta
SCORING
04 mins – N. Sánchez pen 3-0
11 mins – H. Pollard pen 3-3
13 mins – J.M. Hernández drop 6-3
22 mins – H. Pollard pen 6-6
26 mins – M. Montero try 11-6
27 mins – N. Sánchez con 13-6
29 mins – H. Pollard pen 13-9
32 mins – B. Habana try 13-14
33 mins – H. Pollard con 13-16
46 mins – T. Cubelli try 18-16
47 mins – N. Sánchez con 20-16
51 mins – J. Tuculet try 25-16
56 mins – N. Sánchez pen 28-16
58 mins – C. Hendricks try 28-21
59 mins – M. Steyn con 28-23
69 mins – M. Coetzee try 28-28
69 mins – M. Steyn con 28-30
74 mins – M. Bosch pen 31-30
77 mins – M. Steyn pen 31-33
ARGENTINA
J. Tuculet; L. González Amorosino, M. Bosch, J.M. Hernández, M. Montero (H. Agulla 77); N. Sánchez (J. de la Fuente 77), M. Landajo (T. Cubelli 34); M. Ayerza (B. Postiglioni 77), A. Creevy (capt.) (M. Cortese 80), R. Herrera (N. Tetaz Chaparro 68); M. Galarza, T. Lavanini (M. Alemanno 70); P. Matera (L. Senatore 36), J. Fernández Lobbe, J.M. Leguizamón.
SOUTH AFRICA
W. le Roux; C. Hendricks, D. de Allende, J. de Villiers (capt.), B. Habana; H. Pollard (M. Steyn 56), R. Pienaar (F. Hougaard 60); G. Steenkamp (T. Mtawarira 45), B. du Plessis (A. Strauss 52), J. du Plessis (F. Malherbe 45-79); E. Etzebeth (B. Botha 70), L. de Jager; F. Louw, J. Smith (M. Coetzee 52), D. Vermeulen.
Referee: S. Walsh (ARU)
Assistants: J. Lacey (IRFU) & M. Mitrea (FIR)
TMO: S. McDowell (IRFU)
