HERMAN GIBBS
South Africa’s Springboks continued on their winning ways with a well-taken 37-15 triumph over Argentina in their 2017 Castle Lager Rugby Championship pipe-opener at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, on Saturday.
This crowd-pleasing conquest follows on the back of a 3-0 series whitewash over France in June and the Boks have clearly managed to lift their play a notch or two.
At the end, the Boks had outscored the visitors 4-2 in the try count and a superb scrumming performance provided the sheet anchor for a match-winning performance.
Argentina offered fierce commitment in the early gainline battles and they secured a turnover which brought an end to a 16-phase Bok movement after two minutes’ play.
However, the Boks slowly gained the upper hand at the breakdown battles and this paved the way for two early penalties, one of which flyhalf Elton Jantjies goaled in the 11th minute to give his side a 3-0 lead.
A poor call by referee Romain Poite (France) robbed the Boks of a try after loosie Jaco Kriel smashed through the opposition defence on the tryline. Poite, though, ruled an infringement in the build-up play.
The Boks went further ahead midway through the half after Jantjies was on target with a second penalty strike (6-0).
A pleasing aspect of the play up to this stage was the intention on both sides to keep the ball in play via high-tempo rugby, but the frenetic pace resulted in the ball often being lost the face of mostly compact defences.
Argentina induced a fresh sense of urgency into their play after trailing 6-0, and they produced a few powerful surges in the Springbok half where their efforts earned them a kickable penalty in the 29th minute. Their usually reliable marksman Nicolas Sanchez pushed his attempt across the face of the posts.
Argentina relied on a telling counter-attack to make their pressure count when they broke out from their own 22m line to snatch of the first try of the game, with scrumhalf Martin Landajo touching down ahead of the chasing Bok cover defence. Flyhalf Sanchez failed with the conversion from the touchline in the 33rd minute (6-5).
The Boks enjoyed better luck in the next few minutes when leftwing Courtnall Skosan ran for a try after shaking off a few defenders. The try remained after Poite failed to spot an infringement just before Skosan made his dash for glory in the 37th minute. Jantjies’ conversion ensured the Boks enjoyed an eight-point lead by the time halftime dawned (13-5).
When the second-half began, the Boks’ superiority at the set-scrums was again evident but they were not able to build on that platform, and the visitors staged a counter-attack which proved difficult to contain. Their efforts were rewarded when they won a penalty for a breakdown offence, and Sanchez nailed his attempt to reduce the deficit in the 45th minute (13-8).
Jantjies restored the eight-point lead three minutes later with his third penalty (16-8).
The Boks moved into overdrive moments later when they spurned a chance to goal a penalty by opting for the touchline. The ploy worked well when in ensuing play, rightwing Raymond Rule dived over for his side’s second try, with Janjties adding the extras for a 15-point cushion (23-8).
Just ahead of the hour mark, Argentina got the better of the Boks’ rush defence as they surged upfield and they rounded off superbly on the back of fine handling with a try by their leftwing Emiliano Boffelli. Sanchez struck the conversion superbly from the touchline (23-15) and with 20 minutes’ playing time remaining, the contest was far from being decided.
At this stage, a raft of substitutions for the Boks induced the desired momentum and flank Siya Kolisi was next in after the efforts of backs and forwards dovetailed well enough to break down the opposition defence in the 22m area. Janjties’ conversion was on target and the Boks opened up a 15-point lead at 30-15.
The Boks’ fresh legs made their effort count again eight minutes from the end when replacement lock Pieter-Steph Du Toit grounded after a dominant scrum virtually under Argentina’s posts. Jantjies goaled for a runaway 37-15 lead, seven minutes from the end.
Scorers: SA 37 (13): Tries: Courtnall Skosan, Raymond Rhule, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph Du Toit. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (4). Penalties: Jantjies (3)
Argentina 15 (5): Tries: Martin Landajo, Emiliano Boffelli. Conversions: Nicolas Sanchez. Penalty: Sanchez – African News Agency (ANA)
