Boks grind past Argentina in nervy Buenos Aires contest

MATCH REPORT: The Springboks overcame a gritty Los Pumas side to record a 17-10 victory in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

It was the Boks’ last match before they head into the Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks, which will consist of four Test matches.

The Boks were far from their best with several stars shaking off some rust. They only took the lead in the 63rd minute with a Cameron Hanekom try after constantly battering Argentina’s defence with several fresh legs from the bench.

The visitors also had to do some big defending at the death to stop the home side from snatching a draw. Replacement back Matías Moroni lost the ball forward in the final attack with the tryline in front of him.

There will also be some concern for captain Siya Kolisi, who left the field with a hamstring injury in the 25th minute.

Argentina opened the scoring with a penalty goal from Santiago Carreras after some foul play by Hanekom.

The lead didn’t last long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu levelled matters with a straightforward penalty of his own a few minutes later.

However, the first real big moment went to the home side when Benjamín Grondona received a pop pass from Boris Wenger before running in for the first try in the ninth minute.

After sustained pressure and multiple phases, Feinberg-Mngomezulu found the crossbar with a drop goal attempt in the 21st minute.

The Springboks eventually broke through Argentina’s wall in the 39th minute after clever and quick passing by Andre Esterhuizen, Canan Moodie and Aphelele Fassie allowed Edwill van der Merwe to run away for a try.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extras with the conversion, and at half-time it was 10-all.

Carreras could’ve put the Pumas back in front early in the second half, but he hit the upright with his penalty attempt.

The Boks proceeded to dominate possession and territory after that, but they were thwarted by some more stern defending by the Pumas.

The South Africans also had a Johan Grobbelaar try denied in that period of play after the TMO spotted Marco van Staden in touch in the build-up.

After sustained pressure, the Boks eventually got their second try when Hanekom controlled the ball at the back of a dominant scrum before going over for the points.

It was a seven-point lead after Handre Pollard’s conversion.

The Boks could not take the game away from the home side, and they were left defending their tryline in the closing stage of the game.

In the end, the South Africans held on to take some momentum into their first showdown with the All Blacks on August 22.

Man of the match: Flyhalf Santiago Carreras was excellent for Argentina in pressure situations, while loose forwards Joaquín Moro and Benjamín Grondona showed their dynamism in open play. However, the award goes to Springbok No.8 Cameron Hanekom for his all-round performance. He made his presence felt at the breakdowns, and he was very physical on defence. The Bulls star also made some hard yards with ball in hand and scored the winning try.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try: Grondona
Con: Carreras
Pen: Carreras

For South Africa:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Hanekom
Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Pollard
Pen: Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Teams:

Argentina: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Joaquín Moro, 7 Benjamín Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Moreno, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Boris Wenger.
Replacements: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Tomás Rapetti, 19 Efraín Elías, 20 Juan Penoucos, 21 Juan Martín Scelzo, 22 Agustín Moyano, 23 Matías Moroni.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Handré Pollard.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (France), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)