VIDEO: Pumas burst Bok bubble
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT: There are some obvious things that we believe after this 26-point turnaround in just a week when Argentina beat South Africa 32-19 in a Rugby Championship match.
26-point turnaround? South Africa won by 13 points in Durban, Argentina by 13 points in Mendoza.
We now believe because we know it to be true: A week is a long time in rugby. Unpredictability is a sporting spice. Playing at home is an advantage. The Pumas have physical force. There is no early, rosy dawn for the Springboks.
In fact the day of the rest of this year could be a gloomy one with heavy clouds and no silver lining.
That is if you are a confirmed pessimist. The people of Mendoza could have been pessimistic after Durban but more of them came to watch in little Mendoza than came last week in big Durban. Giving up hope is no solution.
After Durban, the Pumas found way to praise the invincible physicality of the Springboks. Then came Mendoza when their physicality won turnovers, their physicality on defence was greater than the Springboks’ physicality on attack, and they, unlike in Durban, had at least parity in the scrums.
In fact their lavish praise of Springbok physicality may have been a psychological ploy. The Springboks are at their weakest when they have a confident belief in their superiority. If they had that belief going into this match, they were riding for a fall. Overconfidence was ever the Springboks’ besetting sin.
The match was played on a sunny, wind-free afternoon in Mendoza, in front of a crowd of 28 000, eager and cheerful but quite possibly the most illmannered in the world when the opposition are kicking at goal.
The anthems were sung, Argentina’s ending with the triple vow: O juremos con gloria mori – Let’s swear to die with glory. Their anthem gave them an alternative – Coronados de gloria vivamos – Let’s live crowned in glory. This team grabbed the chance to find out how glorious it is to live in glory.
Argentina started by kicking to get into Springbok territory and they scored first when Frans Malherbe was penalised at a tackle and Nicolás Sánchez goaled. South Africa had a chance to level the scores but Handré Pollard missed a relatively easy kick at goal, an easier kick than his two successful conversions.
The Springboks counterattacked, and Aphiwe Dyantyi was only just out in a tackle at the corner. But then Siya Kolisi burst through Sánchez and ran for the line beating Emiliano Boffelli and Gonzalo Bertranou on his way to scoring a try. And the Springboks led 7-3. It seemed that they were picking up where they left off in Durban. Kolisi had another strong run and then it seemed that ennui overtook them.
The Springboks’ lead lasted five minutes. Going right Sánchez’s inside pass saw Boffelli burst straight through the Springboks near the half-way line. He strode down the field and when scampering defenders got close he gave to Bautista Ezcurra who passed to right wing Bautista Delguy who scored in the right corner. From far out Sánchez converted to give the Pumas a 10-7 lead, a lead they did not relinquish in this match.
The next try came three minutes later. The Pumas were under pressure at a scrum just inside their own half but they twisted it to their advantage. Javier Ortega Desio played to Bertranou and that simple ruse gave them an overlap against tatty defence. The handling was not smooth till outside centre Matías Moroni gave a perfect pass to his right and there was Delguy skimming past Willie le Roux for the Pumas’ second try. 17-7.
But it was not over. Pablo Matera and Agustín Greevy brought the Pumas back to the Springboks’ line where Eben Etzebeth was penalised and yellowcarded at a tackle. The Pumas opted for a scrum. De Klerk seemed to have scuppered their plans by grabbing Ortega Desio but Sánchez recovered the ball, stepped inside Kolisi and scooted around Malcolm Marx to score. 24-7 after 27 minutes.
The Pumas had scored three tries in nine minutes!
The Pumas had started the match in a slightly apologetic way but after Delguy’s first try their confidence soared while the Springboks, who had been so confident early on, became bewildered. The Springboks pulled themselves together but their efforts were bitty, lacking fluency and cohesion.
The Pumas came on the attack and went through several phases till Sánchez stood back and dropped a perfect goal. That made the half-time score 27-7.
The dropped goal meant that Sánchez had scored in all four ways possible in rugby football – try, conversion, penalty goal and dropped goal. The great Hugo Porta did that against the Springboks in 1982.
The Pumas were first to score in the second half when they went wide right and then wide left where Ramiro Moyano had an overlap and scored. That made the score 32-7 after 48 minutes, and the Pumas did not score again.
In fact the Springboks attacked for the most of the rest if the half with only 12 points to show for their efforts. In this period they turned down easy kicks at goal in search of tries from tap kick, line-out and scrum. But line-outs lost and a scrum penalised negated their efforts.
They came close. Dyantyi was over in the left corner but Lukhanyo Am’s pass to him was investigated and judged forward.
Mapoe did get a second try in the left corner when a clever pass from Le Roux gave him a run-in. 32-19 with 15 minutes to play.
De Klerk was close from a line-out but the Pumas won a turnover and Boffelli led an attack downfield. When the final whistle went, the Pumas were attacking.
This is the Pumas’ third win over South Africa and by the biggest margin 13 points, one more than the 12-point win in Durban in 2015. It is just one point fewer than their highest score against the Springboks after losing 37-33 in Buenos Aires in 2000.
Man of the match: Nicolás Sánchez ., who dominated the match the way Hugo Porta could.
Moment of the match: Emiliano Boffelli’s break that led to Bautista Delguy’s first try. Puma confidence rose after that.
Villain of the match: Eben Etzebeth for his yellow card. He knows much better than that tawdry attempt to cheat.
The scorers:
For Argentina:
Tries: Delguy 2, Sánchez , Moyano
Cons: Sánchez 3
Pen: Sánchez
DG: Sánchez
For South Africa:
Tries: Kolisi, Mapoe 2
Cons: Pollard 2
Yellow card: Eben Etzebeth (South Africa, 25 – cynical foul, killing the ball at the ruck)
* Listen as the @rugby365 team unpacks the weekend’s matches!
Teams
Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustín Creevy (captain), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia.
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Siya Kolisi (captain), 6 Francois Louw, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Rudolph Snyman, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Damian Willemse.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
