Springboks' dull game in Buenos Aires a sleight of hand?

OPINION: The Springboks’ 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires and the game they played in the smash-and-grab might just have been a way to hide their cards ahead of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.

*Also read: Springbok squad will not be trimmed as All Blacks series looms

In the build-up to the one-off match against Los Pumas at Estadio José Amalfitani at the weekend, Bok chief Rassie Erasmus asserted that it would be disrespectful to Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi and his players to see the fixture in South America as a mere preparation match or even talk about New Zealand before squaring off with the Argentines.

Good thing Erasmus made that perfectly clear and stood his ground on the matter…imagine the media blowout if that was not the case after that match; the word “complacency” would have been thrown around to the point of becoming a cliché.

Not that such disregard can ever be expected from the Springboks, but any elaborate quotes on the Kiwis before taking on the Pumas would have found a way to be seen as such.

Perhaps the same applied to the game plan – just like they wouldn’t entertain talks of their blockbuster schedule against the All Blacks, which kicks off at Ellis Park on August 22, they wouldn’t reveal how they plan to go about their business against Dave Rennie’s men by employing their tactics against Argentina, either.

The Pumas deserved to win the match against the world champions.

Not only did they have the South Africans under the pump in terms of territory and possession early on, but they also defended like a beast, stood up to the visitors’ world-leading scrum and also aced their maul defence, and looked more controlled in the air.

Their discipline, which is an issue more often than not when Argentina take to the field, couldn’t be faulted, either, as there were hardly any off-the-ball scuffles and the Boks in fact conceded one more penalty than them (eight to seven). They also had 86 percent of possession in the last 10 minutes.

On attack, Los Pumas made 189 passes to the Boks’ 147, eight line breaks to the visitors’ four, and made 226 post-contact metres to the South Africans’ 22. The only attacking stat where South Africa beat Argentina was in the carries-made chart, 129 to 148.

On defence, Argentina boasted a tackle-completion rate of 94 percent to the Boks’ 84 percent.

Erasmus’ men also kicked more, and that aspect was one of the biggest frustrations in their game.

The Springboks kicked 43 times compared to Argentina’s 38; Contepomi’s crew produced a kick for every five passes they made, while South Africa aired the ball once for every 3.4 passes made.

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But it’s not even the volume of kicks the Boks made that was the major frustration, but rather the quality thereof.

South Africa’s kicking game is one of their biggest strengths, but it was their biggest ailment on Saturday. That, and the rusty performances of a number of their biggest names.

A buffeting wind made the afternoon’s aerial proceedings rather tricky, with Aphelele Fassi and fresh-from-injury Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu the main culprits as the wind wreaked havoc with their kicking game, while they also failed to adapt.

Things stabilised in the air when veteran Handre Pollard came off the bench and shot low, sharp kicks Argentina’s way.

Kicking aside, the Boks didn’t show their hand in any way, and we know no more about their plans for the All Blacks than we did after their first three Nations Championship games.

There were no eye-catching innovations, something the rugby world has come to expect from Erasmus and his team, and their attack – an aspect that has seen them revolutionise their game while retaining their “traditional strengths” – wasn’t headline-worthy, either.

Last week, Rennie said that he expects “curveballs” from Erasmus and added that they would bring their own plans to counter them.

The Springboks reverted to one of their core basics against Argentina, and while they didn’t do it extremely well, that should only add to the anticipation ahead of the Greatest Rivalry.