VIDEO: 'It was not Manie's fault'
South Africa made too many mistakes at crucial times and one missed kick by Manie Libbok was not the reason for their loss to Argentina.
Los Pumas ended the Springboks’ unbeaten run with a thrilling 29-28 win in their Rugby Championship match at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero on Saturday.
Replacement flyhalf Libbok missed a penalty goal attempt from 35 metres out in front in the last minute, which would have secured the title for South Africa.
However, his now infamous failures under pressure came back to haunt him once again.
The Boks now need one point from the final match of the tournament – when they face Los Pumas in Nelspruit next week – to clinch the championship.
“Argentina deserves to win,” a bleak Erasmus told a post-match media briefing.
The Springboks made a blazing start in a match played in 36°C heat, leading 17-0 inside 13 minutes.
However, a yellow card to wing Kurt-Lee Arendse in the 16th minute turned the game on its head.
Los Pumas scored two tries in the 10 minutes while he was off the field and wrested momentum in the game.
Erasmus refused to blame the missed kick by Libbok at the end, saying there were many things they could have done better.
(WATCH as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus absolves replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok of the blame for his team’s loss to Los Pumas….)
“Argentina took their chances,” he said, adding: “It shouldn’t have come down to one point – one kick.”
Erasmus said he had hoped that Libbok had slotted the match-winner, as it would now again face the wrath of angry fans and media.
“He kicked well the whole week [in training] and in the warm-up he slotted everything, but it is pressure.
“Again, I don’t think the game should have come down to the wire – with one man [needing] to kick it over.
“There were many opportunities where we lost the ball in line-outs or give away a penalty inside their 22.
“It was not a great display from us.
“He [Libbok] will get a lot of flack, we all know that.
“He will have to find a way to manage that and we will all get a lot of flack for him missing that kick.
“However, it should not have come down to the last kick for us to win the game, we should have done it much earlier.”
Argentina will have to beat South Africa with a bonus point in the return match at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit next Saturday and prevent the Springboks from securing any points.
“Credit to Argentina, they put us under a lot of pressure,” stand-in captain Salmaan Moerat said.
“For large parts of the game we played well, but they pulled it through.”
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