South Africa's Cobus Reinach is held by two Argentine players during the Test on Saturday. Picture: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images
The Springboks fell to an agonising 29-28 defeat against Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash in Santiago del Estero on Saturday, to make sure that the competition will be decided this coming weekend in Mbombela.
It is the Boks’ second one-point defeat of the international season, after they went down 25-24 against Ireland in Durban in July, and ended their five game winning streak (four this year) in the Rugby Championship.
The Boks now sit on 19 log points, thanks to their losing bonus point, while Argentina move onto 14 and they will need a big bonus point win in the final match to stand any chance of lifting the trophy in Mbombela.
This is how The Citizen rated the performance of the Bok players, out of 10.
Aphelele Fassi 8: A strong outing from the rising fullback talent, as he continues to impress after returning to the Bok fold this year. He scored a try, kicked and chased well, competed well under the high ball and made some solid contributions on defence for a good all-round showing.
Kurt-Lee Arendse 5: A bit of a subdued showing from what we are used to from the flying winger, with him not receiving much ball out wide. He however chased well, but also picked up a harsh but costly yellow card that helped Argentina fight back from a poor start.
Jesse Kriel 6: He enjoyed a strong start to the match in the thick of the action that saw the Boks power into a 17-0 lead early, with him bursting through the defence to score the second try. He however faded over most of the rest of the match, without doing anything spectacular or wrong.
Lukhanyo Am 6: An okay performance in the number 12 jersey again, but it once again highlighted that his best position is clearly outside centre. Some nice soft touches in the first half and some good defence made it a decent, yet unremarkable outing.
Makazole Mapimpi 7: The veteran wing may be nearing the end of his international career, but he showed that he still has plenty in the tank if ever needed in a pinch. Strong chasing and some impressive breaks on attack were a highlight, while he defended well.
Handre Pollard 8: Much of the Boks’ superb early play was built around an action-packed opening quarter to the game from the flyhalf. He made a brilliant delayed pass for Fassi’s try, kicked well out of hand and was strong on defence and attack. Slotted his kicks at goal, missing just one, before being replaced early in the second half.
Cobus Reinach 7: He produced good service, but his box kicks were up and down throughout the match. Showed great awareness and skill to take a quick tap penalty and catch the Argentinian defence napping to score a try at the end of the first half. Went off after 55 minutes.
Jasper Wiese 5: Very quiet performance from the usually abrasive eighthman, with him not able to make any of his trademark big carries. Was also not big on defence and was replaced early in the second half.
Ben-Jason Dixon 6: A decent showing from the Bok newbie, definitely a step up from when he was replaced in the first half of the first All Blacks Test. Made some strong carries, cleaned well at the ruck and put in some big hits.
Marco van Staden 6: Was a mixed bag from the fetcher, with him proving a menace at the breakdown making a couple of nice steals, but he missed a vital tackle that led to an Argentinian try in the first half.
Ruan Nortje 6: Some good lineout moments and a workmanlike performance made it a decent game for the growing second rower. Got stuck into a lot of the dirty work and was replaced late on when it looked like he might finish the match.
Salmaan Moerat 5: A rather under par showing from the Bok skipper. He started reasonably well, but was then largely anonymous over the rest of the match. He went off early in the second half, and returned for the final eight minutes.
Thomas du Toit 6: Solid performance in the scrum, backing up Nche and putting the Argentinians under constant pressure. Won a turnover and got in a few decent tackles. But didn’t shoot the lights out. Went off early in the second half.
Malcolm Marx 5: A poor showing on a rare start for the usually imperious hooker. His lineout work was the biggest issue, with a number of missed throws, while he wasn’t prevalent at the breakdown. Scrummed well with Nche and Du Toit.
Ox Nche 9: Week in and week out he shows why he is the best loosehead prop on the planet. Brilliant scrum performance, with him setting the tone from the start by lifting and smashing back the monstrous Joel Sclavi. He also made a number of impressive runs, tackled like a demon and was the Boks’ best player on the day.
Bench 6: Eben Etzebeth equalled Victor Matfield’s cap record and made some vital lineout steals late in the second half. Vincent Koch scrummed well. Manie Libbok looked good after coming on early, with some top out of hand kicking and exciting runs, but will unfortunately only be remembered for missing what should have been the winning kick. Rest didn’t make much impact.
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