New Zealand claimed the 2022 Rugby Championship title after South Africa could only secure a 38-21 victory over Argentina at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
The Springboks needed a bonus-point triumph and a 39-point gap between them and Los Pumas to usurp the All Blacks in the table but they came up against a resilient side.
Jacques Nienaber’s men started well enough as they moved 17-0 in front thanks to Jasper Wiese and Siya Kolisi tries, with Frans Steyn adding two conversions and a penalty, but the visitors hit back to end their dreams.
When Gonzalo Bertranou and Juan Martin Gonzalez touched down either side of the interval, it effectively made the task impossible.
Two penalty tries and a late score for Kurt-Lee Arendse sealed the win but it was ultimately a frustrating day for the Springboks.
Knowing that they needed tries, there was more ambition in the Boks’ play in Durban. They looked to move the ball through the hands and off-load in contact, but unsurprisingly there were far too many errors.
In fact, once the hosts began to simplify matters, they created chances. The key parts of their game ― the scrum, lineout and maul ― started to function, while they dominated at the breakdown.
Any time Argentina had the ball, which was few and far between, Malcolm Marx and co. went to work at the contact area, resulting in consistent pressure on the visiting defence.
Los Pumas were regularly infringing and eventually referee Damon Murphy got fed up of their constant indiscretions, resulting in a yellow card for Marcos Kremer.
With the back-row off the field South Africa scored their first try when a scrum marched towards the line, giving Wiese the simple task of touching down.
Kremer then returned but almost immediately the South Americans were back down to 14 as Gonzalez was sin-binned.
A try for Kolisi soon followed and the hosts were edging towards the points total they needed, especially when Steyn added a long-range three-pointer.
Argentina had not been in the game but towards the end of the first half they found some rhythm. The visitors went through the phases and Bertranou found a gap to snipe, crossing the whitewash from close range.
Despite that score, South Africa still had the chance to overturn the points differential to the All Blacks, but Los Pumas had upped their game and altered the momentum.
Impressive response from Argentina
All of a sudden, the Springboks were struggling to gain possession and territory, and Michael Cheika’s men manufactured a brilliant second try.
They shifted play out to the left where Gonzalez was lurking. The athletic back-row still had plenty to do but he superbly stepped Willie le Roux to scamper clear and reduce the arrears to three points.
South Africa’s title aspirations were slipping away, even after they were awarded a penalty try. Jeronimo de la Fuente was sin-binned for his role in that score but the hosts could not find the quality they needed to add to their tally.
Instead, Argentina got back on the front foot and, following yellow cards for Eben Etzebeth and Faf de Klerk, Matias Moroni reduced the arrears with 13 minutes remaining.
The concern for the Springboks had suddenly moved from claiming the title to actually winning the game, but they managed to muster a response as a penalty try and last-minute Arendse effort sealed a pretty hollow victory.
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