Springboks survive Salta scare

South Africa kept their Rugby Championship title hopes alive with a hard-fought 33-31 victory over Argentina in Salta on Saturday.

The sides scored three tries apiece in a ding-dong battle that saw the Boks came back from 28-16 down to snatch victory.

But did they deserve the win?  Only the most biased Bok fan could suggest so.

Unlike last week's rain-affected clash in Pretoria, South Africa could not use the weather as an excuse this time as, under blue skies, they were outmuscled and outplayed at their own game for the better part of an hour.

Behind the fired-up pack that was consistently going forward, Nicolís Sínchez and Juan Martín Herníndez were putting runners into space and keeping the Boks pinned back in their own half with clever kicks.

Expecting to be able to speed the game up from from last week's slugfest, the Boks looked rattled as it was their hosts who took the initiative and desperate scrambling defence was required to keep the blue and white jerseys at bay.

Humiliated at scrum time, the Springboks would have considered themselves fortunate to be leading 16-13 at the interval having been on the wrong end of the territory and possession statistics.

Indeed, los Pumas were the better team in the first half, dominating at scrum time and scoring the first try through Manuel Montero, only to see the Boks snatch the lead back thanks to a Bryan Habana try against the run of play.

Tries from replacement scrum-half Tomís Cubelli and full-back Joaquin Tuculet after the break saw Argentina take the game by the scruff of the neck against the shell-shocked tourists.

But the Pumas ran out of puff in the last quarter as tries from wing Cornal Hendricks and replacement flank Marcell Coetzee saw South Africa edge ahead.

Argentina were first to score when Sínchez split the uprights after Bismarck du Plessis was penalised at a ruck.  The hosts' early lead could have been doubled after Jannie du Plessis was found wanting at scrum time but Sínchez was off target.

Handrí¨ Pollard levelled the scores after Juan Leguizamí³n was caught offside but the Pumas had their tails up and Herníndez restored their lead with a neat drop-goal to give Argentina a deserved 6-3 lead ahead of the first water break on 20 minutes.

Pollard could once again draw his team level after a Bok maul was pulled down illegally but Argentina replied with the first try of the game as Montero finished off a patient build-up out wide, shrugging off Hendricks' tackle to bag his 13th try in 15 Tests.

Sínchez added the extras and Argentina were good value for their lead at 13-6.

The Boks picked up their third penalty from as many incursions into Argentine territory as Tomís Lavanini went off his feet and Pollard knocked it over, but the momentum was with los Pumas.

South Africa moved in front for the first time as Habana scored an opportunistic try.  Ruan Pienaar hacked ahead a loose ball inside his own half, followed up, toed it forward ahead again and Habana had the gas to win the race.

Pollard's conversion gave the visitors a three-point lead, but they had to defend very hard before heading to the changing rooms a relieved side.

Argentina charged ahead after the break as Cubelli sneaked between Lood de Jager and Bismarck du Plessis to touch down.

Sínchez added the conversion before Tuculet shrugged off both South Africa's centres to score in the corner and give Argentina a nine-point lead.

Another penalty — this time against Francois Louw for hands in a ruck — allowed Sínchez to put the hosts further ahead at 28-16.

The swing in momentum South Africa needed came on the hour mark as Hendricks stretched out an arm to just get the ball onto the whitewash.  Morné Steyn added the conversion from the touchline.

A textbook Springbok maul saw Coetzee touch down with Steyn's extra's sneaking the visitors back in front.

A tense finish saw Argentina regain the lead via a long-range penalty from Marcelo Bosch — for late tackle by Bakkies Botha — but Steyn replied three minutes from time after the Pumas were pinged for a ruck infringement.

It was another case of so near and yet so far for the Pumas as they remain winless after 14 matches in the southern hemisphere championship.

Man of the match:  Springboks flank Francois Louw deserves a mention for his defensive effort but the standout players were in the home side.  The front row was incredible and Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n was a huge ball carrier.  But we'll go for Nicolís Sínchez who, for the second week, was the most dangerous player.

Moment of the match:  South Africa looked down and out until Cornal Hendricks' try which swung the momentum in their favour.  It was a case of millimetres, but he just got rubber onto whitewash.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montero, Cubelli, Tuculet
Cons:  Sínchez 2
Pens:  Sínchez 2, Bosch
Drop:  Herníndez

For South Africa:
Tries:  Habana, Hendricks, Coetzee
Cons:  Pollard, Steyn 2
Pens:  Pollard 3

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Herníndez, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Jerí³nimo de la Fuente, 23 Horacio Agulla.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrí¨ Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthrí¶ Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Venue:  Padre Ernesto Martearena Stadium, Salta
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

Australia thrashed by otherworldly NZ

New Zealand produced rugby from another planet as they bounced back from the draw in Sydney with a blistering 51-20 win over Australia.

Played out at a ferocious pace and the odd handling error aside, this was New Zealand's best rugby of the year so far.

There was even time to break a record in the final minute, Steven Luatua ensuring that New Zealand put 50 points on Australia on home soil for the first time with his try under the sticks after the hooter.

Any nagging suggestion before kick-off that Steve Hansen's men were on the slide was instantly trashed.

They simply played at an unbreathable tempo for Australia, or indeed any other side on the planet.  Cataloguing all of the brilliant individual moments will take some time.

It's a game played on a different level, a persistent hunt for space with hands always open and passes so well timed that opponents are denied the chance to play and are constantly threatened.  Like a turbocharged game of Sevens with 15 men.  New Zealand are the kings of it, mesmerising when they find their groove.

So many All Blacks were outstanding, but it would be wrong not to single out Brodie Retallick.  His work at the ruck and around the park was staggering.

The world champions were awesome and angry, conceding the first points to a penalty from Kurltey Beale but then surging forward with all the intensity that was missed in attack in Sydney.

Running with plenty of vigour and feeding off the slight of hand from Ryan Crotty and Ben Smith, the high speed start eventually slowed as Cruden added two quick penalties to put the hosts ahead.

Tremendous defence from both teams prevented early tries, but Beale underlined why Ewen McKenzie had gone for his creative streak when sliding through two tacklers before releasing Israel Folau.

Hell then froze over when Richie McCaw received remarkably only his second ever yellow card in Test rugby, the hard line towards cynical defence from New Zealand rising to the fore as Romain Poite didn't hesitate to bin the All Blacks skipper.

After the controversy surrounding Jaco Peyper, the French referee had an excellent game.

Going down to 14 men didn't damper New Zealand's momentum, Cruden regaining the lead with his third strike for a 9-6 scoreline after the opening quarter — one coincidentally without any scrums.

Stopping the All Blacks maul was proving to be a problem for Australia and Rob Simmons paid the price for lifting the leg in the maul, taking his turn to see yellow as McCaw returned to action.

A juggernaut scrum from the All Blacks delivered the try they deserved, eight against a Simmons-less Wallaby pack.  James Slipper went to ground and Poite didn't hesitate to run under the posts to award the score.

Boy this was good;  everything that Sydney wasn't.  Folau cantered through the defence but squandered a pass to the man outside before being tackled high, though it crucially and wrongly went unpunished.

The Wallabies went right but when isolated were pounced upon, New Zealand turning over the ball and countering at a canter up the right touchline for Julian Savea to go over untouched.

23-6.  How could Australia, winless on this ground for 28 years, come back from that?

Sometimes there are no answers to pure brilliance.  A break starting by Beauden Barrett from behind his own posts had New Zealand cutting and gliding their way through tacklers.

Michael Hooper did his all to stop the assault with a breakdown penalty, but the home side were in punishing mode.

Dazzling hands and a well-weighted grubber from Savea infield ended with a try for Kieran Read, his face a picture after a frustrating few months.

McCaw ensured his yellow card was just an anomaly when he crashed over for the bonus point.  If a white flag had been available you'd have understood Australia raising it at 37-6.

A second score from an almost copycat situation for the New Zealand captain brought up the 40-point mark before Folau crossed for his consolation try.  In his impressive Test career so far, this was his lowest moment.

Hooper, tenacious as ever even in defeat, finished a remarkable solo effort off the back of the line-out to add more respectability to the scoreboard at 44-20.

That sign of defiance will be something to take forward, a smidgen of salvation really.  Australia are better this and will show that, but there's no denying they were blown away here.  No side though would have coped.

Barrett's try-saving tackle of Folau in many ways was the icing on the cake, the number ten using the angle to cut him down following an interception break.

If you thought New Zealand were a fading force, think again.

Man of the Match:  Hard to look past Brodie Retallick, the monster lock who played his best game yet for his country.

Moment of the Match:  McCaw's sin-binning was a rarity, but when Julian Savea raced away for the second try the tone of the match was settled.

Villain of the Match:  Lifting the leg in the maul was pretty dumb by Rob Simmons.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Savea, Read, McCaw 2, Luatua
Cons:  Cruden 5, Barrett
Pens:  Cruden 3
Yellow Cards:  McCaw, B.Franks

Australia:
Tries:  Folau, Hooper
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Beale 2
Yellow Card:  Simmons

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani,

Date:  Saturday, August 23
Kick-off:  19:35 local (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Venue:  Eden Park, Auckland
Referee:  Romain Poite
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper, Stuart Berry
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman

Springboks battle past Pumas

South Africa got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a winning start on Saturday thanks to a hard-fought 13-6 victory over Argentina at a very wet Loftus Versfeld.

Springbok scrum-half Ruan Pienaar scored the only try of a game marred by horrendous conditions.

Those expecting the Pumas to get blown away were sorely mistaken as the South Americans fronted up, using the conditions to turn the game into a real armwrestle.

Heyneke Meyer would have been disappointed to see his team unable to create more opportunities considering he is building a gameplan around the expected wet conditions at next year's World Cup.

The Bok set piece was far from dominant, in fact they were going backwards at scrum time.  Argentina's defence against the maul was brilliant and the visitors managed to pinch a few line-outs too.

To be fair, the unseasonal rain in Pretoria caught everyone by surprise and handling was extremely difficult.

The hosts led 10-3 at the interval thanks to an early try from Pienaar.  A massive thunderstorm — complete with bursts of hail — ensured that the scores remained low.

The torrential rain slowed to a drizzle in time for the second half, but the field remained drenched and just two penalties were scored after the break.

It took just 70 seconds for the Boks to produce the only try as Pienaar and Cornal Hendricks combined down the blindside to scamper away and put the scrum-half over.

Handré Pollard added the extras for a perfect start for the home side, but highlights would be few and far between for the following 78-odd minutes.

The next six points would come as a result of Argentina's dominance at scrum time.

The Pumas scrum destroyed their Springbok counterparts to allow Nicolís Sínchez to open the visitors' account from the kicking tee.

The Argentine front row jumped the gun just before the end of the first quarter though and were penalised for pushing too soon.  Pollard made it 10-3.

Both sides came close to scoring tries before the break but Manuel Montero couldn't hold onto Sínchez's pass with the tryline begging.

Likewise, Willie le Roux was unable to control the slippery ball as he tried to gather his own chip ahead — although he would have left a little aggrieved after being held back.

Immediately after the restart Sínchez hit the target from long range — after Lood de Jager didn't roll away — but Morné Steyn, who took over from Pollard early in the second half, replied in kind to restore the seven-point gap soon afterwards.

It was the Pumas who finished the stronger side and the Boks would have been relieved to see their defence hold up against sustained pressure in the final quarter.

With six minutes left on the clock the visitors earned a penalty and kicked for the line where they set up a line-out five metres out.

The Boks managed to get out of jail and managed to avert the second Rugby Championship draw of the day after New Zealand and Australia played to a 12-12 stalemate earlier on Saturday.

Argentina remained undeterred and continued probing and again the visitors came close to scoring when a Steyn clearance kick was charged down before debutant Damian de Allende snatched the ball from the hands of Jeronimo de la Fuente inside the goal area.

Just short of a minute from time Argentina again formed an attacking line-out five metres from the line and launched attack on the line but a handling error brought the match to a dramatic end.

Indeed, although los Pumas would probably have been happy to take a losing bonus-point before kick-off, in retrospect they'll be disappointed to not have snatched a draw.

Man of the match:  A hard choice as there weren't many highlights.  Ramiro Herrera deserves a mention for his scrummaging and Nicolís Sínchez was the most dangerous player with ball in hand.  But the game was won in trenches, where Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe worked tirelessly.  Marcell Coetzee topped the tackle stats, tackling his heart out alongside Francois Louw.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, Pienaar's try put Argentina in a difficult position from the start.

Villain of the match:  The idiot doing a rain dance in the car park before kick off.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Pienaar
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard, Steyn

For Argentina:
Pens:  Sanchez 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Gonzílez Iglesias, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino.

Venue:  Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Steve Walsh (Australia), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

All Blacks miss out on record, again

Australia and New Zealand couldn't be separated in a wet slugfest of a game in Sydney, battering each other into a 12-12 draw.

This was the second time in less than two years that these two sides have finished all square, after an 18-18 draw in Brisbane in October 2012.

Once again, in a cruel twist, the All Blacks missed out on the 18-game winning record thanks to a draw, only the seventh ever in 150 Bledisloe matches.  Six of those have come in Australia.

Kurtley Beale and Aaron Cruden both landed four penalties each, with New Zealand spending 20 minutes down to 14 men after yellow cards for Wyatt Crockett and Beauden Barrett.

The whistle of referee Jaco Peyper dominated proceedings in a manner that will have frustrated many, with some of his decisions up for debate on a tough night for officials.

Surprisingly given Australia's struggles in the first half the scores were level as full-time approached, in a frantic finish with the All Blacks down to 14 men.

Neither side truly touched their highest level;  disappointing given the build-up to the occasion but the weather was a monumental hinderance.

Pre-game showers aren't uncommon but this was more like a neverending bucket being tipped out of the sky onto the Olympic Stadium.

Conditions therefore were always going to be difficult, even for these two sides regarded as the best attacking outfits in world rugby who enjoyed the chance to perfect their sliding technique around the Sydney turf.

There was no shortage of blood spilled though, with Israel Folau and Brodie Retallick noticeably sporting plenty of claret.

The pace of the game though didn't suffer, nor did the physicality as Folau clattered his way through Jerome Kaino.  With a score to settle, Kaino's thumping tackle on Beale was a decent reprieve.

New Zealand seemed to execute all the small details that little bit better early on.  Winning the favour of the officials at the scrum, with their kicking, the defence, breakdown — they more or less emerged on top in every category on the scoring card in the opening half.

Their power defensively and intensity to keep the Wallabies out shown by the All Blacks was crucial.

So much had been made about Kurtley Beale's selection;  was it politics?  Or a double bluff involving Matt Toomua?  Whatever Ewen McKenzie's masterplan was, it failed to manifest itself clearly for all to see.

Basic penalties — running in front of the kicker, trying to play the ball after the tackle was made — undid any progress early on as New Zealand built up a lead.

Trying to play wide and force opportunities too early, with the Australian back three subdued, was another major error from the home side given the conditions.  Nic White's box kicks were charged down consecutively and with worrying ease, in a poor game from the Brumbies scrum-half.

Still, the Wallabies only trailed 9-3 counting down towards half-time.  A semblance of hope, perhaps a little lucky as the All Blacks failed to capitalise on all of their territory.

Hearing a sharp blast of Peyper's whistle after only 15 minutes is never a good sign, as Aaron Cruden converted two penalties left another out wide to the right.

Beale countered with a long-range penalty of his own and the Wallabies were left sat on three points for most of the first half until the final moments, when Crockett was sent to the bin.

Michael Hooper's high-risk gambles were madness, turning down kickable penalties for scrums in conditions where a more pragmatic approach was needed.  The fact that Beale missed from a harsher angle when Australia did go for the posts was fitting.

Australia's best passage of play after half-time did produce three points from a Beale penalty, cutting the score to 6-9, for some rare points as passes went loose.  One of White's best kicks, one that trickled towards the corner, had Julian Savea under pressure and ended with another three from Beale to tie things up.

Another poor kick from White handed the All Blacks a chance to counter-attack, Cruden curling in his fourth penalty to restore New Zealand's lead.

It took outstanding defence to keep out Pat McCabe in the corner, huge tackles stopping drives from Folau and Sam Carter before the ball went wide.

Barrett's sin-binning for cynical play helped Beale level things up again with his fourth penalty to set up the tense finish, and the very real possibility of a draw.

So it duly finished, the All Blacks missing out on the world record as these two couldn't be separated.  One to forget in the grand history of matches between these two, but a massive chance missed for the Wallabies in the end.

Man of the Match:  Lots of big innings, but the effort of Nathan Charles especially caught the eye.

Moment of the Match:  Forcing their attack wide a little early when straightening may have made more space, Pat McCabe was easily bundled into touch.  Crucial.

Villain of the Match:  Peyper's interpretation of the scrum was quizzable, but the atrocious conditions destroyed the spectacle.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Beale 4

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Cruden 4
Yellow Cards:  Crockett, Barrett

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Malakai Fekitoa/Ryan Crotty, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa/Ryan Crotty.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite, Stuart Berry
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman