Cape Town – The Springboks showed real grit in staving off a strong second-half fightback from Argentina to claim a 36-20 bonus-point victory in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Their Rugby Championship title hopes remain alive, as they are level with New Zealand on 14 log points heading into next Saturday’s final encounter against Los Pumas at Kings Park in Durban (5.05pm kickoff).
Here is how we rated the Boks at the Estadio Libertadores de America…
Willie le Roux: 6
Added nice width to the attack, and tried to keep the energy going in the backline. Also dealt with difficult defensive situations, although didn’t always win the high-balls, and was yellow-carded (although it came after a team warning for repeated infringements).
Canan Moodie: 7
This Paarl teenager just looks so comfortable at the highest level. Had a strong early run, chased kicks and was solid in defence as usual.
Jesse Kriel: 6
Tried to stay busy in defence. Dropped one ball on attack, but didn’t get many opportunities with ball-in-hand.
Damian de Allende: 8
This is the De Allende who first became a Bok. Ran a few different angles instead of bashing it up the middle, and it made a real difference. Scored a well-taken try at a crucial time.
Makazole Mapimpi: 7
The ball didn’t really seem to go his way, but he ran hard when he did get it, and competed well for the high ball.
Damian Willemse: 7
“I like it when Damian Willemse is a playmaker at flyhalf, instead of just a strike-runner – which was the problem with him at No 10 in the past. It keeps the defence guessing, as they don’t know if he will run, pass or kick.” That’s what I tweeted about the Bok flyhalf during the match, and that’s what he did. Just needs to sort out his goal-kicking, as those misses could prove costly in tighter games.
Jaden Hendrikse: 9
The Sharks scrumhalf is in absolute tune with the rhythm of Test rugby. He delivered a slick service, his box-kicks were largely on point, and he defended courageously. And then topped it all off with a delicious dummy to score under the posts.
Jasper Wiese: 8
They breed them tough in Upington, and the Bok No 8 is a true example of prime Kalahari beef. Wiese never stopped running hard at the opposition, and he put his body on the line in defence against a tough Argentinian pack.
Franco Mostert: 7
Was a bit unlucky to be blown up for a knock-on at the back of a lineout that led to a ‘try’ to Lood de Jager. Another solid display, high work-rate in the tight-loose, and had to move to No 5 lock in the second half too.
Siya Kolisi (captain): 7
Made some powerful runs with ball-in-hand, got stuck in on defence, and produced a vital turnover too.
🗣️ "To play in front of a crowd like this was unreal, we could feel the energy they were giving the team!"
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 17, 2022
Siya Kolisi reacts to the Springboks' bonus-point win against Argentina. pic.twitter.com/Ooxug1biS2
Lood de Jager: 7
Was a good source of lineout ball, which got the driving mauls into motion. Put himself about as a ball-carrier and defender, and nearly scored a try – which was called back for the Mostert knock-on.
Eben Etzebeth: 7
Didn’t get a chance to produce his almost customary line-break, but the Bok enforcer worked hard in those successful mauls and kept Argentina bad boy Tomas Lavanini in check.
Frans Malherbe: 6
Won some and lost some in the scrums, where it was an almighty battle with Argentina No 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Malcolm Marx: 9
True warrior spirit. Mainly accurate lineout-throwing, controlled the ball well at the back of the maul – scoring a try from it too – and contested the breakdowns hard. But most importantly, kept the intensity up for the full 80 minutes as he rounded things off in style with the last try.
MALCOLM MARX SEALS A BONUS-POINT 36-20 WIN FOR THE SPRINGBOKS IN SALTA 👏 pic.twitter.com/gpeFwl47W7
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 17, 2022
Steven Kitshoff: 8
The Stormers captain wasn’t far behind Marx. Had a ding-dong scrum battle with Argentina tighthead Eduardo Bello, and was always ready to carry the ball over the gain-line and put in the hard yards in defence.
Best Off The Bench:
Deon Fourie: 7
The Stormers star came on at openside flank for skipper Siya Kolisi with 20 minutes to go, and helped to slow down the opposition’s ball and made a crucial turnover in the closing stages.
@ashfakmohamed