Springboks vs Argentina takeaways: Sacha sizzles, brutal blunders, set-piece superiority

The drama at Kings Park was unrelenting as the Springboks fluctuated between the sublime and the ridiculous in thrashing Argentina 67-30. Here are five takeaways from a memorable Rugby Championship match.

Sizzling Sacha

A hat-trick of tries and 10 successful shots at goal saw the flyhalf amass a record-breaking 37 points. He beat 13 defenders while accumulating 134 metres from his 14 carries, fashioning three clean breaks in the process. That total of 13 defenders beaten is all the more impressive when you consider that the next best Springboks in this department — Jasper Wiese and Pieter-Steph du Toit — beat five defenders each.

Boks score own goals

During the week, attack coach Tony Brown spoke about the Boks’ inability to put together an 80-minute performance this season. Against the Pumas, for every highlight there was a blunder, some of them scarcely believable. It is unlikely that even Cheslin Kolbe will be able to explain why — in wanting to get the ball to his flyhalf near the Bok posts — he drop-kicked the ball instead of punting it or throwing it. Pumas centre Santiago Chocobares thought it was Christmas as he caught the ball and scored.

Not long after, Malcolm Marx — who otherwise had an outstanding game — went palpably offside to collapse a Pumas maul. Referee Angus Gardner had no choice but to award a penalty try and a yellow card to Marx. That was 14 points handed to the Pumas on a silver platter.

Set-piece superiority

The Pumas came to Durban with the most successful lineout in the Rugby Championship, but they travel to London for the rematch with that reputation in tatters. It was also said that the Argentines had a much-improved scrum this season. Maybe it had improved, but it was no match for the Springboks.

Regarding the lineout, the South Africans looked like they had been given a copy of the Pumas’ playbook as they poached lineout after lineout. Ruan Nortje improves with every outing and is looking as much like the ideal partner for Eben Etzebeth as Lood de Jager has been. In the scrums, Boan Venter enhanced his reputation with a strong showing in replacing Ox Nche.

PSDT gives Pumas PTSD

While Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu deserves all the praise he is getting, another strong candidate for Player of the Match was the tireless Pieter-Steph du Toit.

His contribution to the green-and-gold cause was immense and included 18 powerful carries, two of which resulted in tries for him. There were three 33-year-olds on the field for the Boks — Du Toit, Etzebeth and Damian de Allende — and you can bet on all three making it to Australia in 2027.

Bok bench brilliance

We saw it in Wellington and we saw it again in Durban — the calibre of Springbok players coming on in the second half is remarkable and a key reason why the Boks are putting teams away in the latter stages of matches.

This is a spinoff of Rassie Erasmus’ persistent policy of rotation. Because the team keeps changing, no player is rusty as game time is spread across the squad. All seven substitutes added serious value when they came on, but honourable mentions go to RG Snyman, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Morne van den Berg, and Manie Libbok.