From Ellis Park to Twickenham: Springboks' redemption arc to clinch Rugby Championship

The shocking defeat the Springboks suffered in their opening Rugby Championship match against the Wallabies is now a distant memory after the South Africans clinched the title at Twickenham by beating Argentina.

But it was that 38–22 drubbing at the iconic Ellis Park that provided a timely wake-up call and laid the platform for a series of spectacular performances to come.

That second-half collapse in Johannesburg saw the Springboks concede 35 unanswered points. However, they managed to turn things around the following week with a win over the Wallabies in Cape Town before heading to New Zealand to face the All Blacks.

The Springboks then lost in Auckland after a poor start and a failure to take their chances on a damp night. But they finally clicked into gear in Wellington the next weekend, hammering the All Blacks 43–10 with a classy second-half display of rugby.

Two weeks later they dismantled Argentina 67–30 in Durban, putting themselves in pole position to win the Rugby Championship, before getting over the line against Los Pumas at Twickenham to defend their crown for the very first time.

The Boks ultimately won the tournament on points difference, with those two big bonus-point wins in Wellington and Durban proving decisive in the end.

The comeback was sparked by a few less-experienced faces, with flyhalves Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Manie Libbok thriving behind a dominant forward pack.

“The way we started the first game, you wouldn’t say we’d be here (lifting the cup). But the belief we have in ourselves, honestly,” said Springboks captain Siya Kolisi after the match.

“Coach Rassie (Erasmus) has come in, and since 2018 the mindset he’s created within the team means you never feel at any moment that we’re going to lose.

“We took a lot of learnings from that match at Ellis Park. Australia played well in the second game too — it didn’t come easy. Then we went to New Zealand and other guys got an opportunity, bringing new energy when they came in.”

The Boks did enough on Saturday to see off Argentina, with their scrum and set-pieces bailing them out after a few daft moments and discipline crept into their game.

Los Pumas, meanwhile, restored pride after shipping 67 points the previous weekend, delivering another spirited performance in what has been a fiercely competitive Rugby Championship campaign.

“It was a tough day today — all credit to the Argentinian team; they came hard, and we knew they were going to set the standard from the beginning,” Kolisi added.

“But once again, for us as a team, I’m so proud of our boys. It wasn’t the perfect game of rugby, but the fight we show every single time stands out. It doesn’t always go the way we want it to, but we always manage to find another gear.

“We’ve had to find that extra gear in the second half. We were up against a quality team. It’s been a really tough Rugby Championship.

“You can see how close it’s been — what happened this morning as well. Argentina have been playing really well, and they challenged us a lot today. We knew they weren’t going to stay down after last week.”