OPINION: What the Boks Can Learn from the Narrow Win over Argentina

It’s fair to say that the Springboks’ extremely tight win over Argentina in the third round of the Rugby Championship felt a little too close for comfort for Jacques Nienaber’s men, having been in control for most of the match prior to conceeding some late tries to the South Americans.

However, while many were waxing lyrical about the Springboks’ ability to score tries following the performance against the Wallabies (generating the idea that the Boks would put Los Pumas to the sword early), the truth is that South Africa had an extremely slow start against the All Blacks a fortnight ago, which highlighted some issues around game awareness and consistency throughout a match.

And yes, while the Boks did make a substantial comeback in the second-half against the All Blacks at Mt. Smart in Auckland, it was a little too late given the lead that the New Zealanders were able to garner in the opening 40 minutes.

This, along with an inverse scenario against the Pumas (with SA leading 15-9 at half-time) emphasises that the Springboks have the power, precision, and physicality to control the tempo of a game and put the foot on the throat of any team, it’s just how long they’re able to keep it there that comes into question.

There’s no doubt that the injury to Grant Williams in the opening moment disrupted the team’s plan a fair bit. While the more-than-capable Faf de Klerk came on and had a solid game, the initial disorder seemed to turn down the intensity a few notches, which was the opposite for the Argentines.

The Springboks will have to learn that any disruption – be it an injury or unforeseen event – can take place at any moment in the game, and keeping that composure throughout the rest of the match is key to making your way through a tournament destined to be full of these unpredictable moments. That, along with keeping the pressure on for a full 80 minutes, is the way in which to handle the momentum when it swings against you.

Looking at the All Blacks, they’re masters of starting a match with immense intensity, and then seemingly going to 110% in the final 15 minutes. Nothing short of that type of approach will work against the bigger teams, as a lapse in concentration for 10 minutes in a tight Test encounter is sporting suicide.

On the positive, the match did provide Jacques Nienaber with some answers to some questions around selection. It’s expected that Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am are locked into the 12 and 13 positions, respectively, at this point, but the purpose of Jesse Kriel in the squad seemed up for debate prior to Saturday’s game. Kriel didn’t get too many attacking opportunities, but he showed a mature game against an extremely physical Argentina side, putting in some dominating tackles, and fighting hard in the mix with the forwards on the goal line (which was an impressive defensive display for a few phases), and distributed well when needed to.

Willie le Roux continued to show his value in the playmaking role (despite the 15 on his back), often calling to De Klerk to play the short side, where Le Roux found Etzebeth floating on the wing to set up a fantastic try for the lock, and soon after helping Kurt-Lee Arendse into the corner. Le Roux was also fantastic under the high ball, gathering some tricky kicks from Santiago Carreras and his other backs, with Le Roux getting his positioning and aerial catches tightly executed.

And in the more brutish side of things, Duane Vermeulen showed that he is captain material, leading from the front and making some massive carries and momentum-stopping hits, while Steven Kitshoff once again proved his scrummaging skills in the front row, and made a crucial turnover later in the game.

Looking at this all from a pre-World Cup perspective, it’s a promising sign for the Springboks despite not suffocating Los Pumas early. Sometimes it’s better to take a narrow win (or even a loss) over an easy win, as teams learn more from that rather than carrying a false sense of confidence after trouncing another team. If the Boks can keep that mental engine at full revs, it’ll be hard for other teams to compete come time for the big dance in France.

Photo cred: Facebook / Springboks