Ken Borland

The Springboks were in control from the outset and maintained that dominance through to the end as they returned to the Rugby Championship in fine style with a 32-12 win over Argentina in Gqeberha on Saturday.

South Africa were on the board in the second minute through an Elton Jantjies penalty, set up by a strong run off a missed Argentina clearance by Jasper Wiese, who was involved in so much of the action in an impressive display in the No.8 jersey.

Argentina never really settled after that. Well-beaten in the air and in the scrums, they also made several errors with the ball in the face of some typically formidable Springbok defence. The home team were adept at making the most of the opportunities their pressure created and they scored two tries in the first half.

Excellent scrumhalf Cobus Reinach kept chasing in defence after a scrum and received his reward when the Argentina backs dropped the ball, allowing the son of former champion sprinter and Springbok Jaco Reinach to show his pace as he raced away for the opening try in the 14^th minute.

Just five minutes later, lock Eben Etzebeth showed brilliant skills in the air to claim a kick and flyhalf Jantjies then put in a crosskick which wing Aphelele Fassi claimed superbly with one hand, on the bounce and on the gallop, going over for the try.

The Springboks went into halftime 21-9 in front as Jantjies slotted a conversion and three penalties, while Argentina could only respond with three penalties by flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez.

The second half saw the Springboks go to sleep a bit as individual errors made for a disjointed effort. Jantjies added two more penalties and Sanchez one, and it was only in the last 10 minutes when South Africa began to produce some fluent attacking rugby.

A second try to Fassi was disallowed because hooker Malcolm Marx had crawled with the ball on the ground in the build-up, but there would have been purrs of delight in the Springbok camp with just a minute to go as debutant replacement scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, a late replacement for Herschel Jantjies, who has a hip injury, dived over in the corner for the bonus point try.

Much of the credit must go to replacement flank Marco van Staden, whose ferocious charge put the Springboks right on the front foot.

Given the changes they had made to the team, just a week after the gruelling Lions series, the Springboks will be well-satisfied with their evening’s work.

Scorers

South Africa: Tries – Cobus Reinach, Aphelele Fassi, Jaden Hendrikse. Conversion – Elton Jantjies. Penalties – Jantjies (5).

Argentina: Penalties – Nicolas Sanchez (4).

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has no reason to massage the egos of the Argentina forwards so when he said on Friday that their pack was similar to the one he leads it was perhaps the ultimate compliment. And an indicator of how stiff a challenge the South African team face in their opening Rugby Championship match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Argentina coach Mario Ledesma has said this week that taking on the Springbok pack is the toughest challenge his forwards will face, and Kolisi returned the compliment by saying the Pumas pack was similar. Pablo Matera and Facunda Isa are world-class loose forwards, locks Guido Petti and Marcos Kremer can mix it with the best and Julian Montoya and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro provide plenty of fire in the front row.

“It’s a big challenge for us too against the Argentina forwards, they are a very strong pack who pride themselves on mauling and scrumming, and at the breakdown they all get involved. They are similar to us and that’s what makes it so difficult. So there is definitely mutual respect between the two packs. They are a completely different challenge to the Lions.

“So we have done no less preparation for them. We have to make sure we can get our own game going, if we get it right then it doesn’t matter who we are playing against. Obviously Argentina will want to prove a point. We know the challenge they’ll pose – a strong pack with their ball-carries and guys really getting into the breakdown,” Kolisi said on Friday.

Several new faces have been brought in to refresh the team after their huge exertions in the British and Irish Lions series and Kolisi said they have an important role to play in keeping the Springboks in the number one spot in the world rankings in what will be an incredibly tough Rugby Championship.

“The guys getting an opportunity to play and Joseph Dweba playing his first Test are very hungry and they really want to play, so they are going to bring energy. We want Joseph, who I know is very excited, Ox Nche and Wilco Louw to take charge in the scrum battle. And myself and Kwagga Smith have played together quite a bit and we work well together.

“The goal after winning the World Cup was to maintain our number one ranking and consistently stay there. We don’t want to be once-off winners. We want to win more games and trophies, that’s how we will keep being number one. The coaches give us simple messages to play simple rugby, they want us to focus on the stuff that does not require talent and I love it,’ Kolisi said.

The Springboks are fielding a much-changed line-up to open their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. The Pumas will be formidable opponents with all their foreign-based players in tow and looking to build on their brilliant tournament last year when their only loss came to the All Blacks, who they had beaten in their first meeting.

So the Springboks are going to have to be on top of their games to beat Argentina. Here are four players coming into the starting team who they will be relying on to do the business on Saturday.

Francois Steyn – The veteran inside centre steps into the No.12 jersey in which Damian de Allende was one of the integral parts of South Africa’s victory over the British and Irish Lions. Steyn will undoubtedly bring a similarly no-nonsense approach to this channel. His booming boot will also be an asset, especially with the new 50/22 trial law in place.

Damian Willemse – The 23-year-old is well-known for his breadth of skills and now he will be starting at fullback, where he has played most of his recent rugby. A dazzling attacking player, whether the Springboks will be able to play with much width remains to be seen. Willemse’s reading of the game and positional play will be more important, and he will be looking to take a leaf out of Willie le Roux’s book in terms of work-rate and his covering play.

Elton Jantjies – The series against the British and Irish Lions was often a laborious affair with the tourists trying to take on the Springboks at their own game, with defences and kicking games predominating. But the Rugby Championship is a Southern Hemisphere competition and has a tradition of more positive rugby being played. Jantjies is just the sort of flyhalf who could prosper. He has grown up playing a fast-paced, expansive game with the local Lions and has the ability to spark the backline. His sharp kicking game can also be a factor.

Kwagga Smith – Given Argentina’s fondness for groping around in the rucks, Smith, as the quickest of the loose forwards, is going to have a key role to play in protecting South Africa’s ball at the breakdowns. The Pumas are past-masters at slowing down and disrupting possession, so if Smith can help the Springboks get quick ball then he might also be able to play more of a hand in attack, where his Sevens skills can obviously come to the fore.

Captain Siya Kolisi and talismanic lock Eben Etzebeth are the players to whom the saying ‘no rest for the wicked’ might be applied as they have been tasked with fronting up again for the Springboks in the opening Rugby Championship Test against Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

They are the only players who started all three of the brutal Tests against the British and Irish Lions who are not getting a breather this weekend, and it is a credit to their superb, wickedly good, conditioning and mental strength that they are ready to go again on Saturday.

When coach Jacques Nienaber announced the team on Tuesday, he made it clear that the 10 changes made to the starting XV, and two more on the bench, were due to the need to rotate players in order to give them sufficient rest and game-time.

“We mean zero disrespect to Argentina, but our challenge is we have five big Tests on the trot, on successive weekends, and we have to look at player welfare more than anything else. Our first goal is always to win, but secondly we want to create squad depth. A lot of various things go into deciding who to rotate, and the guys not playing are not resting, they still play a massive role in preparation,” Nienaber said.

So why are Kolisi and Etzebeth, a duo who put their bodies on the line more than most against the Lions, still playing?

“Winning is what is required at the moment and if guys are physically and mentally ready to play then they will play. We also want to ensure continuity of leadership, we didn’t want to upset the applecart by taking too many leaders out. We look at player welfare wherever we can, but if a player is able to play six or seven Tests on the trot then we will choose him,” Nienaber explained.

The Springbok management have ensured that wherever they have brought in fresh faces, they have experienced back-up close by. A new-look front row of Ox Nche, debutant Jospeh Dweba and Wilco Louw has the bomb squad front row of Trevor Nyakane, Malcolm Marx and Vincent Koch standing by on the bench; Etzebeth and Lood de Jager are a seasoned lock pairing and a new-look backline will be guided by wise old heads in Elton Jantjies, Francois Steyn and Jesse Kriel.

“The starting front row has not played for a while and it is Joseph’s first Test and Wilco was with us in 2018 so he’s a new old guy coming back. But there’s lots of consistency in the second row and the front row that will come off the bench. And it’s a new backline but a guy like Jesse with 47 caps will take over as defence captain from Lukhanyo Am, not to mention Frans, and Elton has consistently been part of our squad since 2018.

“There’s a good culture in the group in that guys are disappointed not to get chosen but they never get negative, they know they have another role in the team. We have had a group of players who have contributed for weeks, every day, but have not had the chance to play, but they don’t get negative. A guy like Elton has been outstanding in that regard,” Nienaber said.

Springbok team: Damian Willemse, Sbu Nkosi, Jesse Kriel, Francois Steyn, Aphelele Fassi, Elton Jantjies (vice-captain), Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Kwagga Smith, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Joseph Dweba, Ox Nché. Bench – Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Marvin Orie, Marco van Staden, Dan du Preez, Herschel Jantjies, Morné Steyn.