Ken Borland

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber would have been delighted that his gamble in selection in bringing in several fresh faces and bodies for the opening Rugby Championship Test against Argentina paid off as his team dominated the contact areas en route to a comfortable 32-12 victory.

A new front row, centre pairing and back three was chosen for a crucial Test against difficult, physical opposition just a week after the gruelling series against the British and Irish Lions, and the energy they brought paid off as the Springboks made 21 less carries than Argentina but made 112 more metres with ball-in-hand. And the Pumas are generally considered to be one of the foremost teams when it comes to carrying the ball up.

“We made a few changes because of player welfare and the new guys coming in were nice and fresh. The guys who played last Saturday against the Lions are still a bit sore, but the new guys were climbing in today and we got a lot of energy from them. It’s only the second Test Argentina have lost since the World Cup and they’ve played New Zealand, Australia and Wales all twice.

“Our analysis and game-plan was spot-on though and the players really followed through. But we are only one-third of the way through our season and we have to box smart in terms of how we keep the players fresh. I compliment Daan Human on the new front row really taking their chance, he has an unbelievable vibe going in terms of competition between the front rowers,” Nienaber said on Saturday night.

It looked as if the Springboks would rue going to sleep a bit in the second half and not turning their dominance into more tries, and Nienaber admitted afterwards that he had forgotten that in the Rugby Championship the bonus point is awarded for scoring three more tries than the opposition and scoring four tries is not necessary.

The Springboks may have binned their marvellous display against the British and Irish Lions and are focused on defending their Rugby Championship title, but the mental challenge of getting up again after climbing such a high mountain in their last two games was also going to be a major factor against Argentina.

“We did really well because Argentina are a difficult team to play against. We had to try and keep our emotional intensity after the Lions series and that challenged us. We had to pull through somehow this week and I think it was a really excellent effort by the players,” Nienaber said.

The coach said the experience of players like Frans Steyn, who shored up the inside centre channel very effectively, Jesse Kriel and Elton Jantjies had also been a big factor in the Springboks being able to celebrate another victory.

“A lot went into this week after we had a couple of beers after winning the Lions series, and there was awesome work put in by the players. The guys were clued up and tuned in straight away and guys like Frans, Jesse and Elton brought nice stability. We needed some maturity out there and they brought a lot of calmness and composure,” Nienaber said.

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.