South Africa v. Argentina
This match was also affected by rain and the Pumas went darn close a couple of times to drawing it, as they had two years ago in Mendoza.
Some thoughts:
• The weather suited the game of Argentina more and blunted the attacking flair the Springboks had in the likes of Habana, Hendricks and Willie the Artful Dodger. There was a downpour of rain, and even hail—the ground was soaked.
The ball frequently slipped out of players hands without contact and even more often, with it. 7 Fernandez-Lobbe actually lost both boots pushing in a ruck.
• The weather didn’t seem to bother South Africa at the beginning because they scored in the second minute after collecting players around a walking maul and some nice interplay between 9 Ruan Pienaar and 14 Cornal Hendricks when the ball emerged. Pienaar scored and the seven points they got was the winning margin.
Ruan Pienaar – scored only try of match
• The Argie scrum was dominant early and you wouldn’t have thought they were 30+ kgs lighter. Their six points were on the back of two scrum penalties. They also kicked from hand better than the Springboks did.
• Unlike the Wallabies before half time the Boks took three easy points ten minutes after the break to bring the score to 13-6 in their favour and that was the final score. The Boks did kick for the line later instead of “going for poles” but that was to take advantage of a South African staple, the driving maul, close-in. The Argies stopped them easily.
• Argentina was in command at the end of the test match and Creevy went close to scoring for Argentina in the 75th minute with a sweet move from their own close lineout, but the Boks turned the Puma ball over.
• Three minutes later Willie le Roux marked the ball and tapped before dishing it to Morné Steyne instead of pausing and punting it himself. Steyne’s kick was charged down over the Bok goal line; Puma reserve Jeronimo de la Feunte got his fingers to ball but Bok 13 Damian Allende was able to knock it away from him. The ball was live but Pienaar grounded the ball—22 drop-out. Close.
• The Pumas got a lineout seven metres out in the 80th minute but after their initial drive was stopped and the backs knocked the ball on; so the Boks won 13-6.
Johan Lacey – refereed well in poor conditions
• The conditions in Pretoria were even worse than in Sydney but referee John Lacey (the ex-Munster winger who played with the likes of club legends David Wallace and Alan Quinlan) did a better job in his gig that Jaco did in his.
• I don’t know who the man-of-the match was but my vote would have gone to Puma flyhalf Nicolás Sánchez who was light on his feet in the wet conditions and one of the few to beat a tackle. He kicked better than Pollard or Steyn did also.
• This Puma side looks more composed under it’s new coach than it was under the previous one. And the Wallabies had better do some scrum work before they meet because THP Ramiro Herrera, hooker Agustín Creevy and LHP Marcos Ayerza looked like a good frontrow unit.
