Tries from winger Makazole Mapimpi and hooker Malcolm Marx have helped South Africa secure a comfortable 29-10 victory over Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash at Gqeberha.
Both tries came in the second half and the Springboks will be disappointed they could not score more to earn a bonus point in a dominant performance, until a scrappy last 15 minutes.
Argentina scored a late try from loose forward Pablo Matera, but they largely found the unyielding home defence too difficult to break down.
The teams were due to share a charter flight to Australia on Monday (NZ time), but championship organisers are discussing where and when the competition will continue, with COVID-19 travel regulations in New Zealand leaving plans on hold.
"We pitched up like we wanted to do," says captain Siya Kolisi. "We knew Argentina would bring everything to us, but we stuck to our gameplan and because of that, could build the scoreboard,"
"We should have converted the chances we had with the penalties in their 22, but we made mistakes and missed out on the bonus point. We will go back and follow our processes, recover tomorrow and then look forward."
South Africa spent much of the first half in and around the Argentina 22, and that pressure forced the visitors to concede penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
They noticeably kept ball in hand more than in previous matches and turned down kicks at the posts in favour of attacking lineouts, but the Argentinian defence was solid, particularly from the maul.
Argentina grabbed a consolation try six minutes after the hooter, as Matera barged his way over to score just the fifth try the 'Boks have conceded in their last 11 tests.
"Our discipline was very bad, especially in the first half, and you can't do that against South Africa, because they will turn it into points," says Argentina captain Julian Montoya.
"We finished with a try, but we did not do what we said we wanted to on attack. It was physical, but we have to start to attack on our own terms."
Reuters
