South Africa triumphed over Argentina in Nelspruit to secure the Rugby Championship title for the first time since 2019. The Springboks delivered a dominant performance, scoring four tries in the first half.
Aphelele Fassi was instrumental, scoring two tries and assisting Cheslin Kolbe, while Pieter-Steph du Toit also scored his first try of the match. Argentina’s only points in the first half came from fly-half Tomas Albornoz.
A critical moment in the second half occurred when Pumas replacement Pablo Matera received a yellow card that was upgraded to a 20-minute red for head contact while trying to clear out Vincent Koch. This dismissal left Argentina vulnerable, and with full-back Santiago Carreras also sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, Malcolm Marx capitalized on the situation to score from the back of a maul.
Du Toit added another try before centre Jesse Kriel finished the scoring, reacting to Handre Pollard’s clever dink kick. The victory allowed the Springboks to avenge their previous week’s narrow one-point loss to Argentina, which had denied them the title a week earlier.
“It has been a journey and a half. After last week the way we stood up says a lot about our team,” said Springboks captain Siya Kolisi in an interview with Sky Sports.
This championship win marks the Springboks’ first full tournament victory since 2009, following a shortened format in 2019 due to the Rugby World Cup, and is their first since Argentina joined the competition. The achievement adds to Rassie Erasmus’ impressive coaching resume, which now includes two World Cups, two Rugby Championships, and a British and Irish Lions tour victory.
Despite the defeat, this championship marked a milestone for the Pumas, as it was the first time they had defeated all three teams in the Rugby Championship, entering the final round with an outside chance of claiming the title. They finished in third place after New Zealand secured the runners-up position by beating Australia earlier that day.