Boks find voice against Argentina and show Nienaber has options galore

The Springboks fluffed their lines in their final audition for places in the Rugby World Cup in the first half against Argentina on Saturday night, but they found their voice in the second.

They ran out 24-13 victors in their RWC warm-up game in Buenos Aires, largely thanks to a second half performance in which they showed purpose and a lot more poise than was the case in the first half.

Damian Willemse, Manie Libbok, Canan Moodie, Makazole Mapimpi, Marvin Orie and Deon Fourie helped turn things around when it looked a bit dire at the break when they were 10-3 down.

Willemse brought zip and zest from fullback, Libbok, though he missed three kicks, recovered well and was unflustered by what transpired in the first half.

Moodie and Mapimpi were solid in the air and they played like men with an appetite for baguettes and frogs' legs.

Concern for Am

Speaking of legs, there will however be concern for Lukhanyo Am who went off after receiving a knock on the half-hour mark.

Overall though the Boks deserve kudos for the way they regrouped in the second half.

The first half however was one in which they lacked conviction.

They played with little authority, almost as if they knew the heavy hitters were back home. Sure they played with endeavour but they were afflicted by imprecision, perhaps a result of overeagerness on an occasion that demanded desire and decisiveness.

They were not sharp or ruthless enough when they were in the red zone. When they made inroads they were thwarted by a stout Argentine defence when the try line came under immediate threat.

Argentina did not commit numbers to the breakdown which meant they always had a player to make the next tackle and to be fair to the hosts, they scrambled well before the break.

The Boks needed a spark and that might well have arrived in the team chat at the break.

Patience pays dividends

They exercised more patience on attack early in the second half and it almost immediately paid dividends. The visitors gradually marched the hosts back before whipping the ball out to the left with Willemse keeping the defenders honest before offloading to Mapimpi who ran in unchallenged.

Libbok's brilliantly weighted kick soon after took the ball clear from Argentina's widest defender but Moodie was on hand to pouch the ball and score.

The Bok substitutes helped maintain that momentum with Hershel Jantjies and Jean-Luc du Preez leading the way.

Libbok banged over this fourth penalty in the 71st minute to hand the Boks an 11-point lead and it paved the way for Pumas substitute hooker Agustin Creevy to enter the fray to become the home team's first centurion in Test rugby.

By then the hosts were on a slippery slope with errors and penalties undermining their efforts.

The Bok coach Jacques Nienaber however, will return home on Sunday with some tough decisions to make before settling on his RWC squad.

Scorers

Argentina (10) 13 — Try: Gonzalo Bertranou. Conversion: Emiliano Boffelli. Penalties: Boffelli (2).

SA (3) 24 — Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Canan Moodie. Conversion: Manie Libbok. Penalties: Libbok (4).