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Springbok replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok missed a 79th-minute kick that would have won the game, condemning Rassie Erasmus’ side to their first defeat in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship as Argentina won a thriller 29-28 in Santiago Del Estero in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The Boks seemed to have done enough to shade a disjointed performance, but Libbok hooked a relatively simple kick that should have put them ahead with less than 60 seconds left that would have secured the Rugby Championship title.
Now instead both teams will head to Mbombela next weekend for what comes down to a massive finale that Argentina could still come out on top.
The Boks did get one bonus point out of the game by losing by less than seven, meaning they moved to 19 points, while Argentina are on 14 and it is still South Africa’s championship to lose. The one-point difference on the night means that the Springboks still have a positive points differential of 53 while Argentina are positive 16, which means Argentina would have to win by 38 points next week to stop the Boks from claiming the championship.
Still, it was a Bok performance that left a lot to be desired as they were outplayed for big parts of the game by Argentina and were at times hanging on after a blistering start that saw them 17-0 up but then concede 26 straight points to go in at the break 26-22 behind after a dubious yellow card to Kurt-Lee Arendse changed the complexion of the game.
Despite the helter-skelter first half, no tries were scored in the second half as penalty kicks even-tually won the day.
Libbok was generally good in play, but the missed kicks once again raised the spectre of the Rugby World Cup where Libbok was widely criticised for his kicking. In truth, this was a kick that should have been taken, and the miss was extremely costly.
Libbok’s defenders can rightly point out that he hasn’t played a lot of rugby over the past few months and that lack of time in the middle may have been a factor, but it will be difficult to shift to counter the narrative that will come from this kick. Still, there were other parts of the game that the Boks will need to fix ahead of Mbombela if they are to finish in style. The Boks again looked like superstars in the opening minutes, and then again had another dip in form, and Argentina, not needing more than a sniff, with a partisan crowd behind them, were more than deadly on the counter-attack, and stretched the Boks more than once. —SuperSport.
Online Reporter