The win sealed a second consecutive title, with New Zealand, who earlier in the day outplayed Australia in Perth, in second place. Both teams had 19 log points, but the Springboks had a +57 points’ difference, considerably better that the All Blacks’ +8.

Argentina held a three-point lead at halftime, but conceded 19 points without reply to lose their grip on the match. Los Pumas did score two tries the final 10 minutes to cut the lead, but left it too late to stop the Springboks from claiming another famous win in front of more than 70,000 supporters at the home of England Rugby.

It was certainly a matter of hot and cold for the Boks, who had a poor first half, a brilliant first 30 minutes in the second half and then a rather ineffective last 10 minutes of their campaign. Be it as it may, they defended the title and it is clear to see why they are ranked number one in the world.

The Boks started poorly though. Canan Moodie was binned within the first two minutes for a dangerous tackle. The Pumas, with all the early possession and momentum, attacked with zest, trying to exploit their numbers and two minutes later, Bautista Delguy went over in the corner.

Santiago Carreras showed why he is the leading points’ scorer in the competition by kicking the conversion from the touchline to hand his side a 7-0 lead, good reward with their 85% ball possession.

The Boks finally had their hands on the ball from the restart and attacked with purpose. A defensive penalty conceded by the Pumas handed Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu his first points of the match, with the flyhalf kicking a penalty goal from in front to get the Bok scoreboard ticking. Moodie returned without further damage to the defensive line.

Malcolm Marx goes over for his first try.

Argentina kept the pressure up though with a number of industrious runs by their backs and putting good pressure on the Boks’ defence. They were rewarded with two penalties at the breakdown and from the second, Carreras kicked his first penalty goal of the match, extending the lead to 10-3 after 18 minutes.

Carreras then made it 13-3 with another penalty goal 10 minutes later, again for offside play by the Boks, who were sloppy and overeager to do individual things at this stage, while the Pumas kept it organised within their game plan.

Some whispers from the Bok water carriers not only slowed the game down, but also calmed the frantic efforts on attack.

Instead, the Boks went back to their scrumming prowess, going for that option three times from penalties conceded by Argentina. It was third time lucky as Cobus Reinach pounced from the forward momentum created by his pack and finally the Boks were looking settled.

The try by the scrumhalf, just before the break, was converted by Feinberg-Mngomezulu to cut the lead to three, handing confidence and momentum back to the Boks.

At the halftime hooter, they had their swagger back.

Ethan Hooker is stopped by some gritty Pumas defence.

The Pumas started their second half poorly. They spilled the restart and to add their woes, prop Mayco Vivas was yellow carded for a high tackle on Eben Etzebeth.

The Boks kicked to the corner, got their lineout maul set and Malcolm Marx crashed over in the corner to hand the Boks the lead for the first time in the match. The conversion was wide, but the 15-13 lead had their fans more at ease, however slender the advantage.

A timely entry by props Wilco Louw and Jan-Hendrik Wessels earned the Boks another scrum penalty and again they went for the corner.

The maul was stopped, but not the try. The Boks kept the ball at short range, attacking the fringes around the ruck and finally, the Pumas faltered, leaving the smallest of gaps for Reinach to score his second. Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked the conversion and after 53 minutes the Boks were leading 22-13.

More importantly, they smelled blood and their predatory instincts kicked in. Boosted by more bench interventions like RG Snyman and Jesse Kriel, the step-up in performance was completed when Marx scored the bonus point try.

The Boks, now in full flow, kicked to the corner following more Pumas indiscretions, and Marx crashed over from short range for his second.

Cobus Reinach scored two tries and was named Player of the Match.

Sadly for the Pumas, old habits die hard and they started to falter under pressure, giving away penalty after penalty and handing all possession and dominance over to the reigning champions. They also lost all goodwill from referee Andrea Piardi, who started to call them out for every indiscretion.

A poor option by the Boks gave the Argentineans a second lease on life when Cheslin Kolbe threw an unnecessary speculative pass. Delguy intercepted and raced away for his second try, which was converted and the lead cut to nine points.

Credit to Argentina, who like the Boks earlier in the half, took the half gap presented by the South Africans and attacked well in the last quarter, sniffing a rare win. Again, it was the Bok bench who brought sanity and calm, with Kwagga Smith, Grant Williams and Manie Libbok providing guidance when needed.

Carreras had a chance to cut the lead to a converted try three minutes from time but hit the upright. They had one more go with an attacking lineout and Rodrigo Isgro scored from a delightful kick to the corner by Carreras. The conversion was good and the Pumas’ comeback remarkable.

They had their pride back, but the Castle Lager Rugby Championship trophy will return to South Africa, the country of the Springbok.

Scorers:

Argentina 27 (13) – Tries: Bautista Delguy (2), Rodrigo Isgro. Conversions: Santiago Carreras (3). Penalty goals: Carreras (2).

Springboks 29 (10) – Tries: Cobus Reinach (2), Malcolm Marx (2). Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty goal: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.