The Pumas could not against the Springboks, the reigning world champions who will defend the title in a month, but nevertheless showed a hopeful performance for their participation in France 2023. Those led by Michael Cheika went from lowest to highest in their performance and reacted late, which did not give them a chance to get a victory. South Africa's win was tight, just 22-21, and the Argentine team finished third in the Championship that had New Zealand as champions.
The Argentine National Team was up to the task. The best was shown in the second half, with a final onslaught that allowed them to get closer on the scoreboard, be one point away and close their participation in this reduced edition of the Championship – only one round of matches was played – with a good countenance.
Why hopeful? Not because of the point of difference in the result, but because of the way he could approach his role, the way he corrected his mistakes - in the first half he conceded many penalties - and because of the conviction to look for situations still at a disadvantage and against the clock.
The first part was quite bumpy. Before the first minute the game had to be stopped: Juan Cruz Mallia hit Grant Williams' head with his hip and had to be replaced. Similarly, one from the end of the first half, Lucas Paulos was removed from the field of play by a similar injury, after a hip from Etzebeth at the exit of a scrum.
Photo: WIKUS DE WET / AFP.
Beyond the rugged actions, Los Pumas began adding from penalties, with the effective kick of Santiago Carreras as an argument. The physical strength of the Springboks ended up giving the locals the tools to turn the scoreboard around: through sheer physical strength.
That way they went to the front. Eben Etzebeth lashed out on the right side and dived in to support. Argentine attempts to stop it were unsuccessful: the second line made its advance and the Albicelestes seemed to bounce in its wake. Damian De Allende scored the second try after joining the push on a maul that pushed Los Pumas back almost 10 meters. The Springboks centre broke away from the formation and reached the ingoal without problems.
Apart from the avoidable penalties that the Argentine team conceded, he played with the right mentality to continue in the game, trying to neutralize an opponent who, despite the superiority he showed, could not take off on the scoreboard. Luck accompanied the Argentine team at the end of the first half when Kurt-Lee Arendse had his try disallowed for having stepped on the sideways line in his march to the ingoal: Santiago Carreras dragged him out of the boundary.
Photo: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
With that strength the second half was even and at times Los Pumas were the dominators of the game, although without managing to advance on the scoreboard. Santiago Carreras missed two penalties and with them the possibility of approaching to try to turn it around with a try, which took time to arrive. When he appeared, Mateo Carreras supported, his opening brother did not complete the conversion.
The key to the defeat was a great cut by Faf de Klerk on an Argentine advance near the 22-metre line and a prodigious run to hand it to Libbok, who only had to run and support the icing. That lead, along with the two-point conversion, came after nearly half an hour with neither team scoring on the board.
With just 12 minutes left, Los Pumas didn't seem to have much room to reverse what looked like a 22-9 loss assured. But that mistake of its own did not remain in the collective thinking of the team, which managed to overcome and took advantage of the time that remained to be played.
Photo: PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP
The end had the thrust that the Argentines had not achieved in the rest of the passages. The absence of Damian de Allende for the yellow card that left South Africa with one less, favored the growth of the Argentine team that ended up pushing to reach a final score that left them one point behind the current world champions.
Mateo Carreras scored Los Pumas' first try, but Santiago missed the conversion. However, the 22-14 was contagious enough to push South Africa close to its baseline. Gonzalo Bertranou supported the second Argentine try and this time the opener did not miss with his feet to leave in the last action a tight 22-21 final.
The Pumas and Springboks will face each other again in a week, when the Argentine team says goodbye to its public on the field of Vélez, to then climb in the last test in Madrid against Spain at the end of August and, finally, face the World Cup in France.
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