South Africa hammered Argentina in Nelspruit to win the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.

The Springboks scored four first-half tries, with Aphelele Fassi grabbing two before assisting Cheslin Kolbe.

Player of the match Pieter-Steph du Toit also claimed the first of his two tries, while Argentina's score came through fly-half Tomas Albornoz.

The turning point in the second half came when Pumas replacement Pablo Matera had a yellow card upgraded to a 20-minute red for making head contact when trying to clear out Vincent Koch.

With full-back Santiago Carreras joining Matera in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, Malcolm Marx took advantage from the back of a maul.

Du Toit scored again before centre Jesse Kriel got on the end of Handre Pollard's dinked kick to score the final try of a ruthless display.

Victory means the Springboks also avenged last weekend's one-point defeat in Argentina, which had denied them the title a week early.

"It has been a journey and a half. After last week the way we stood up says a lot about our team," Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi told Sky Sports.

A shortened format in 2019 because of the Rugby World Cup means victory is the Springboks' first in a full tournament since 2009 - prior to Argentina's involvement in the competition.

The wins adds to Rassie Erasmus' glittering coaching CV that now includes two World Cups, two Rugby Championships and a British and Irish Lions tour win.

Despite defeat, this was the first time the Pumas had beaten all three teams in the Rugby Championship to head into the final round still with an outside chance of the title.

They finished the championship in third place after New Zealand beat Australia earlier on Saturday to take the runners-up spot.

Source: BBC 

BDST: 102815 HRS, SEPT 29, 2024
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