On Saturday, September 13, the Rugby Championship round four took place where the All Blacks hosted the Springboks in Wellington, and the Wallabies clashed with Los Pumas at home in Sydney.
The Springboks claimed a dominant away win against the hosts 43-10, with Argentina holding on to defeat the Wallabies despite a late second-half surge from the Australians – the game ended 28-26.
This year’s Rugby Championship has made for a compelling competition for fans, with all teams thus far having two wins and two losses.
Second-half fightback
The Springboks came out firing in the second half after the first ended 10-7 to the All Blacks, scoring 36 unanswered points to inflict the biggest-ever defeat the hosts have suffered.
The Springboks returned to the top of the world rankings with the win, and retained the Freedom Cup for the second year running.
“We’ve been on the other side of such a result when we lost 57-0 against them, and they managed to retain their win record at Eden Park and didn’t throw it in our faces, but we’ll take this win, and we are very happy with the result,” Springboks head coach Rassie said on the victory, per SA Rugby.
“We are pleased with the performance and the way the guys who didn’t play prepared this team for what to expect.
“It was certainly pleasing to see how these players raised their hands and demonstrated that they can perform at this level.
“The main thing for us going into this game was to get the belief in the team back again, and we are back at number one in the world, but we know we are going to face two tough matches against Argentina, who have really been playing well.”
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All Blacks coach Scott Robertson was hurt by the loss, but admitted the Springboks were clinical in their effort and execution.
“We’ll take it on the chin. They were clearly better in their second half,” Robertson said, quoted on the official All Blacks website.
“In the second half, they won the aerial battle, won the scraps. There were too many penalties around the set-piece. We lost a couple of big moments, and the game got away.
“We want to be really specific, but also own what we need to get better at and keep the courage.
“We’re going to be clear that what matters most to us on and off the field, be really clear, and then get a plan and look forward to this next game.”
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Scenes in Sydney
Argentina led 28-7 with 16 minutes to play, with Australia mounting a three-try comeback in the closing stages to come within two points of drawing the contest.
However, Los Pumas held strong, overcoming their woes from a week prior, where they had also taken an assertive lead but failed to close out the game.
“It was so emotional in the last 15 minutes,” said fly-half Santiago Carreras after the match.
“It was such an amazing game to watch (for the crowd). I’m really proud of the boys for this win.”
Conversely, Wallabies captain Harry Wilson pointed to their lack of discipline as one of the primary reasons for his side’s struggles in the game.
“We are normally a disciplined team,” he said, per Sky Sports.
“We have a lot of points in us but a lack of discipline made it hard for us. The support has been truly special and we’re going to keep trying to earn it. It really does lift us.”
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt echoed this sentiment, adding how “frustrating and disappointing” the lack of return from his side’s efforts was.
“We had enough of the game to get the result, but a lot of it was our own errors,” he said.
“Argentina are a really good team, but when we’re making 11 line-breaks to three and scoring four tries to one and we don’t get a result? It’s incredibly frustrating and disappointing.”
The Rugby Championship returns for round five on September 27, when Argentina are hosted by the Springboks in Durban and Australia head to Auckland in a Bledisloe Cup tussle with the All Blacks at Eden Park.
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