Our sparkling backline was muted.
If we set aside our nationalist braying about being champions in another rugby tournament, we would have to acknowledge that it was an inanimate object – the Springboks ‘ or Boks’ right goal post – which changed the outcome of Saturday’s Rugby Championship match.
Argentina were down 20-29 with just minutes remaining when Santiago Carreras’ penalty hit the upright and bounced back into play.
Had it gone over, Los Pumas would have had 23 points, and that last-minute try and conversion of theirs would have seen them run out 30-29 winners.
ALSO READ: ‘This was a close Rugby Championship,’ says Bok captain Siya Kolisi
South African rugby fans have almost forgotten about those nail-biting close finishes which brought us the last Rugby World Cup… and last week’s rampant win over Argentina would have raised expectations of another walloping coming.
What we got, instead, was a reality check from a match which could so easily have gone the way of the South Americans.
Our sparkling backline was muted, which is why it was good to see the hammer power of the pack was undiminished in the tryline battles.
We’re still deserving winners of the Rugby Championship, though. Rassie Erasmus and his men will continue to keep us spellbound… but it’s nice to have a touch of luck now and again.
ALSO READ: Springboks retain Rugby Championship with win over Los Pumas: Three takeaways
