From Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's new Springbok record to one of the most bizarre tries you will ever see, the match had it all.
The Springboks have topped the Rugby Championship table after thrashing Argentina 67-30 in a scintillating fifth-round match at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
The South Africans won nine tries to three after the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 33-24 at Eden Park earlier in the day.
The game was hyped up to be enormous, and it certainly was. Here are a few key takeaways.
A Sacha spectacle
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored 37 individual points – a new Springbok record.
He scored a hat-trick of tries, once through chasing his own kick and twice finding gaps in defence. He cross-kicked to Cheslin Kolbe for the wing’s redeeming try, and he slotted nine of his 10 kicks at posts.
His general kicking was also brilliant on the night, giving South Africa the edge in a game where everyone knew the aerial battle would be key.
He was the best flyhalf in the world on the night.
Kolbe’s bizarre blunder
One of the strangest tries you will see in rugby.
Cheslin Kolbe dotted the ball down in the Boks’ in-goal area in the first half and then, in trying to get the ball to his kicker, he drop-kicked the ball over the try line and it was gathered by Argentina’s Santiago Chocobares, who scored a try while the Boks were unawares. Chocobares celebrated while they walked back to the try line around him.
The TMO ruled that Kolbe had performed a goal-line dropout, if unintentionally, and the try stood.
He avoided blushes with his own try right after half-time.
Too many silly penalties
The Springboks had been talking in press conferences all week about how they would respect Argentina’s skill and form, expecting to play balanced Test match rugby in what they saw as a Rugby Championship semi-final.
However, they gave away too many silly penalties in the first half, which kept the Los Pumas in the game for too long. Off-sides, a dangerous tackle, Malcolm Marx’s yellow card for a maul side-entry that gave away a penalty try, the Boks will have plenty to work on for next week.
Set-piece dominance
The game had few scrums but the Springboks dominated them all. The hosts were also far better in the lineouts, stealing a few, and creating momentum there.
The Boks said Marco van Staden would act as hooker cover after a late reshuffle. But the traditional loose forward ended up coming on for Jasper Wiese and played flanker with Kwagga Smith at eight.
We will have to wait to see him throw in lineouts and put the ball in for scrums.
First team to win two games in a row
The Springboks successfully carried the momentum from their record 43-10 win against the All Blacks in Wellington two weeks ago.
This is important because it makes them the first side to win two matches in a row.
In a very tight tournament, this sets them apart, for now. The question is whether they will be able to follow it up in London next week.
