South Africa secured a 38-21 victory over Argentina at a sold-out King’s Park in Durban on Saturday, but the win was not enough to claim the 2022 Rugby Championship title, which went to New Zealand instead.
The All Blacks topped the standings with 19 points, one ahead of South Africa, who needed a try-scoring bonus point and a 39-point winning margin to snatch the trophy. Argentina's ill-discipline proved costly as they received four yellow cards and conceded two penalty tries.
South Africa scored through Jasper Wiese, Siya Kolisi, and Kurt-Lee Arendse, while Argentina's tries came from Gonzalo Bertranou, Juan Martin Gonzalez, and Matias Moroni. The visitors conceded 22 penalties and spent much of the game on defence.
Captain Siya Kolisi acknowledged the team's slow start and missed opportunities. “We create so much, our game-plan is working, we just don’t convert those opportunities,” he said. Coach Jacques Nienaber echoed similar frustrations about failing to turn pressure into points.
New Zealand's earlier 40-14 win over Australia made South Africa's task even harder. The Boks led 17-7 at halftime but could not capitalise on Argentina's yellow cards, while the visitors fought back to 17-14 before South Africa's power game prevailed.
