Argentina player ratings: Rookie suffers ‘excruciating’ Springboks scrum ordeal as ‘glue player’ shines again
Bautista Delguy has a lively outing for Argentina but that can't be said for rookie tighthead Francisco Coria Marchetti, inset
Here are the Argentina player ratings following their defiant performance in a 27-29 Rugby Championship Round Six loss to the title-winning Springboks in London.
15 Santiago Carreras: Switched from out-half to full-back, he was charged down in the opening stages by Cheslin Kolbe, but that was a rare heart-flutter on an afternoon of welcome reliability following Argentina’s defensive backline surrender in Durban. Place kicking, as usual, on the money until a long-range 77th minute penalty cruelly struck an upright but, having by then switched to out-half, he finished with a class cross-kick assist for the final try. 6
14 Bautista Delguy: The first of eight changes to the starting Argentina XV from last week, he quickly showed why he fully merited his place with his lovely footwork in a well-finished, fourth-minute try. Continued to give the Springboks headaches out wide with two further eye-catching first-half gallops. Then ghosted in for the intercept try off a rash Kolbe pass on 66 minutes, which sparked an intriguing finish to the match. 7
13 Justo Piccardo: Needed to provide an extra layer of defensive coverage, which the Pumas badly missed in Round Five with Lucio Cinti struggling. His missed tackle stat wasn’t a good look, but his hard work with the ball balanced out his equation. 5
“No Kings Park-like collapse…”
12 Santiago Chocobares: One of the few Argentine players who stood up and was counted in last weekend’s hammering, his form was again excellent here. His speed in defence in shutting down space and his robustness in taking contact were important, initially in getting Argentina ahead and then in ensuring there was no Kings Park-like collapse here. A glue player who held it all together. 7
11 Juan Cruz Mallia: Horrible at full-back last week, his first run on the wing resulted in a yellow-carded head clash from Canan Moodie. Gave his team further encouragement with a stylish take in the air on 25 minutes and continued to be reliable after that. 6
10 Geronimo Prisciantelli: A second cap and a first start, but you wouldn’t have known he was a rookie with how he played. Enjoyed conducting Argentina’s wide-wide approach in attack and was encouraging in defence. Look at his calmness when marking a South African bomb on 28 minutes and another near halfway nine minutes into the second half. Exited with the score at 20-29 following an encouraging effort. 6
9 Simon Benitez Cruz: An interesting selection whose play was snappy. Had a neat pass and showed wheels, including getting down the touchline with the scores at 7-3 and early in the second half after Argentina had just gone behind. He was also no shirker in defence, combining with his out-half to hold Ruan Nortje up over the line. Wasn’t perfect, mind: Cobus Reinach nearly picked his pocket with a pass, and he also couldn’t stop his opposite number from scoring just before the interval. His passing error on 69 minutes was a heartbreaker just before his exit. 7
8 Santiago Grondona: Gave it socks in ensuring the Springboks pack was kept honest in the first half. A decent work rate on both sides of the ball, but was taken off not long after he was blown for no release when caught by Malcolm Marx with his team having just gone 13-15 behind. 6
7 Marcos Kremer: There was an initial looseness to his tackling, but he tightened up his completion rate to ensure he topped his team’s chart in this facet of play by the time he exited for a 71st-minute HIA. His contribution was invaluable. 7
6 Pablo Matera: His struggle to repeat his heroics when Argentina beat New Zealand in August continued here, as there were no highlight reel moments. Gone on 49, but returned to see out the game when Kremer made his goodbye. 5
5 Pedro Rubiolo: Can be faulted for spilling the ball in contact in the Springboks 22 with Argentina attacking shortly after Canan Moodie had been carded in the first half. That was frustrating, but he produced a gritty overall display where his energy in the pack fight was critical to ensuring the Pumas didn’t fall over and instead fought to the finish. 7
4 Guido Petti: Another brought in to add reliability to last week’s wobbly Argentine lineout, he didn’t wield as assured an influence as Rubiolo did. Said a lot that he was the lock who was replaced 16 minutes into the second period. 5
Springboks clinch second successive Rugby Championship title after hard-fought win over Argentina
3 Francisco Coria Marchetti: Promoted from the bench for a first Test start with Joel Sclavi pulling up lame on Friday, he endured an excruciating afternoon in a scrum that repeatedly went backwards. The worst moment was the eighth-minute set-piece where Argentina were pushed off their own ball against a seven-man Boks pack. Ouch! Limped off on 55, thankful for the excuse. 3
2 Julian Montoya (c): Spoke in last week’s aftermath about the pain Argentina would collectively have to go through to flush their system. The skipper can be proud of the response he got, bar their problematic scrum. He handled his communications well with the referee, and it was to his credit that the Pumas were still fighting at 20-29 when he departed on 72 minutes. 7
1 Mayco Vivas: Another whose scrummaging flopped; see his weak collapse in the 36th minute with Argentina defending five metres out. Further hampered his team’s cause with his 43rd-minute yellow card for being upright in the tackle and crashing a shoulder into Eben Etzebeth’s head. South Africa took advantage, scoring on the first play without him to take a lead they never lost. 3
Replacements: The bench initially struggled when it started to be used early in the second half, and the match threatened to run away from Argentina. However, they eventually weathered that 13-29 story, and to finish the match losing by only two points was a ‘win’ in its own way. Debut-making Tomas Rapetti, the sub tighthead, can delight in winning a scrum penalty coming down the stretch, while Rodrigo Isgro scored a try in the corner. 6
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