Following their 30-67 hammering by the Springboks in Durban on Saturday, here are the player ratings for the well-beaten Argentina.
15 Juan Cruz Mallia: An evening when his security needed to be Fort Knox-like, but it wasn’t. Look at how easily Pieter-Steph du Toit blew past him at the first attempted tackle in the build-up try in the first half added time that irrevocably shifted momentum South Africa’s way. He was then left grasping air when Cheslin Kolbe opened the second half scoring. Did give the assist for sub Tomas Albornoz’s try, but that doesn’t rescue his low rating. 4
14 Rodrigo Isgro: The sevens convert had little or no involvement in the match before he was hauled off on 46 minutes. 4
13: Lucio Cinti: Defensive vulnerability encapsulated by how poor his cover was when Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored the try pre-interval try that decisively changed the flow of the match. 4
“Video review won’t be kind…”
12: Santiago Chocobares: Showed fantastic intellect and footwork to realise Kolbe was gifting him a try with a drop-kick gaffe, quickly getting back onto the five-metre line to gather and score. 6
11 Mateo Carreras: Will be kicking himself for the loss of concentration that resulted in Feinberg-Mngomezulu scoring immediately after the Kolbe gaffe. The video review of his performance won’t be kind, as is the case for some other Argentine backs. 4
10 Santiago Carreras: A joy to watch in recent matches, he again looked the part in helping Argentina to be super competitive in a first half that ended with the Springboks just two points ahead. However, his evening disintegrated from there – see the dropped kick on 49 minutes that gifted South Africa the territory to create another try – and he was hooked 14 minutes before the finish. 5
9 Gonzalo Garcia: Had a decent first half aside from the lecture he received from referee Angus Gardner after jostling with opposite number Cobus Reinach, but he had no answer to the second-half Springboks onslaught behind a beaten, weary pack. Sadly, left hurt and taken off near the end after a friendly fire bang from Guido Petti. 5
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu the hero as Springboks cruise to emphatic triumph over Argentina
8 Joaquin Oviedo: His team’s star forward in the sense that he was the only one to show immense heft in the carry before it all unravelled. 6
7 Marcos Kremer: Another who fought the good fight before his team’s capitulation. His tackle count was huge compared to some very defence-shy teammates. 6
6 Pablo Matera: Promoted from the Sydney bench to start in place of Juan-Martin Gonzalez, he gritted out through the first half but was a spent, muted force by the time of his departure on 58 minutes. 5
5 Lucas Paulos: The second of the three changes to the winning starting pack from Round Four, he played just half the King’s Park match and so can’t be faulted for the horrible second half that materialised. 5
4 Franco Molina: The third of the subs that Felipe Contepomi upgraded to start, he too made his exit at a time when the match was still very much a close contest. 5
3 Joel Sclavi: The same description that applied to Paulos and Molina can he similarly attributed here, as the Pumas were competitive and still a shot when he was hooked eight minutes into the second half. 5
2 Julian Montoya (c): Had been a tremendous asset in the Championship before this car-crash showing. There were first-half lineout inaccuracies, and he won’t like seeing a replay of the dummy he bought from the hat-trick completing Feinberg-Mngomezulu early in the second half. 4
1 Mayco Vivas: Began with a scrum penalty exchange, infringing to give the Boks their opening points and then getting one back on Thomas du Toit. Was the player then penalised for kicking the ball out of Reinach’s hands at a ruck on the half hour. Exited on 53 just before the gap was closed to 30-39. 5
Replacements: Kudos for Albornoz for his try not long after his 46th-minute introduction, but the rest of the bench was a bloody, towel-throwing mess. 2