South Africa will go into the third round of the Rugby Championship next month with a 100 per cent record, but Jean de Villiers acknowledged his side had been relieved to just to get the better of Argentina on Saturday.
The Pumas had led by 12 points over the South Africans with 20 minutes of proceedings to go with the scoreline at 28-16, but De Villiers's men staged a dramatic fightback as winger Cornell Hendricks and forward Marcell Coetzee went over for tries, before Morne Steyn's late penalty gave them the victory.
The result would have been a first-ever win for Argentina in the tournament, which began in 2012 when they joined the Tri Nations teams, had they held on.
But De Villiers said he had not been surprised by the tenacity of their South American opponents.
“I have said before that this Argentina team are on the up and getting better and better,” he said. “They must get credit for coming close today. We are just so happy to get the win.”
Daniel Hourcade, the disappointed Argentina coach, acknowledged that his side had wasted a great chance to triumph.
“They were there for the knockout and we didn’t deal it,” he said.
“All we lacked today was knowing how to win it.”
It was a frustrating day for the Argentines, and that was also the case for the Springboks’ next opponents, Australia, who they play on Saturday, September 6.
The Australians were well beaten 51-20 in Auckland by New Zealand, and Wallabies captain Michael Hooper said he expected his side to bounce back from the disappointment.
“It’s not a broken thing,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We’re not a broken entity. There were some good things that we could take from last week and take from tonight, and then there some things that need serious improvement.
“To learn how to win the big moments and capitalise on mistakes that the other team make – something the All Blacks were very good at.”
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