How all the teams fared in Rugby Championship dominated by Boks
The Springboks dominated the Rugby Championship and were it not for a defensive implosion in Argentina, they could have achieved a rare Grand Slam of wins in the southern hemisphere competition.
After claiming the trophy spectacularly this past Saturday in the season finale against Los Pumas in Mbombela, the world champions underlined their dominance over their Sanzaar counterparts in the new era of coach Rassie Erasmus.
Here, Independent Newspapers looks at how the teams fared.
The Springboks (P6 W5 L1 Pts24 PD97)
Standout player: Ox Nche (prop)
Were it not for that late missed penalty goal against Argentina in Santiago del Estero, the wins column would have read six from six. But even Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said it should not have come down to one kick.
Despite that, the world champions dominated and the first title since 2019 will have been all the more special with back-to-back wins over the All Blacks and Erasmus trying out new players in key positions. But not even those changes, which expanded the selection pool for the Boks, could throw them off their path to glory.
One thing they will want to fix is their discipline in games.
The All Blacks (P6 W3 L3 Pts16 PD37)
Standout player: Wallace Sititi (loose forward)
They ended a full eight points (a total of two wins) behind the world champions, and it showed the gulf between the Boks and the Kiwis under new coach Scott Robertson.
Even after that first loss against the Pumas in New Zealand, one could see the All Blacks looked vulnerable, and they were. They could not even trump a Bok side full of changes in Mzansi, and battled to get past Australia in their first Bledisloe Cup clash.
Depth is a major concern for Robertson and the fact that they couldn’t physicality match up to South Africa or Argentina.
The Pumas (P6 W3 L3 Pts14 PD27)
Standout player: Tomas Albornoz (flyhalf)
It was the story of Argentina every season. The one minute (in this case match) they blow hot, the next they are ice-cold, and not in a good way.
After beating the All Blacks in New Zealand, they failed to kick on with that momentum and lost heavily the following weekend. The same against the Wallabies in Argentina, and then they could beat the Boks twice in a row to claim the Championship for the first time.
But with no domestic competition and a new coach in Felipe Contepomi, the Championship was always going to be tough on the Pumas.
The Wallabies (P6 W1 L5 Pts5 PD105)
Standout player: Hunter Paisami (centre)
That one win and points difference sums up the competitiveness or lack thereof of the Wallabies. Their rugby is in a bad place and it needs all the help to get out of that pickle.
New head coach Joe Schmidt will try his best, but it’s difficult to see him getting the best out of the Australians in his first or even second season of coaching (should he stay on). The only positive was that first Bledisloe clash and how they fought back against the All Blacks to almost win it.
But Schmidt will have a plan to get the Wallabies firing again.