The Springboks beat Argentina 17–10 in Buenos Aires in a laboured Rugby Championship opener, but the result was immediately overshadowed by Siya Kolisi limping off in the 24th minute with a hamstring injury that puts his availability for the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Series against the All Blacks in serious doubt.
Eben Etzebeth took over the captaincy and completed the full 80 minutes — a significant return given his lengthy absence — with Lood de Jager also starting after an extended lay-off.
The Boks trailed 10–3 heading into the final minutes of the first half and struggled throughout with set-piece execution, lineout accuracy and handling. Argentina were disciplined and comfortable under the Springbok kick, and it was not until the 39th minute that South Africa drew level. André Esterhuizen combined power and accuracy to offload to Canan Moodie, who in turn found Aphelele Fassi, and Edwill van der Merwe finished in the corner. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's conversion levelled the scores at 10–10 at the break.
Cameron Hanekom was the standout forward across both halves. The decisive moment came in the 63rd minute when Hanekom drove over from a dominant scrum — the Boks' first lead of the match. Handré Pollard, introduced from the bench at flyhalf, added the conversion to extend the buffer to seven points, which proved enough.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu played 60 minutes at flyhalf before shifting to fullback for the final quarter. Ethan Hooker also went the full 80.
Rassie Erasmus had framed the Test in advance as a necessary grind for a squad carrying significant match-rust, and the performance reflected exactly that. The win — the priority — was secured, but the Kolisi hamstring is now the dominant concern ahead of the All Blacks series.