The Springboks completed their pre-series preparation with a 17-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday, but the result was overshadowed by a hamstring injury to captain Siya Kolisi that puts his availability for the first Rugby's Greatest Rivalry test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in serious doubt.
Kolisi went off in the first half and confirmed the injury in his post-match interview. "I hurt my hamstring again and I will have to go for a scan to see how bad it is," he said. "It is really tough, but I can't be sad about it. I will just have to go for my scan and see how long I will be out for." Marco van Staden replaced him. With Kolisi having played only one game before this match — the non-cap fixture against the Barbarians in June — the Buenos Aires outing was meant to establish his readiness for Johannesburg. It did not go to plan.
Andre Esterhuizen is another concern after leaving the field with a concussion for the second successive match.
For the second week running the Boks were indebted to their bench. The replacements shifted a difficult match in the second half after a first 40 minutes in which South Africa were scrappy, struggled with the kicking game and lacked the cohesion Rassie Erasmus had flagged as a likely issue when he predicted a grind beforehand.
Argentina led 10-3 at one stage after Santiago Carreras landed a second-minute penalty and flanker Benjamin Grodona crossed in the eighth minute. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had replied with a penalty for the Boks, but it was a try on the stroke of halftime — Aphelele Fassi and Canan Moodie combining to release Edwill van der Merwe — that levelled matters at 10-all at the break.
Among the positives, Cameron Hanekom delivered a strong performance in his first full test start at No 8, reinforcing his credentials as a genuine international loose forward option alongside Paul de Villiers, who continues in superb form at No 6.
The win gives the Springboks a perfect four-from-four record across the Nations Championship home leg and their two warm-up fixtures heading into the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series.